# Greatest Scientists Ever: Elimination Game **URL:** \ **Category:** Thread Games\ **Created:** [November 5, 2017, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825 "2017-11-05T21:08:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2017, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825/181 "2017-11-21T13:28:09Z")
Eliminate: Franklin, Benjamin Lovelace, Ada Smith, William Zhang Heng McClintock, Barbara Hipparchus, of Nicaea Harvey, William Borlaug, Norman ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2017, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825/182 "2017-11-21T13:43:14Z")
Eliminate: Eratosthenes Hawking, Stephen Hipparchus Hutton, James Leavitt, Henrietta Swan Meitner, Lisa Noether, Emmy Pauli, Wolfgang Zhang Heng ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2017, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825/183 "2017-11-21T20:53:19Z")
How did I miss this game up to now?!?!? Anyway: EVICT Al-Biruni, Abu Rayhan Muhammad - natural philosophy Al-Khwarizmi, Muhammad ibn Musa - math, astronomy Berzelius, Jacob - chemistry Copernicus, Nicolas - astronomy Dalton, John - chemistry Davy, Sir Humphrey - chemistry Dirac, Paul - physics Doppler, Christian - physics KEEP Ben Franklin - love the guy! EVICT James Hutton ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2017, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825/184 "2017-11-21T22:24:59Z")
Goodbye to … Norman Borlaug Sir Humphrey Davy Christian Doppler Eratosthenes Stephen Hawking Henrietta Swan Leavitt Ada Lovelace Ernst Mach William Smith Keeping my Keep vote on Lise Meitner for the moment ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2017, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825/185 "2017-11-21T22:32:11Z")
**Eliminate** Lovelace, Ada Byron Zhang Heng Schrodinger, Erwin Galen, of Pergamon - biology, medicine Harvey, William Leeuwenhoek, Antonie van \*\* Keep \*\* Ben Franklin Nikola Tesla ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2017, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825/186 "2017-11-22T12:16:32Z")
Scientists with two or more active votes are: Lovelace, Ada Byron Countess of : 4 Davy, Humphrey : 3 Harvey, William : 3 Hipparchus of Nicaea : 3 Leavitt, Henrietta Swan : 3 Zhang Heng : 3 Borlaug, Norman : 2 Doppler, Christian : 2 Eratosthenes : 2 Galen, of Pergamon : 2 Hawking, Stephen : 2 Hutton, James : 2 McClintock, Barbara : 2 Noether, Emmy : 2 Smith, William : 2 Meitner, Lise : 3-2 = 0.99 Tesla, Nicolai : 1-1 = 0 Franklin, Benjamin : 1-4 = -3 With no change in the voting, the first six shown above will be Eliminated. ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2017, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825/187 "2017-11-22T13:27:03Z")
Eliminate: Al-Biruni Bardeen Bernard Hipparchus of Nicaea Leavitt Noether Poincare Zhang Heng Keep: Eratosthenes Leeuwenhoek (first of my nominations to get a vote to ax) ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2017, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825/188 "2017-11-22T14:33:09Z")
> [@Sternvogel](#): > > … Keep … Leeuwenhoek (first of my nominations to get a vote to ax) With six nominations, all submitted after the early flurry of easy nominations,\*\*\* this is impressive!\*\*\* I’m not doing so well. Eight of my twelve nominations(\*) are already gone or about to be gone. And with **Sternvogel** now voting Poincare, only one of my 12 has received zero votes. (I won’t name that 12th lest it jinx her/him.) \* — My nominations were of “dark horses” that might be overlooked. Still I stand by them and think most have as much merit as several still on the list. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2017, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825/189 "2017-11-22T19:14:07Z")
\*\*Elimination Round #7 is over. The next Vote-counting Elimination will be on Friday, Nov. 24 at 2 pm EST. Six scientists were eliminated this round: those shown in a preceding post. For the next round each player has ten votes total: eight Evict votes, one Keep vote, and a tenth vote which can be spent as either Evict or Keep.\*\* There are 71 scientists remaining on the list. **Official Scientists List:** Agassiz, Louis - biology, geology Al-Biruni, Abu Rayhan Muhammad - natural philosophy Al-Khwarizmi, Muhammad ibn Musa - math, astronomy Archimedes - math, physics Bardeen, John - physics, invention Bernard, Claude - physiology Berzelius, Jacob - chemistry Boas, Franz - anthropology Bohr, Niels - atomic physics Borlaug, Norman - agronomics Boyle, Robert - chemistry, physics Copernicus, Nicolas - astronomy Crick, Francis - Dna Curie, Marie - radioactivity Dalton, John - chemistry Darwin, Charles - biology Dirac, Paul - physics Doppler, Christian - physics Einstein, Albert - physics Eratosthenes - math, astronomy Euclid - math Euler, Leonhard - math Faraday, Michael - electromagnetism, etc. Fermat, Pierre de - math, optics Fermi, Enrico - atomic physics Feynman, Richard - physics Franklin, Benjamin - physics, etc. Franklin, Rosalind - chemistry, X-ray crystallography Galen, of Pergamon - biology, medicine Galileo - physics, astronomy, etc. Gauss, Karl - math, astronomy Gell-Mann, Murray - physics Hawking, Stephen - cosmology Heisenberg, Werner - quantum theory Hilleman, Maurice - biology, vaccination; saved more lives Hubble, Edwin - astronomy Hutton, James - geologist Huygens, Christiaan - optics, physics Jenner, Edward - vaccination Kepler, Johannes - astronomy, math Lavoisier, Antoine - chemistry Leakey, Louis - anthropology Leeuwenhoek, Antonie van - microbiology, microscopy Leibnitz, Gottfried - math, physics, etc. Linnaeus, Carolus - botany, taxonomy Mach, Ernst - physics, cosmology Maxwell, James Clerk - physics McClintock, Barbara - genetics Meitner, Lise - atomic physics Mendel, Gregor - genetics Mendeleev, Dmitri - chemistry Michelson, Albert - astronomy; speed of light Neumann, John von - computer science, etc. Newton, Sir Isaac - math, physics Noether, Emmy - math Pasteur, Louis - chemistry, biology Pauli, Wolfgang - quantum physics Pauling, Linus - chemistry Planck, Max - quantum physics Poincare, Henri - math Ptolemy - astronomy Rutherford, Ernest - nuclear physics, atomic theory, radioactivity. Salk, Jonas - medicine, vaccination Schrodinger, Erwin - wave mechanics Smith, William - geology Tesla, Nicolai - physics, invention Turing, Alan - computer science, etc. Vesalius, Andreas - founder of anatomical sciences Volta, Alessandro - chemistry, physics Watson, James - Dna Wegener, Alfred - meteorology, continental drift Eliminated: [del]Alhazen Ibn al-Haytham - physics, etc.[/del] 11/15 [del]Anning, Mary - paleontology[/del] 11/15 [del]Aristotle - philosophy, geology, biology, etc.[/del] 11/17 [del]Arrow, Kenneth - economics[/del] 11/11 [del]Babbage, Charles - computer science[/del] 11/20 [del]Bacon, Francis - philosophy[/del] 11/17 [del]Boltzmann, Ludwig - thermodynamics[/del] 11/20 [del]Brahmagupta - math, astronomy[/del] 11/20 [del]Braun, Wernher von - rocket science[/del] 11/13 [del]Bruno, Giordano - philosophy[/del] 11/15 [del]Cannon, Annie Jump - astronomy[/del] 11/20 [del]Davy, Sir Humphrey - chemistry[/del] 11/22 [del]Edison, Thomas Alva - invention[/del] 11/09 [del]Fleming, Sir Alexander - medicine, biology[/del] 11/20 [del]Freud, Sigmund - psychology[/del] 11/09 [del]Friedman, Milton - economics[/del] 11/09 [del]Ge Hong - philosophy, alchemy[/del] 11/09 [del]Goddard, Robert - rocket science[/del] 11/13 [del]Godel, Kurt - math[/del] 11/17 [del]Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von - natural philosophy[/del] 11/13 [del]Goodall, Jane - primatology[/del] 11/15 [del]Gutenberg, Johannes - invention[/del] 11/11 [del]Haber, Fritz - chemistry; invention (fertilizer, gas warfare)[/del] 11/15 [del]Halley, Edmond - astronomy, etc.[/del] 11/13 [del]Hamilton, William - astronomy, optics, math[/del] 11/15 [del]Harvey, William - anatomy, blood[/del] 11/22 [del]Hipparchus, of Nicaea - astronomy, etc.[/del] 11/22 [del]Hippocrates, of Cos - medicine[/del] 11/20 [del]Hopper, Grace - computer science[/del] 11/15 [del]Ibn al-Nafis - anatomy, blood[/del] 11/15 [del]Jung, Carl - psychology[/del] 11/11 [del]Keynes, John Maynard - economics[/del] 11/13 [del]Lamarr, Hedy - invention[/del] 11/11 [del]Leavitt, Henrietta Swan - astronomy[/del] 11/22 [del]Leonardo da Vinci - anatomy, invention, etc.[/del] 11/15 [del]Liebig, Justus von - organic chemistry; a great practical scientist.[/del] 11/17 [del]Lister, Joseph - antiseptics[/del] 11/17 [del]Lovelace, Ada Byron Countess of - computer science[/del] 11/22 [del]Lyell, Charles - geology[/del] 11/20 [del]Marconi, Guglielmo - radio transmission[/del] 11/15 [del]Marsh, Othneil = paleontology[/del] 11/17 [del]Mead, Margaret - anthropology[/del] 11/20 [del]Morley, Edward - astronomy, chemistry, optics, and physics.[/del] 11/17 [del]Mullis, Kary - biology[/del] 11/17 [del]Nisibis, St. Jacob of - theology, founded early school[/del] 11/09 [del]Ockham, William of - philosophy[/del] 11/11 [del]Oppenheimer, Robert - atomic physics[/del] 11/20 [del]Patterson. Clair - geochemistry[/del] 11/15 [del]Pythagoras - math[/del] 11/17 [del]Ricardo, David - economics[/del] 11/11 [del]Rubin, Vera - astronomy[/del] 11/15 [del]Russell, Bertrand - math[/del] 11/17 [del]Sagan, Carl - astronomy[/del] 11/09 [del]Sakharov, Andrei - nuclear physics[/del] 11/13 [del]Samuelson, Paul - economics[/del] 11/11 [del]Semmelweis, Ignaz - antiseptics[/del] 11/17 [del]Shannon, Claude - computer science[/del] 11/20 [del]Smith, Adam - economics[/del] 11/11 [del]Thales, of Miletus - math[/del] 11/20 [del]Thorne, Kip - physics[/del] 11/20 [del]Tyson, Neil deGrasse - astrophysics, science popularizer[/del] 11/09 [del]Ventner, Craig - genetics[/del] 11/15 [del]Virchow, Rudolf - medicine, cell doctrine, etc.[/del] 11/13 [del]Wigner, Eugene - physics, symmetry[/del] 11/17 [del]Zhang Heng - astronomy, mechanics[/del] 11/22 ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2017, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825/190 "2017-11-23T02:06:57Z")
Keep: Newton, Isaac Evict: Al-Biruni, Abu Rayhan Muhammad - natural philosophy Berzelius, Jacob - chemistry Boas, Franz - anthropology Borlaug, Norman - agronomics Eratosthenes - math, astronomy Gell-Mann, Murray - physics Hawking, Stephen - cosmology McClintock, Barbara - genetics Smith, William - geology ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2017, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825/191 "2017-11-23T11:17:16Z")
ELIMINATE: Crick, Francis Eratosthenes Galen, of Pergamon Jenner, Edward McClintock, Barbara Pauling, Linus Tesla, Nicolai Watson, James Save: Franklin, Rosalind Meitner, Lise ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2017, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825/192 "2017-11-23T11:42:19Z")
Evict John Bardeen Norman Borlaug Christian Doppler Stephen Hawking Maurice Hilleman Louis Leakey Ernst Mach William Smith Andreas Vesalius Keep: Al-Biruni now seems to be the most deserving of the possibly-endangered. I’m impressed at the wide variety of things he was into, and though in some ways he seems like an Islamic Golden Age version of Da Vinci (who’s already gone), was clearly a lot more science-heavy, and less artsy. It is possible that this may be the last vote of mine for the next week and a half, since I’m about to get on a bike and trek through the Great Wi-Fi-Less Wilderness … I may pop up briefly from time to time to throw Keep votes in the way of those I consider deserving if I get the chance. Happy Eliminating! ---
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2017, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825/193 "2017-11-23T12:03:53Z")
I don’t know enough to contribute to this thread, but interesting to see Tesla getting elimination votes already when he occupied the number one spot in this list of greatest scientists of all time: [Top 10 Greatest Scientists Who Changed The World](https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/top-10-greatest-scientists-who-changed-world-marko-jovanovi%C4%87-m-d-/) ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2017, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825/194 "2017-11-23T21:03:40Z")
Here are the scientists with two more active votes at present: Borlaug, Norman : 3 McClintock, Barbara : 3 Smith, William : 3 Bardeen, John : 2 Berzelius, Jacob : 2 Doppler, Christian : 2 Galen, of Pergamon : 2 Hawking, Stephen : 2 Hutton, James : 2 Al-Biruni, Abu Rayhan Muhammad : 3-1 = 1.99 Eratosthenes : 2-1 = 0.99 Leeuwenhoek, Antonie van : 1-1 = 0 Meitner, Lise : 1-1 = 0 Tesla, Nicolai : 1-1 = 0 Franklin, Benjamin : 1-4 = -3 > [@Aspidistra](#): > > It is possible that this may be the last vote of mine for the next week and a half, since I’m about to get on a bike and trek through the Great Wi-Fi-Less Wilderness … I may pop up briefly from time to time to throw Keep votes in the way of those I consider deserving if I get the chance. > > Happy Eliminating! Have fun! If you wish you may PM me (or post here) a _prioritized_ list of dozens of votes. I will cross out those already eliminated and, each round, take your complement of votes from the top of your list. ---
**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2017, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825/195 "2017-11-23T21:30:00Z")
Keep: Faraday, Michael Maxwell, James Clerk Evict: Doppler, Christian Leakey, Louis Mendel, Gregor Michelson, Albert Noether, Emmy Schrodinger, Erwin Tesla, Nicolai Wegener, Alfred ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2017, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825/196 "2017-11-23T23:58:11Z")
> [@amarone](#): > > I don’t know enough to contribute to this thread, but interesting to see Tesla getting elimination votes already when he occupied the number one spot in this list of greatest scientists of all time: [Top 10 Greatest Scientists Who Changed The World](https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/top-10-greatest-scientists-who-changed-world-marko-jovanovi%C4%87-m-d-/) I know it’s not your list, but Tesla was never the number #1 scientist of each of his decades, much less of all time. ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2017, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825/197 "2017-11-24T00:16:53Z")
Eliminate: Al-Biruni Bardeen Bernard Dirac McClintock Meitner Noether Poincare Keep: Leakey Leeuwenhoek It’s getting like the NCAA basketball tournament – having to eliminate hopefuls who arguably deserve “bids”, but are running into the imperative to weed out the borderline cases. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2017, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825/198 "2017-11-24T03:24:56Z")
McClintock, Borlaug, Doppler, and William Smith are probably goners this round. There are ten other names that would be eliminated with only one more vote: Top mathematical physicists. (Bardeen may seem out of place. He did invent the transistor; so there’s that.) Bardeen, John Dirac, Paul Eratosthenes Hawking, Stephen Noether, Emmy Schrodinger, Erwin Very influential polymaths Al-Biruni, Abu Rayhan Muhammad Galen, of Pergamon One of the “four founders of modern Chemistry.” (the other three are still on the list.) Berzelius, Jacob Founder of modern geology Hutton, James Looking over these names, _great scientists every one_, I do _not_ envy those of you who must vote. **It will be brutal to prune our list down to the Top 36.** ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2017, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825/199 "2017-11-24T04:20:47Z")
Meh, keep Borlaug, Norman Meh, keep Al-Biruni Eliminate: Stephen Hawking Tesla, Nicolai Dirac, Paul Fermat, Pierre de Gell-Mann, Murray Leeuwenhoek, Antonie van, for keeping his techniques secret. Barbara McClintock Meitner, Lise ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2017, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825/200 "2017-11-24T04:32:17Z")
I say the top 10 better be in the top 36. So who are the top 10? (((Crap, Aristotle bit the dust.))) (((Copernicus and/or Galileo))) (((Darwin))) (((Einstein))) (((Newton))) (((Gauss??))) (((1 Quantum Mechanic: Heisenberg??))) (((Niels Bohr for leadership??))) That’s 8 or 9. Or 7. Are there any other must-haves? Are any of them clearly Not Great Enough? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825.md?page=11)