Early Science/Mathematics
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Forum Name: General Polls
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URL: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=73473
Printed Date: May 01 2024 at 09:35
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Topic: Early Science/Mathematics
Posted By: Henry Plainview
Subject: Early Science/Mathematics
Date Posted: November 23 2010 at 02:07
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I arbitrarily decided on a strict cut-off of birthdates of 1550 to 1750, because this poll is intended to be about the relatively early work, and if I included Gauss at 1777 then there would be no logical reason for me not to also include Cauchy, Faraday, Maxwell, Ampere, etc. and then before you know it it's Tesla vs. Edison. And yeah, Tycho pretty much just wrote down an enormous amount of numbers, but maybe the more fastidious of you would appreciate that. First person to post an XKCD dies.
------------- if you own a sodastream i hate you |
Replies:
Posted By: SaltyJon
Date Posted: November 23 2010 at 02:12
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Kepler's my favorite from the list. Laplace and Lagrange are my mortal enemies.
------------- http://www.last.fm/user/Salty_Jon" rel="nofollow"> 
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Posted By: Henry Plainview
Date Posted: November 23 2010 at 02:46
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Heh, I guess you're not a fan of doing Laplace transforms and finding Legrange points? Also, look at this awesome portrait of Newton on Wiki, I hadn't seen it before.  Before I'd only seen the ones of him when he was a lot older and wearing the stupid wig. He was still 46 in that portrait, but I guess he wasn't famous enough to get one done when he was 20. I guess Newton was probably the most intelligent and absolutely dedicated person on this list, but if he had just published things when he wrote them he could have saved Leibniz a lot of trouble... ------------- if you own a sodastream i hate you |
Posted By: Padraic
Date Posted: November 23 2010 at 06:40
| Went with Euler. |
Posted By: stonebeard
Date Posted: November 23 2010 at 08:17
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tycho_Brahe#Death - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tycho_Brahe#Death
Good enough reason to vote for anyone. Math is dumb no troll.
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Posted By: Padraic
Date Posted: November 23 2010 at 08:37
There is no dumb math, only dumb people.
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stonebeard wrote:Posted By: Lark the Starless
Date Posted: November 23 2010 at 10:49
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Isaac Newton ------------- 
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Posted By: CPicard
Date Posted: November 23 2010 at 13:14
| René Descartes, for his method and his RPG stores. |
Posted By: Dean
Date Posted: November 23 2010 at 13:40
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Newton.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0e/Newton-WilliamBlake.jpg">  ------------- What? |
Posted By: stonebeard
Date Posted: November 23 2010 at 14:39
There are only dumb people? I guess that includes mathematicians so I'm ok with this. |
Posted By: harmonium.ro
Date Posted: November 23 2010 at 14:42
Laplace, because we have him as a forum user 
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Posted By: Padraic
Date Posted: November 23 2010 at 14:43
I started to disagree, but really I can't.
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Posted By: stonebeard
Date Posted: November 23 2010 at 15:06
Glad we're on the same page.  |
Posted By: Icarium
Date Posted: November 23 2010 at 15:20
theoreticly you are all on the same page, since their are no page 2 yet  -------------  
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Posted By: Padraic
Date Posted: November 23 2010 at 15:36
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Posted By: someone_else
Date Posted: November 23 2010 at 16:55
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Hard to choose between Galilei, Newton and Pascal, but I finally voted for Newton. ------------- 
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Posted By: thellama73
Date Posted: November 23 2010 at 17:59
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As a student of economics, I have to vote for Euler. I had to derive the so calle d"Euler equation" for my last Macroeconomics homework set. Of course, we use Lagrangian optimizations an awful lot too.
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Posted By: Slartibartfast
Date Posted: November 23 2010 at 19:21
He is well lubricated after all... ------------- Released date are often when it it impacted you but recorded dates are when it really happened... 
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Posted By: Triceratopsoil
Date Posted: November 23 2010 at 19:25
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Did you ever hear about the circumstances surrounding Descartes' death? He was at a restaurant, and, after his meal, the waitress asked if he would like dessert. He responded with "I think not." |
Posted By: Tuzvihar
Date Posted: November 24 2010 at 14:18
Out of the list: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolaus_Copernicus - Mikołaj Kopernik (Nicolaus Copernicus: 1473 – 1543) , a great Polish scientist who "stopped the Sun and moved the Earth". 
------------- "Music is much like f**king, but some composers can't climax and others climax too often, leaving themselves and the listener jaded and spent." Charles Bukowski |
Posted By: Icarium
Date Posted: November 24 2010 at 14:34
he was a powerfull, powerfull man
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Posted By: UndercoverBoy
Date Posted: November 24 2010 at 14:42
This guy:
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Posted By: Slartibartfast
Date Posted: November 25 2010 at 04:28
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Newton for his fig cookies.
------------- Released date are often when it it impacted you but recorded dates are when it really happened...
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Posted By: Dean
Date Posted: November 25 2010 at 04:33
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vs
 ------------- What? |
Posted By: clarke2001
Date Posted: November 25 2010 at 04:58
That picture reminds me of another British astrophysicist:  He's famous for writing a song about a time dilation. ------------- |
Posted By: harmonium.ro
Date Posted: November 25 2010 at 05:25
| Who was that famous mathematician who was way too skilful with the sword? I think that also brought him to an early end. He lived around 1800. |
Posted By: Dean
Date Posted: November 25 2010 at 06:07
------------- What? |
Posted By: harmonium.ro
Date Posted: November 25 2010 at 06:13
| Thanks Dean. I'd love to see a movie about that guy, something with Scott's intriguing visual style and era-recreation skills from The Duellists, but with the tragical undertone from Stephen Frear's Dangerous Liaisons. |
Posted By: Icarium
Date Posted: November 25 2010 at 06:14
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I also believe Immanuel Kant also was quite the matematician genius -------------
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Posted By: Equality 7-2521
Date Posted: November 26 2010 at 17:10
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Eh it's not really that close. Newton is Euler's only real competition on the list. Taking Euler fairly obviously. ------------- "One had to be a Newton to notice that the moon is falling, when everyone sees that it doesn't fall. " |
Posted By: Equality 7-2521
Date Posted: November 26 2010 at 17:11
I don't see hollywood jumping on a movie focusing on symmetric polynomials. ------------- "One had to be a Newton to notice that the moon is falling, when everyone sees that it doesn't fall. " |
Posted By: harmonium.ro
Date Posted: November 26 2010 at 17:21
| ^ I film about a mathematician doesn't have to "focus" on mathematics. The guy had a very interesting life, and I thought it was pretty obvious that there's where I seen the filmic potential, not in the maths. |
Posted By: Equality 7-2521
Date Posted: November 26 2010 at 17:29
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I think it was fairly obvious I was making a joke. ------------- "One had to be a Newton to notice that the moon is falling, when everyone sees that it doesn't fall. " |
Posted By: Slartibartfast
Date Posted: November 26 2010 at 18:05
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Descartes for his coordinate system. Probably the most important to my field of work.
------------- Released date are often when it it impacted you but recorded dates are when it really happened...
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Posted By: Snow Dog
Date Posted: November 26 2010 at 18:28
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What have I wandered into? ------------- http://www.last.fm/user/Snow_Dog" rel="nofollow"> 
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Posted By: Equality 7-2521
Date Posted: November 26 2010 at 18:33
It's a good thing he didn't because Newton's notation makes the promulgation of the calculus nearly impossible and it's conceptual pathway is much more convoluted than Leibniz's. ------------- "One had to be a Newton to notice that the moon is falling, when everyone sees that it doesn't fall. " |
Posted By: harmonium.ro
Date Posted: November 26 2010 at 18:39
It wasn't, but I'll laugh now, it's a good one  |
Posted By: Henry Plainview
Date Posted: November 26 2010 at 22:59
I think Leibniz would have improved on the notation and method anyway. I was referring more to having to spend the final years of his life defending himself from accusations of plagiarism.
I warned you, watch your back. ------------- if you own a sodastream i hate you |
Posted By: A Person
Date Posted: November 26 2010 at 23:18
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Posted By: Equality 7-2521
Date Posted: November 27 2010 at 15:09
Meh, It's not his fault that Newton was an insecure, petty, crybaby. ------------- "One had to be a Newton to notice that the moon is falling, when everyone sees that it doesn't fall. " |
Posted By: NecronCommander
Date Posted: November 27 2010 at 15:48
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Well, I like Descartes, also in part for his ontological studies. Also, a nod goes out to Fermat for being history's most epic troll. -------------  
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Posted By: aapatsos
Date Posted: December 04 2010 at 14:40
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Posted By: aapatsos
Date Posted: December 04 2010 at 14:41
| ^ other is my obvious choice... ;) |
Posted By: Equality 7-2521
Date Posted: December 05 2010 at 11:22
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If you're implying that any of those compare to Newtown or Euler or Lagrange then that's moronic. The only serious ones on that strange table you posted are Euclid or Pappus. ------------- "One had to be a Newton to notice that the moon is falling, when everyone sees that it doesn't fall. " |
Posted By: aapatsos
Date Posted: December 05 2010 at 17:05
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I do not imply that all of those are, but your statement is absolute (to say the least). I meant to show the numbers of ancient mathematicians providing the basis for what we know today - not necessarily implying all where of the same importance. A quick search for Thales, Pythagoras, Democritus, Aristarchus might change your mind of the "serious ones". |
Posted By: Equality 7-2521
Date Posted: December 05 2010 at 19:39
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Henry obviously chose a certain time frame to serve as the population, so I don't quite understand the point of your post. I think we're all well aware that Mathematics and science did not begin in Europe during the Enlightenment. With regards to your point though, you've neglected the many contributions of Chinese and Middle-Eastern Mathematicians. I don't believe I need to do a search for any on the list. Not to be arrogant, but I would wager that I know more about them then you do. The fact is that even the shorten list you mentioned can't seriously be considered close to the same plane a Fermat or a Leibniz. Pythagoras is particularly strange because we don't even know any results which he personally acquired. ------------- "One had to be a Newton to notice that the moon is falling, when everyone sees that it doesn't fall. " |
Posted By: Padraic
Date Posted: December 06 2010 at 11:42
| I personally miss more "modern" mathematicians like David Hilbert and Henri Lebesgue, but it's Henry's poll, he set the parameters and I ain't complaining. |
Posted By: krishl
Date Posted: December 07 2010 at 16:19
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Newton, because he invented calculus, formulated the laws of mechanics and gravitation, and devised those nifty grooves on the edges of coins Euler, for all kinds of good stuff, but especially for that rotation theorem, and even more especially for combining e, i, pi, 1, and 0 into one beautiful equation: e^{i pi}+1=0 Kepler, because I do orbital mechanics for a living Brahe, for having his own island and for having a spare nose and for hiring Kepler Lagrange, because free-body diagrams are a PitA when you don't have to do them Galileo, for removing the meta from physics
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Posted By: Equality 7-2521
Date Posted: December 07 2010 at 20:06
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Hiring Kepler turned out to be a bad move for him didn't it though? ------------- "One had to be a Newton to notice that the moon is falling, when everyone sees that it doesn't fall. " |
Posted By: Chris H
Date Posted: December 14 2010 at 11:26
I wouldn't be so quick to discount Aristarchus...if he had the technology to acquire proof, the heliocentric model would be credited to his name. ------------- Beauty will save the world. 
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Posted By: Equality 7-2521
Date Posted: December 14 2010 at 13:38
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The same could be said of Democritus and the model of the atom. The same can probably be said for thousands of others throughout history. There's a crucial difference though. For these lesser figures we can point to one accomplishment or some major accomplishment they almost predated historically. With somone like Newton can point to numerous major discoveries that they actually made. ------------- "One had to be a Newton to notice that the moon is falling, when everyone sees that it doesn't fall. " |
Posted By: Chris H
Date Posted: December 14 2010 at 13:45
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Yeah you're probably right, that's why I went with Kepler in the poll. ------------- Beauty will save the world.
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Posted By: Kestrel
Date Posted: December 15 2010 at 04:06
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ibn al-Haytham http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibn_al-Haytham" rel="nofollow - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibn_al-Haytham The guy is awesome and under-appreciated. |
Posted By: Kestrel
Date Posted: December 15 2010 at 04:09
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Some of you might find this blog post interesting: http://thonyc.wordpress.com/2010/11/12/galileo’s-great-bluff-and-part-of-the-reason-why-kuhn-is-wrong/" rel="nofollow - http://thonyc.wordpress.com/2010/11/12/galileo’s-great-bluff-and-part-of-the-reason-why-kuhn-is-wrong/ Discusses Galileo's role in the astronomy debate and how the history of Renaissance astronomy is way more complicated than we are normally taught. Great stuff. |
Posted By: Chris H
Date Posted: December 15 2010 at 09:25
 ------------- Beauty will save the world.
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Posted By: Equality 7-2521
Date Posted: December 15 2010 at 09:29
It's a poll, not your favorite scientist of all time. ------------- "One had to be a Newton to notice that the moon is falling, when everyone sees that it doesn't fall. " |
Posted By: Kestrel
Date Posted: December 15 2010 at 16:38
He isn't my favorite scientist; al-Haytham is just my favorite early scientist. (Some argue that he is the first scientist, actually, but figuring out how that really was is a waste of time and probably undefinable.) |
Posted By: Equality 7-2521
Date Posted: December 15 2010 at 17:41
It's a poll, not your favorite early scientist of all time. ------------- "One had to be a Newton to notice that the moon is falling, when everyone sees that it doesn't fall. " |
Posted By: Kestrel
Date Posted: December 15 2010 at 18:06
So
So? |
Posted By: thellama73
Date Posted: December 15 2010 at 21:25
Sew buttons. -------------
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