Galileo discovered planet Neptune?

[Galileo]

I think I'll go with the guy who deciphered the language that eventually unlocked the modern era of physics... Without Newton's language other great scientists would not have made their respective breakthroughs in electromagnetism or reaction kinetics... and without these two core discoveries the industrial age, and the subsequent modern technological era would not have been ushered.

Darwin's theories, while groundbreaking, were more observational in nature... as such, they had minimal impact on improving the life of the common man. To me this factor is huge.

In fact, based on the applicability-factor of their discoveries, Darwin wasn't even the most prominent biologist of the 17th, 18th, or 19th centuries...

Mendel > Pasteur >> Darwin

Galileo > Newton

Of "Newton's" three laws of motion, two were discovered by Galileo!

"Hitherto I have laid down such principles as have been received by math
ematicians, and are confirmed by abundance of experiments. By the first
two Laws and the first two Corollaries, Galileo discovered that the de
scent of bodies observed the duplicate ratio of the time, and that the mo
tion of projectiles was in the curve of a parabola; experience agreeing
with both, unless so far as these motions are a little re ed by the re
sistance of the air."

Isaac Newton, Principia (1687)
http://www.archive.org/stream/newton...trich_djvu.txt

[Cry Havoc]

I am extremely glad Galileo doesn't post in the sports forums. Considering his absurd claim that the real Galileo was responsible for Einstein's theories (), I have no doubt he would be touting the following lineup in the NBA forum for the Spurs to go after:

PG - Earl Boykins (Size is relative oops that's not Galileo oh well)
SG - Marbury (best shoe-price ratio, therefore best deal in the NBA)
SF - Gordan Giricek (His initials are GG)
PF - Anderson Varejao (His hair is reminiscent of the 1600s)
C - Dikembe Mutombo (Smartest player in the NBA)

---

Btw, this non-political thread is non-political.

[Phenomanul]

Galileo > Newton

Of "Newton's" three laws of motion, two were discovered by Galileo!

"Hitherto I have laid down such principles as have been received by math
ematicians, and are confirmed by abundance of experiments. By the first
two Laws and the first two Corollaries, Galileo discovered that the de
scent of bodies observed the duplicate ratio of the time, and that the mo
tion of projectiles was in the curve of a parabola; experience agreeing
with both, unless so far as these motions are a little re ed by the re
sistance of the air."

Isaac Newton, Principia (1687)
http://www.archive.org/stream/newton...trich_djvu.txt

My comment was more in line with suggesting that Newton was far more important to Science that Darwin.

As for Galileo, I consider Newton and him to be equals considering their place in history...

To me, Newton's greatest accomplishment was deriving the language of Calculus... with it he created a powerful tool that's as useful now as it was then.

[LnGrrrR]

This guy is pretty good too...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibn_al-Haytham

Aristotle too.

[LnGrrrR]

Here's a neat list.

http://www.adherents.com/people/100_scientists.html

[baseline bum]

Here's a neat list.

http://www.adherents.com/people/100_scientists.html

Einstein's wasn't a believing Jew.

[LnGrrrR]

Einstein's wasn't a believing Jew.

Oh, I don't care about the religious part. I was just referencing it as far as important scientists.

Edit: Although I'll note, nearly all the famous scientists listed were of Caucasian descent. I'm pretty sure there were some famous scientists of other races.

[baseline bum]

I think I'll go with the guy who deciphered the language that eventually unlocked the modern era of physics... Without Newton's language other great scientists would not have made their respective breakthroughs in electromagnetism or reaction kinetics... and without these two core discoveries the industrial age, and the subsequent modern technological era would not have been ushered.

Darwin's theories, while groundbreaking, were more observational in nature... as such, they had minimal impact on improving the life of the common man. To me this factor is huge.

In fact, based on the applicability-factor of their discoveries, Darwin wasn't even the most prominent biologist of the 17th, 18th, or 19th centuries...

Mendel > Pasteur >> Darwin

Darwin shattered the idea that complexity must either be designed or be ridiculously improbable. He completely changed the way people thought about the world more than any other scientist to ever live. He discovered an elegant and simple process that doesn't invoke mysticism or supers ion to give reasonable answers to one of the most pressing questions for almost any person alive. You can make an argument for Newton or Galileo being more important, but no way he doesn't belong on the list of the top 3-5 scientists to ever live.

[Galileo]

I am extremely glad Galileo doesn't post in the sports forums. Considering his absurd claim that the real Galileo was responsible for Einstein's theories (), I have no doubt he would be touting the following lineup in the NBA forum for the Spurs to go after:

PG - Earl Boykins (Size is relative oops that's not Galileo oh well)
SG - Marbury (best shoe-price ratio, therefore best deal in the NBA)
SF - Gordan Giricek (His initials are GG)
PF - Anderson Varejao (His hair is reminiscent of the 1600s)
C - Dikembe Mutombo (Smartest player in the NBA)

---

Btw, this non-political thread is non-political.

Doofus!

1)

I do post in the sports forums as often as the political, do a Google

Duncan = Galileo

2)

Newton got his first two laws from Galileo, not Einstein.

3)

Einstein got his relativity of motion idea from Galileo.

Galilean relativity
http://physics.ucr.edu/~wudka/Physic...ww/node47.html

Generalizing Galilean Relativity to Include Light: Special Relativity
http://galileoandeinstein.physics.vi.../spec_rel.html

Galileo >> Einstein

Newton > Einstein

[Phenomanul]

Darwin shattered the idea that complexity must either be designed or be ridiculously improbable. He completely changed the way people thought about the world more than any other scientist to ever live. He discovered an elegant and simple process that doesn't invoke mysticism or supers ion to give reasonable answers to one of the most pressing questions for almost any person alive. You can make an argument for Newton or Galileo being more important, but no way he doesn't belong on the list of the top 3-5 scientists to ever live.

So you believe Darwin disproved GOD's existence???

Look, you can glorify Darwin's theories all you want, or feel that they help you justify your beliefs... whatever... Seem's like your overrating of his accomplishments has more to do with the fact that you have an axe to grind with the Theistic crowd. Unlike the other great scientists, Darwin's theories did not better the common man.

For instance,

Louis Pasteur's findings led the way to the field of virology, opened the door to immunizations and helped extend humanity's average lifespan -- all within his lifetime.

Darwin challenged the status quo... ooooooooh.

Besides the Stabilization Theory >>> neo-Darwinism...

[baseline bum]

So you believe Darwin disproved GOD's existence???

Look, you can glorify Darwin's theories all you want, or feel that they help you justify your beliefs... whatever... Unlike the other great scientists, Darwin's theories did not better the common man.

For instance,

Louis Pasteur's findings led the way to the field of virology, opened the door to immunizations and helped extend humanity's average lifespan -- all within his lifetime.

Darwin challenged the status quo... ooooooooh.

Besides the Stabilization Theory >>> neo-Darwinism....

I never said Darwin disproved God's existence. I don't know why you keep putting that ing sentence in my mouth every single time I bring him up.

[sonic21]

I know that it has already been do ented that Galileo noticed the shift in position of Neptune, without claiming it to be a new planet. It has been reported that Galileo was puzzled by it's change in position.

So maybe they found more writings by Galileo who proved he discovered Neptune.

If so, then this would be a very interesting paper.

[Phenomanul]

I never said Darwin disproved God's existence. I don't know why you keep putting that ing sentence in my mouth every single time I bring him up.

simmer down.

You're the one that keeps highlighting the ramification of Darwin's discoveries against philosophical arenas of thought....

These were your words...

He discovered an elegant and simple process that doesn't invoke mysticism or supers ion to give reasonable answers to one of the most pressing questions for almost any person alive.

Earlier you also felt compeled to point out that Albert Einstein wasn't a practicing Jew... as if that had any significance to the merit (or lack thereof) of his accomplishments... the ironic part is that Einstein was a noted Deist before he passed away....

Like I said, you have an axe to grind.

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

I have to give the edge to Einstein. His bagels rock, escpecially the asiago cheese!

[baseline bum]

simmer down.

You're the one that keeps highlighting the ramification of Darwin's discoveries against philosophical arenas of thought....

These were your words...

Don't tell me to simmer down when you're talking out your ass. You drastically underrate Darwin's theory of natural selection and then pretend it attacks something which it does not. I have been down this road with you before, and you constantly thumb your nose at the theory because (1) it doesn't jive with the bible and (2) it doesn't answer the whole other question of how simple life began. It was simply presented as a process to build very complex things without design (supernatural or even natural), but you had to get bent out of shape and take it as a proof of the non-existence of god when it really attacks the idea that some god had to create man as is (as well as the other complex living beings inhabiting this planet).

Earlier you also felt compeled to point out that Albert Einstein wasn't a practicing Jew... as if that had any significance to the merit (or lack thereof) of his accomplishments... the ironic part is that Einstein was a noted Deist before he passed away....

The link listed his religion as Jewish, which he most certainly was not.

Like I said, you have an axe to grind.

You trash Darwin with the same kind of anti-intellectual ideas mouse does. Look in the mirror with your ridiculous dismissal of one of the most important men to ever live.

[Phenomanul]

Don't tell me to simmer down when you're talking out your ass. You drastically underrate Darwin's theory of natural selection and then pretend it attacks something which it does not. I have been down this road with you before, and you constantly thumb your nose at the theory because (1) it doesn't jive with the bible and (2) it doesn't answer the whole other question of how simple life began. It was simply presented as a process to build very complex things without design (supernatural or even natural), but you had to get bent out of shape and take it as a proof of the non-existence of god when it really attacks the idea that some god had to create man as is (as well as the other complex living beings inhabiting this planet).

You throw out words like mysticism and supers ion against words like design... don't be so disingenous with your approach.

Also, based on what you've written to describe Darwin's accomplishments it is perfectly clear to me you've never read Origin of the Species.

Don't attribute modern evolutionary theory solely to Darwin. Most of his original theories and speculations laid the groundwork but were grossly incomplete; under the weight of the evidence, many are found to be lacking... Again, newer theories such as the Stabilization Theory or punctuated equilibria fit the data much closer than neo-Darwinian beliefs.

The link listed his religion as Jewish, which he most certainly was not.

It was just a list of scientists... his religious affiliation (even if incorrect) has little relevance in demeriting his place in history as one of the greatest minds ever...

You trash Darwin with the same kind of anti-intellectual ideas mouse does. Look in the mirror with your ridiculous dismissal of one of the most important men to ever live.

Ranking scientists' place in history is subjective by nature... but as far as impacting the way we live our lives through fields such as medicine, industry, and technology Darwin would not crack the top 15. He left no practical application to improve our lives.

Newton's work in Calculus on the other hand, remains pretty much the same. His derivations have withstood the test of time and serve as the quintessential tool for teaching and applying the advanced mathematical methods.

[sabar]

There have been many influential scientists. Even the top 5000 would contain very very gifted individuals at the bottom.

Also, rating people by how they impacted the world makes it tough. The wright brothers are two of the most influential people in the past 200 years as far as changing the world, but they didn't even finish high school and weren't brilliant scientists.

There are also individuals who have made massive breakthroughs in their field but with little impact in the life of anyone. Most people (over 99%) have no idea who Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar is, but he no doubt was extremely influential in the field of stellar evolution. A lot of fields are also vastly under-represented and some over-rated when these lists occur. Over-rated fields include physics and biology while under-rated ones include astronomy/astrophysics, medicine, aviation, chemistry, engineering, mathematics, geology and computer science. Some fields like economics and psychology are hardly ever mentioned, despite being wildly influential.

Darwin is over-rated on the grand scheme of things in my opinion. While it is important on a personal and human scale, there are people that have made massive strides in things like plate tectonics, cosmology, nebular evolution, stellar evolution, cellular biology/theory, genetics, neuroscience, atomic theory and more that are arguably more important than evolution but still contributed strongly to the questions of our origins. I have no doubt that he made a very important discovery, but it just seems to not be as important as many other ones.

I think people latch onto it because it is personal. No one is interested in how a bunch of dust can form into a gargantuan nuclear reactor to sustain life.

Given how a lot of discoveries are relative to the time period they were found in, it becomes very difficult to rate scientists on any kind of scale. I prefer a non-enumerated listing. For instance, Aristotle pales in comparison to any scientist of the "great" lists, but he was very influential and smart for his time period. He helped lay a foundation for science to exist in the first place as a recognized study.

[sabar]

Darwin shattered the idea that complexity must either be designed or be ridiculously improbable. He completely changed the way people thought about the world more than any other scientist to ever live. He discovered an elegant and simple process that doesn't invoke mysticism or supers ion to give reasonable answers to one of the most pressing questions for almost any person alive. You can make an argument for Newton or Galileo being more important, but no way he doesn't belong on the list of the top 3-5 scientists to ever live.

See, this is kind of my point. Darwin didn't show where we really came from. Swedenborg did more at the core by saying that dust could ac ulate into a star. Material away from the center forms into planets and the star provides the basis for life to exist. The big bang theory says where the dust came from and the yet-to-be-found origin of RNA/DNA will connect planetary evolution to life evolution.

Once we find out how RNA can form in the wild, we will have the greatest scientific breakthrough of all time, as we will have an origin to life itself. Darwin just plays a large role later on in the chain. I think he is more famous for killing the notion of God than much else, and if any common man paid attention to the theory of how stars/planets are made a century before Darwin, they would of seen that it too contradicts the notion of a creator.

[LnGrrrR]

simmer down.

You're the one that keeps highlighting the ramification of Darwin's discoveries against philosophical arenas of thought....

These were your words...



Earlier you also felt compeled to point out that Albert Einstein wasn't a practicing Jew... as if that had any significance to the merit (or lack thereof) of his accomplishments... the ironic part is that Einstein was a noted Deist before he passed away....

Like I said, you have an axe to grind.

I like the Deist's position on God and religion. I wish more people were deists.

[LnGrrrR]

I agree with Phenomanul's basic message that, if we're listing scientists by the PRACTICAL applications they've inspired, then Darwin would be further down on the list. Off the top of my head, I can't think of any technology that comes from the idea of evolution.