# 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:** 5
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2017, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825/81 "2017-11-08T16:04:24Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > They were born in France, Germany and Poland. **Robert Koch** has to be the German medical researcher, right? Remember, it’s your nomination I am attempting to guess … not using up one of my nominations (which are gone anyhow 😃 ). For Poland – **Albert Sabin**? For our exercise, it would hard to prop Sabin up over Jonas Salk, though both men were obviously very important in the real world. ---
**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 8, 2017, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825/82 "2017-11-08T17:21:09Z")
My final nominations. The first three may merit special attention. Bernard, Claude - physiology Boas, Franz - anthropology Virchow, Rudolf - medicine, cell doctrine, etc. Boltzmann, Ludwig - thermodynamics Lyell, Charles - geology Al-Biruni, Abu Rayhan Muhammad - natural philosophy Hamilton, William - astronomy, optics, math ---
**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 8, 2017, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825/83 "2017-11-08T17:22:41Z")
Phase I is over. We have 136 nominations altogether. Names submitted from now on are no longer nominations. They are the opposite: Votes to Evict a scientist from Greatest Scientists Island. For example, if you post > [@](#): > > Crick > Curie > Dalton > Davy > Doppler > Edison > Franklin, Benjamin > Franklin, Rosalind > Smith, William You are voting that these do _ **not** _ belong. (We have two Franklins and two Smiths, so don’t be ambiguous!) You may change your votes any time up until the deadline, tentatively set for Friday, 2 pm EST. If one or two of your favorites are in danger of being evicted, you may change your OFF vote(s) to KEEP votes. _ **Here is the official list of 136 nominees for Greatest Scientists:** _ Agassiz, Louis - biology, geology Al-Biruni, Abu Rayhan Muhammad - natural philosophy Al-Khwarizmi, Muhammad ibn Musa - math, astronomy Alhazen Ibn al-Haytham - physics, etc. Anning, Mary - paleontology Archimedes - math, physics Aristotle - philosophy, geology, biology, etc. Arrow, Kenneth - economics Babbage, Charles - computer science Bacon, Francis - philosophy Bardeen, John - physics, invention Bernard, Claude - physiology Berzelius, Jacob - chemistry Boas, Franz - anthropology Bohr, Niels - atomic physics Boltzmann, Ludwig - thermodynamics Borlaug, Norman - agronomics Boyle, Robert - chemistry, physics Brahmagupta - math, astronomy Braun, Wernher von - rocket science Bruno, Giordano - philosophy Cannon, Annie Jump - astronomy Copernicus, Nicolas - astronomy Crick, Francis - Dna Curie, Marie - radioactivity Dalton, John - chemistry Darwin, Charles - biology Davy, Sir Humphrey - chemistry Dirac, Paul - physics Doppler, Christian - physics Edison, Thomas Alva - invention 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 Fleming, Sir Alexander - medicine, biology Franklin, Benjamin - physics, etc. Franklin, Rosalind - chemistry, X-ray crystallography Freud, Sigmund - psychology Friedman, Milton - economics Galen, of Pergamon - biology, medicine Galileo - physics, astronomy, etc. Gauss, Karl - math, astronomy Ge Hong - philosophy, alchemy Gell-Mann, Murray - physics Goddard, Robert - rocket science Godel, Kurt - math Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von - natural philosophy Goodall, Jane - primatology Gutenberg, Johannes - invention Haber, Fritz - chemistry; invention (fertilizer, gas warfare) Halley, Edmond - astronomy, etc. Hamilton, William - astronomy, optics, math Harvey, William - anatomy, blood Hawking, Stephen - cosmology Heisenberg, Werner - quantum theory Hilleman, Maurice - biology, vaccination; saved more lives Hipparchus, of Nicaea - astronomy, etc. Hippocrates, of Cos - medicine Hopper, Grace - computer science Hubble, Edwin - astronomy Hutton, James - geologist Huygens, Christiaan - optics, physics Ibn al-Nafis - anatomy, blood Jenner, Edward - vaccination Jung, Carl - psychology Kepler, Johannes - astronomy, math Keynes, John Maynard - economics Lamarr, Hedy - invention Lavoisier, Antoine - chemistry Leakey, Louis - anthropology Leavitt, Henrietta Swan - astronomy Leeuwenhoek, Antonie van - microbiology, microscopy Leibnitz, Gottfried - math, physics, etc. Leonardo da Vinci - anatomy, invention, etc. Liebig, Justus von - organic chemistry; a great practical scientist. Linnaeus, Carolus - botany, taxonomy Lister, Joseph - antiseptics Lovelace, Ada Byron Countess of - computer science Lyell, Charles - geology Mach, Ernst - physics, cosmology Marconi, Guglielmo - radio transmission Marsh, Othneil = paleontology Maxwell, James Clerk - physics McClintock, Barbara - genetics Mead, Margaret - anthropology Meitner, Lise - atomic physics Mendel, Gregor - genetics Mendeleev, Dmitri - chemistry Michelson, Albert - astronomy; speed of light Morley, Edward - astronomy, chemistry, optics, and physics. Mullis, Kary - biology Neumann, John von - computer science, etc. Newton, Sir Isaac - math, physics Nisibis, St. Jacob of - theology, founded early school Noether, Emmy - math Ockham, William of - philosophy Oppenheimer, Robert - atomic physics Pasteur, Louis - chemistry, biology Patterson. Clair - geochemistry Pauli, Wolfgang - quantum physics Pauling, Linus - chemistry Planck, Max - quantum physics Poincare, Henri - math Ptolemy - astronomy Pythagoras - math Ricardo, David - economics Rubin, Vera - astronomy Russell, Bertrand - math Rutherford, Ernest - nuclear physics, atomic theory, radioactivity. Sagan, Carl - astronomy Sakharov, Andrei - nuclear physics Salk, Jonas - medicine, vaccination Samuelson, Paul - economics Schrodinger, Erwin - wave mechanics Semmelweis, Ignaz - antiseptics Shannon, Claude - computer science Smith, Adam - economics Smith, William - geology Tesla, Nicolai - physics, invention Thales, of Miletus - math Thorne, Kip - physics Turing, Alan - computer science, etc. Tyson, Neil deGrasse - astrophysics, science popularizer Ventner, Craig - genetics Vesalius, Andreas - founder of anatomical sciences Virchow, Rudolf - medicine, cell doctrine, etc. Volta, Alessandro - chemistry, physics Watson, James - Dna Wegener, Alfred - meteorology, continental drift Wigner, Eugene - physics, symmetry Zhang Heng - astronomy, mechanics Happy Eliminations! ---
**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 8, 2017, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825/84 "2017-11-08T17:39:19Z")
How many elimination votes do we get? ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2017, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825/85 "2017-11-08T17:53:50Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > - Two important geologists: Alfred Wegener and \ > - Two important quantum physicists: **Max Plank** and **Erwin Schrodinger** > - Two physical scientists, one Russian, one Austrian: \*\*Dmitri Mendeleev \*\*and \ > - Four very influential thinkers associated with medicine or the study of humans: \*\*Carl Jung \*\*plus \, \, and \. OK, OK … who were the unguessed individuals in the small game? 🙂 Never mind … didn’t realize post #82 answered my question. ---
**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 8, 2017, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825/86 "2017-11-08T18:08:51Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > How many elimination votes do we get? _ **Nine.** _ (Except for the two lucky bonus winners who each get ten.) Up to two of your votes can be used as Keep instead of Off/Evict. (Your Keep will cancel another player’s Evict for the same scientist. I don’t expect any Keep votes until soon before deadline when a favorite is in danger.) You needn’t post all nine votes at once. Post four now, three later, … whatever. If you end up with ten or more votes and no explanation, I’ll go by your nine most recent voted names. (One ambiguity is whether you can cast multiple votes for a single scientist — one you want to eliminate quickly. If there’s no objection I think I’ll allow one double votes but it will cost a vote. IOW, you can cast nine single off votes … or six single off votes and one double vote )off or keep).) ETA: After the first elimination deadline (probably two days from now) your votes (for continuing contenders) will be considered valid for the next round until you explicitly cancel them. ---
**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 8, 2017, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825/87 "2017-11-08T18:17:48Z")
[ul] [li]Carl Sagan[/li][li]Thomas Edison[/li][li]Benjamin Franklin[/li][li]Milton Friedman[/li][li]Karl Jung[/li][li]Hedy Lamarr[/li][li]Neil deGrasse Tyson[/li][li]Craig Ventner[/li][li]St. Jacob of Nisibis[/li][/ul] ---
**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 8, 2017, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825/88 "2017-11-08T18:23:16Z")
Eliminations: Braun, Wernher von Freud, Sigmund Hawking, Stephen Keynes, John Maynard Lamarr, Hedy Ockham, William of Sagan, Carl Smith, Adam Tyson, Neil deGrasse ---
**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 8, 2017, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825/89 "2017-11-08T18:30:42Z")
EVICT: \*\*Edison, Thomas Alva Gutenberg, Johannes Lister, Joseph Lovelace, Ada Byron Countess of Nisibis, St. Jacob of Sagan, Carl Tyson, Neil deGrasse \*\* KEEP: **Franklin, Benjamin** - the man was insanely scientific. In addition to all his various inventions and work on electricity he mapped the freaking Gulf stream, did experiments on the effects of oil on water, promoted stair climbing as a form of beneficial exercise (in the 1750s!) and a bazillion other things. One more tbc ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2017, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825/90 "2017-11-08T18:58:43Z")
Elimination votes: Aristotle – Aside only from Plato, he probably did more to impede the progress of science than anyone else in history. Freud, Sigmund – Drug-induced bullshitting is not the same thing as science. Friedman, Milton – There are only trace amounts of science to be found in the field of economics, and Friedman didn’t contribute any of those traces. Ge Hong – …I’m not really sure why he’s on this list to begin with. What did he do? Nisibis, St. Jacob of – Theology is not a science. Maybe there was some good science later done at his school, but it wasn’t done by him. I’d like to get rid of all of the economists, but I’ll leave that for later, since I only have two elimination votes left (I want to hold onto my two save votes in case they’re needed). ---
**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 8, 2017, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825/91 "2017-11-08T19:10:46Z")
Sagan, Carl Edison, Thomas Friedman, Milton Jung, Karl Lamarr, Hedy Tyson, Neil deGrasse **St. Jacob of Nisibis** Freud, Sigmund Aristotle **Keep** Ben Franklin I have 1 keep left. I’ll use it later. ---
**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 8, 2017, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825/92 "2017-11-08T19:43:54Z")
\*I’m not allowed to vote but I do get to comment. 🙂 It’s exciting to watch the horse-race. Freud-Jung was 1-1 out of the stalls, but votes on Freud quickly piled up. The Popularizers Sagan and Tyson are quickly booed, as is … _ **Milton Friedman** _ :eek: highly respected prize-winning economist. You guys don’t want to keep him around as a bargaining chip? But Hedy Lamarr? ☹ Why the urge to evict a woman — there’s only 15 on the list if my count is correct. I wonder if some quasi-misogyny is at work here; not only did Ms. Lamarr invent spread spectrum radio, but she was called “the world’s most beautiful woman.”\* But something strikes me as I consider the inclusion of Ms. Lamarr. **Oliver Heaviside was a far more important radio engineer, and he’s not even on the List.** **What do Players think of this proposed ruling? :—** _If there’s a consensus among Lamarr Evictors that Mr. Heaviside should be added to the List in her stead, then, in the absence of dissent, I may do so._ Would such a ruling improve the game or destroy the whole idea? 😕 > [@Chronos](#): > > Elimination votes: > > Aristotle – Aside only from Plato, he probably did more to impede the progress of science than anyone else in history. > > Freud, Sigmund – Drug-induced bullshitting is not the same thing as science. > > Friedman, Milton – There are only trace amounts of science to be found in the field of economics, and Friedman didn’t contribute any of those traces. > > Ge Hong – …I’m not really sure why he’s on this list to begin with. What did he do? > > Nisibis, St. Jacob of – Theology is not a science. Maybe there was some good science later done at his school, but it wasn’t done by him. > > I’d like to get rid of all of the economists, but I’ll leave that for later, since I only have two elimination votes left (I want to hold onto my two save votes in case they’re needed). Ge Hong was **Quartz** ’s nomination. If we don’t get a defense from Mr. Quartz you can save your Ge Hong vote — I’ll do a Mod-kill. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2017, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825/93 "2017-11-08T19:49:16Z")
Ah, right, I missed Hedy Lamarr in my skim-through. Not to deny that she made scientific contributions, but she’s mostly “that actress who happened to do a little science”, not “that scientist who happened to do a little acting”. I think I’ll wait until Round 2 to vote against her, though, since all of my Round 1 picks, to my view, did no science at all, and a little is more than none. But if we want to replace her with Heaviside, I’d be OK with that, too. ---
**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 8, 2017, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825/94 "2017-11-08T19:49:50Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > But Hedy Lamarr? ☹ Why the urge to evict a woman — there’s only 15 on the list if my count is correct. I wonder if some quasi-misogyny is at work here; not only did Ms. Lamarr invent spread spectrum radio, but she was called “the world’s most beautiful woman.”\* Accusation of misogyny and then bringing up her looks? Humph. I must have skipped over Freud in my reading of the list. If you can add him to my list and drop Craig Ventner that’d be great. ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2017, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825/95 "2017-11-08T20:14:07Z")
Eliminations: Anning, Mary Arrow, Kenneth Bruno, Giordano Hamilton, William Nisibis, St. Jacob of Noether, Emmy Patterson, Clair Ricardo, David Wigner, Eugene Since I have one “bonus” vote left, I’ll save it for a “keep” if necessary. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2017, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825/96 "2017-11-08T20:15:57Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > But Hedy Lamarr? ☹ Why the urge to evict a woman — there’s only 15 on the list if my count is correct. I wonder if some quasi-misogyny is at work here; Science stands on its own merits. The sex of the scientist is not relevant. Speaking of which, Ge Hong is slight in comparison and does not deserve to stand with the others. And here’s my own kill list: 1 Cannon - who? 2 Freud - largely discredited 3 Harvey - who? 4 Hilleman - who? 5 Meitner - wrote THAT letter, but not in the same class as the others. 6 Morley - the lesser of the pair 7 Ricardo - who? 8 Thorne - who? 9 Tyson - an educator yes, but not in the same class as a discoverer as the others A Wigner - too many of that era included. ---
**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 8, 2017, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825/97 "2017-11-08T20:22:22Z")
Please don’t add Oliver Heaviside, we’ve started and it is wrong to make additions now especially as it was hardly a glaring oversight. Hedy just doesn’t really belong and that will be taken care of in the first round it appears. ---
**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 8, 2017, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825/98 "2017-11-08T20:34:24Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Please don’t add Oliver Heaviside, we’ve started and it is wrong to make additions now especially as it was hardly a glaring oversight. Fair enough. Are you OK with Mod Killing Ge Hong since even **Quartz** doesn’t defend him? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2017, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825/99 "2017-11-08T22:39:27Z")
OK, now that he’s gotten an eliminate vote, I’ll spend one of my two keep votes: Keep Kip Thorne Best as I can determine, he’s the most brilliant physicist currently alive. He’ll eventually get voted out in favor of some who are now dead, but he should make it past the first few rounds. ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2017, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825/100 "2017-11-08T23:03:57Z")
Thank you for invitation **Septimus** , RL complications prevented involvement in the nomination process, no matter OK, let’s start with the economists and other non-scientists 😉 Eliminations: Arrow, Kenneth Friedman, Milton Ge Hong Goodall, Jane St. Jacob of Nisibis, William of Ockham Ricardo, David Samuelson, Paul Smith, Adam [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825.md?page=6)