# 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:** 7
**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 10, 2017, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825/121 "2017-11-10T01:52:13Z")
Via [Duckduckgo.com](http://Duckduckgo.com): Is economics a science? Raj Chetty (economist), NYT: [Yes](http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/21/opinion/yes-economics-is-a-science.html) Robert Shiller (economist), The Guardian: Yes [Is economics a science? | Robert Shiller | The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/business/economics-blog/2013/nov/06/is-economics-a-science-robert-shiller) My belief is that economics is somewhat more vulnerable than the physical sciences to models whose validity will never be clear, because the necessity for approximation is much stronger than in the physical sciences, especially given that the models describe people rather than magnetic resonances or fundamental particles. People can just change their minds and behave completely differently. They even have neuroses and identity problems, complex phenomena that the field of behavioral economics is finding relevant to understanding economic outcomes. But all the mathematics in economics is not, as Taleb suggests, charlatanism. Economics has an important quantitative side, which cannot be escaped. The challenge has been to combine its mathematical insights with the kinds of adjustments that are needed to make its models fit the economy’s irreducibly human element. Quora: [https://www.quora.com/Is-economics-a-science-If-not-what-is-it](https://www.quora.com/Is-economics-a-science-If-not-what-is-it) Matthew Might (U of Utah, Computer Science, Pharmaceutical Chemistry): Yes Economics makes falsifiable claims about the world, although it’s often difficult to find “natural experiments” where only one economic variable changes at a time. Sylvia Nasar, Economics Reporter, NYTimes: Sure. Michael Wernecke, Stanford Philosophy Major, emphasis added I think the easiest way to answer this question is not to attempt to define science (which is really really hard) and then show that economics fits that definition, but **to attempt to construct a definition of science that excludes only economics while keeping other sciences as ‘science’.** I think any such attempt will fail. No category: Time Magazine, quoted by Jared Bernstein: [Is Economics a Science? | HuffPost Impact](https://www.huffingtonpost.com/jared-bernstein/is-economics-a-science_b_3816471.html) “The trouble with economics is that it lacks the most important of science’s characteristics — a record of improvement in predictive range and accuracy.” ``` I think there's been some progress on the minimum wage issue. Also, recessions have tended to on average fall further apart, largely due to better central bank handling of the conventional business cycle (though financial crises are another category). ``` Harvard Crimson: Macroeconomics is not a science, microeconomics is another matter > **[No, Economics Is Not a Science | Opinion | The Harvard Crimson](https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2013/12/13/economics-science-wang/)** > > Human behavior can never be absolutely predicted or explained—not if we wish to believe in free will, at any rate. 1. “But what is the building block of economics? People. Economics does not study any unit smaller than a collection of people. And human behavior can never be absolutely predicted or explained—not if we wish to believe in free will, at any rate.” Me: Ok, so medicine is not a science either, as the building block is people. Also any study involving random processes isn’t science, because they can’t be predicted (though they can be forecasted, just as human behavior can and is forecasted). 2. Economists can’t experiment Me: Actually there is a small part of the field that is experimental. But the critique is inane regardless: astronomy and meterology are observational sciences as well. ---
**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 10, 2017, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825/122 "2017-11-10T02:06:52Z")
Keep Aristotle. He was the first guy to systematically collect knowledge, which is foundational to science. Admittedly, his followers treated him as an authority for 1000+ years though, which is antithetical to science. Mixed bag, but I think he certainly belongs in top 36. Keep Arrow. Eliminate: Gutenberg, Johannes , though he was _very_ influential 😃 Jung, Carl. Haven’t seen much evidence for a collective unconsious recently. Which is not to say it doesn’t exist in a memetic sense. I’m just saying Jung worked with non-systematic evidence. Adam Smith - ok, let’s drop an economist Hedy Lamarr 2 keeps, 4 eliminates. ---
**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 10, 2017, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825/123 "2017-11-10T02:34:58Z")
Jumping ahead, is this approximately where we want to end up? (((Newton))) (((Aristotle))) (((Copernicus/Galileo))): Choose 1. (((Einstein))) (((1 or 2 Quantum Mechanics))) (((Darwin))) (((Crick or Watson))), DNA (((Karl Gauss))) (((Hippocrates))) ---
**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 10, 2017, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825/124 "2017-11-10T08:27:32Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Evicted already: – Tyson, Neil deGrasse - astrophysics, science popularizer > Evicted already: – Edison, Thomas Alva - invention > Evicted already: – Friedman, Milton - economics Thanks for showing up, **JohnT**. 🙂 As I’ve indicated (#109 above), three of these were already evicted in Round #1. You can reuse these three votes. Please note that these early evictees had overwhelming support for eviction. Tyson got 7 votes. The vote threshold for eviction was conservative: Hedy Lamarr, with only 3 votes, was NOT evicted. > [@JohnT](#): > > I would propose making a schedule, announcing it, and then keeping to it. Like the third post here: [The 100 Most Influential People - Try the Third - The Game Room - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=559639) > > Also, can’t change things once the game has started. Keep things as they are, no more rule changes, additions/deletions, and just let it play out. Otherwise, what’s the point other than getting some vague predetermined outcome? Good advice. Your game had voting in different categories and still took 23 rounds. There’s been no enthusiasm to subdivide ours into categories, so it may take us 35 rounds even after we’re down to the Final Thirty-Six! Plus the rounds needed to prune from 136 to 36. Rather than every three days, we’re going to skip weekends so the choices are two eliminations per week, or three eliminations per week. We’ll start with eliminations on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, all at 2pm EST. While we’re pruning our giant initial list, I’ll speed the tempo a little by also making cuts on Tuesday or Thursday, when voting sentiment is strong, as I did yesterday. Once we’re down to the Final 36 there will be no such unscheduled cuts. Adjusting the number of votes per round should not, I think, take us toward or away from any “predetermined outcome.” The sole reason to vary this number is to keep the game fun, and _ **find a suitable pace for the game.** _ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ I have not double-checked but these appear to be the scientists who have two or more current votes (whether Evict or Keep): Lamarr, Hedy: 5 Ricardo, David: 5 Smith, Adam: 5 Arrow, Kenneth: 6-1 = 5 Samuelson, Paul: 4 Gutenberg, Johannes: 4 Ockham, William of: 3 Anning, Mary: 2 Cannon, Annie Jump: 2 Keynes, John Maynard: 2 Aristotle: 2-1 = 1 Thorne, Kip: 1-1 = 0 Franklin, Benjamin 1-2 = -1 If there are no changes in the next ten and half hours, the first six names in this list will be eliminated. (Sincere sympathy for **Mr. Measure** , who may be disappointed that economic science is being dismissed so easily.) ---
**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 10, 2017, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825/125 "2017-11-10T10:21:45Z")
I would like to make a change to my vote then. In order to satisfy my prejudice in favour of pioneers in their field, I will refrain from booting Alexander Fleming for the moment in order to put in a **Keep** vote for **Adam Smith** ---
**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 10, 2017, 10:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825/126 "2017-11-10T10:27:05Z")
My previous list has been reduced by elimination, so here’s the updated list: ELIMINATE: Aristotle Galen, of Pergamon Gutenberg, Johannes Halley, Edmund Lister, Joseph Lovelace, Ada Byron Countess of Ockham, William of Smith, Adam KEEP: Anning, Mary ---
**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 10, 2017, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825/127 "2017-11-10T13:25:56Z")
My latest (still not double-checked) count shows seven scientists with 4 votes, ready to be eliminated. Lamarr, Hedy: 5 Ricardo, David: 5 Smith, Adam: 6-1 = 5 Gutenberg, Johannes: 4 Ockham, William of: 4 Samuelson, Paul: 4 Arrow, Kenneth : 5-1 = 4 Jung, Karl : 3 Cannon, Annie Jump: 2 Keynes, John Maynard: 2 Wigner, Eugene : 2 Aristotle : 3-1 = 2 Bardeen, Boltzmann, Borlaug, Braun, Bruno, Doppler, Galen, Goethe, Goodall, Haber, Halley, Hamilton, Harvey, Hilleman, Jenner, Lister, Lovelace, Meitner, Morley, Noether, Patterson : 1 eliminate vote each Anning, Mary: 2-1 = 1 Thorne, Kip: 1-1 = 0 Franklin, Benjamin 1-2 = -1 Jung is in the rung likely to be Hung. ---
**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 10, 2017, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825/128 "2017-11-10T13:47:29Z")
Eliminations: Arrow Braun Bruno Goethe Hopper Jung Meitner Ricardo Keep: Gutenberg ---
**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 10, 2017, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825/129 "2017-11-10T14:42:01Z")
Following may be the current votes. Please inform me of any errors or changes. The following players have the maximum number of active votes (though, like every other player, may change them at any time. The votes at 2 pm EST today will be used for the next batch of eliminations.) [ul] [li] Aspidistra is voting: Anning, Arrow, Bardeen, Boltzmann, Borlaug, Bruan, Cannon, Doppler; Keep: Smith\_A[/li][li] Gyrate is voting: Aristotle, Galen, Gutenberg, Halley, Lister, Lovelace, Ockham, Smith\_A; Keep: Anning[/li][li] Pepperwinkle is voting: Arrow, Gutenberg, Haber, Jenner, Keynes, Lamarr, Ricardo, Samuelson, Smith\_A[/li][li] Quartz is voting: Arrow, Braun, Bruno, Goethe, Hopper, Jung, Meitner, Ricardo; Keep: Gutenberg[/li][/ul] The following player is eligible to place one more vote [ul] [li] Sternvogel is voting: Anning, Arrow, Bruno, Hamilton, Noether, Patterson, Ricardo, Samuelson, Wigner[/li][/ul] The following player is eligible to place two more votes [ul] [li] Snarky\_Kong is voting: Arrow, Gutenberg, Franklin\_B, Jung, Lamarr, Ockham, Smith\_A[/li][/ul] The following players are eligible to place three more votes [ul] [li] JohnT is voting: Goethe, Keynes, Lamarr, Ricardo, Samuelson, Smith\_A[/li][li] Measure for Measure is voting: Gutenberg, Jung, Smith\_A, Lamarr; Keep: Aristotle, Arrow[/li][li] penultima thule is voting: Arrow, Goodall, Ockham, Ricardo, Samuelson, Smith\_A[/li][/ul] The following player is eligible to place five more votes [ul] [li] What Exit? is voting: Aristotle, Jung, Lamarr; Keep: Franklin\_B[/li][/ul] The following player is eligible to place seven more votes [ul] [li] Chronos is voting: Aristotle; Keep: Thorne[/li][/ul] The following player is eligible to place eight more votes [ul] [li] kunilou is voting: Ockham[/li][/ul] Every other Doper is eligible to place nine votes! ---
**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 10, 2017, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825/130 "2017-11-10T14:58:03Z")
**Eliminate** : Gutenberg Jung, Karl Smith, Adam Arrow, Kenneth Keynes, John Maynard Samuelson, Paul Marconi, Guglielmo **Keep** : Hopper, Grace ---
**Author:** ![wevets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9a140/32.png) [@wevets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wevets)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2017, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825/131 "2017-11-10T17:27:42Z")
Vote to Eliminate: Euclid - math Godel, Kurt - math Gutenberg, Johannes - invention Jung, Carl - psychology Lamarr, Hedy - invention Leonardo da Vinci - anatomy, invention, etc. Ockham, William of - philosophy Pythagoras - math (trying to weed out some who are more inventors/mathematicians/logicians than scientists to my mind - acknowledging that it’s not a distinction everyone will agree with) Vote to Keep: Benjamin Franklin ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2017, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825/132 "2017-11-10T18:42:34Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > I disagree on Ada, what she did, did not lead to much progress at all. What Admiral Hopper and Alan Turing did changed the world in their lifetimes. > > Turing did so much to help defeat the Axis that I think he is a great choice. Admiral Hopper’s creation of the first human readable computer language made computers mainstream. Sorry for the interruption, but I disagree with the part about Ada Lovelace and would support Ada over Grace Hopper (I agree with **Chronos** on this in [#39](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=20586527&postcount=39)) – Hopper did some commendable work, but it was largely an incremental advance. Ada, with astonishing imagination, accurately foresaw a distant future. Nor did Hopper create “the first human readable computer language” or make computers mainstream. Symbolic assembly code was most certainly a “human readable computer language”, and operating systems as well as many large programs continued to be written in it long after the invention of languages like COBOL and FORTRAN. What Hopper did was develop the first _high-level_ language, but programming continued to be a trained specialty, and computers became mainstream not because any lay person could easily write programs (they couldn’t) but because of their increasing practical utility in science and business. ---
**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 10, 2017, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825/133 "2017-11-10T19:11:51Z")
**Elimination Round #2 is over.** \ ***Elimination Round #3 will end 72 hours from now, on Monday 2pm EST. \*\*\* \*\* For this Round, each player will be allowed eleven votes, two of which may be Keeps.** Here are some of the Round #2 vote totals. The first eight names are eliminated. **wolfpup** , please join us for Round #3. _[INDENT]Eliminated: Smith, Adam: 7-1 = 6 Arrow, Kenneth : 7-1 = 6 Ricardo, David: 5 Samuelson, Paul: 5 Lamarr, Hedy: 5 Jung, Karl : 5 Ockham, William of: 5 Gutenberg, Johannes: 6-1 = 5_ Holding on for now: Keynes, John Maynard: 3 Braun, Werner von : 2 Bruno, Giordano : 2 Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von : 2 Cannon, Annie Jump: 1 Wigner, Eugene : 1 Anning, Mary: 2-1 = 1 Aristotle : 2-1 = 1 Thorne, Kip: 0-1 = -1 Franklin, Benjamin 1-2 = -1 [/INDENT] **Official Scientists List:** 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. 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 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 Galen, of Pergamon - biology, medicine Galileo - physics, astronomy, etc. Gauss, Karl - math, astronomy Gell-Mann, Murray - physics Goddard, Robert - rocket science Godel, Kurt - math Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von - natural philosophy Goodall, Jane - primatology 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 Kepler, Johannes - astronomy, math Keynes, John Maynard - economics 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 Noether, Emmy - math 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 Rubin, Vera - astronomy Russell, Bertrand - math Rutherford, Ernest - nuclear physics, atomic theory, radioactivity. Sakharov, Andrei - nuclear physics Salk, Jonas - medicine, vaccination Schrodinger, Erwin - wave mechanics Semmelweis, Ignaz - antiseptics Shannon, Claude - computer science Smith, William - geology Tesla, Nicolai - physics, invention Thales, of Miletus - math Thorne, Kip - physics Turing, Alan - computer science, etc. 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 [del]Arrow, Kenneth - economics[/del] 11/11 [del]Edison, Thomas Alva - invention[/del] 11/09 [del]Freud, Sigmund - psychology[/del] 11/09 [del]Friedman, Milton - economics[/del] 11/09 [del]Ge Hong - philosophy, alchemy[/del] 11/09 [del]Gutenberg, Johannes - invention[/del] 11/11 [del]Jung, Carl - psychology[/del] 11/11 [del]Lamarr, Hedy - invention[/del] 11/11 [del]Nisibis, St. Jacob of - theology, founded early school[/del] 11/09 [del]Ockham, William of - philosophy[/del] 11/11 [del]Ricardo, David - economics[/del] 11/11 [del]Sagan, Carl - astronomy[/del] 11/09 [del]Samuelson, Paul - economics[/del] 11/11 [del]Smith, Adam - economics[/del] 11/11 [del]Tyson, Neil deGrasse - astrophysics, science popularizer[/del] 11/09 ---
**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 10, 2017, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825/134 "2017-11-10T19:14:38Z")
> [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#): > > I would accept it if economists are disallowed. The Board seems to have spoken. Condolences; and Thanks for your acceptance. :o ---
**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 10, 2017, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825/135 "2017-11-10T21:46:08Z")
I would have left Arrow for one more round, personally. Anyone who has a famous and non-intuitive theorem named after him is mathematician enough to stay. That said, though, I also don’t feel strongly enough about him that I would have tossed a keep vote at him, so it’s OK that I missed the deadline. My current votes: Aristotle Alhazen Ibn al-Haytham – While he came up with some reasonable ideas, they’ve mostly turned out to be wrong. Edmund Halley – He made some significant discoveries, but mostly by virtue of being in on the ground floor of Newton’s revolution. Edward Morley – His name is attached to a famous experiment by virtue of having at the time had one of the truly great physicists as his advisor. And while Michelson did many other great things without Morley, Morley never did much without Michelson. Ptolemy – Another one whose biggest contribution turned out to be wrong. Andrei Sakharov – Famous mostly for his political advocacy, not for his scientific accomplishments. I focused on mathematics and the physical sciences here, because that’s the field where I feel most qualified to make judgements. I know I have some more votes left, but I’d have to spend too much work to research them. ---
**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 11, 2017, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825/136 "2017-11-11T06:35:09Z")
Continuing my rampage through the alphabet from G… Robert Goddard - did important work, but more an engineer than a scientist Goethe - again, science is not a significant enough part of his significance. So to speak Maurice Hilleman - having your work be of great practical significance is not the same as being a great scientist Hippocrates - who knows how much of his work was actually his. Grace Hopper - same deal as Goddard Ibn al-Nafis - same deal as Goethe John Maynard Keynes - if the pioneer of economics is out, individual economists don’t escape… Leonardo da Vinci - not primarily a scientist Guglielmo Marconi - same deal as Goddard and Hopper ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2017, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825/137 "2017-11-12T02:36:51Z")
Off with their heads: Keynes ibn al-Nafis da Vinci Hopper Bacon Anning Alhazen Halley Sakharov Two votes reserved. ---
**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 12, 2017, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825/138 "2017-11-12T11:12:03Z")
Revised list replacing previous ones: ELIMINATE: Aristotle Braun, Werner von Galen, of Pergamon Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von Halley, Edmund Lister, Joseph Lovelace, Ada Byron Countess of Sakharov, Andrei KEEP: Anning, Mary ---
**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 12, 2017, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825/139 "2017-11-12T13:39:48Z")
**REMEMBER: Players get Eleven votes this Round** , not nine. Even eleven votes per player may not be enough to prune our over-long list rapidly. Scientists with two or more currently active votes are: Keynes, John Maynard : 5 Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von : 4 Halley, Edmund : 3 Leonardo da Vinci : 3 Sakharov , Andrei : 3 Alhazen Ibn al-Haytham : 2 Braun, Werner von : 2 Bruno, Giordano : 2 Ibn al-Nafis : 2 Marconi, Guglielmo : 2 Hopper, Grace : 3-1 = 2 Anning, Mary : 2-1 = 1 Aristotle : 2-1 = 1 Franklin, Benjamin : 1-1 = 0 ---
**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 12, 2017, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825/140 "2017-11-12T17:21:18Z")
Eliminate: Boriaug, Norman Braun, Wernher von Goddard, Robert Haber, Fritz Jenner, Edward Patterson, Clair Rutherford, Ernest Salk, Jonas Thorne, Kip Virchow, Rudolf Zhang Heng [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825.md?page=8)