# 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:** 8
**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 13, 2017, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825/141 "2017-11-13T00:09:56Z")
> [@SCAdian](#): > > Off with their heads: > > Keynes > ibn al-Nafis > da Vinci > Hopper > Bacon > Anning > Alhazen > Halley > Sakharov > > Two votes reserved. Keynes ibn al-Nafis da Vinci Hopper Bacon Anning Alhazen Halley Sakharov Goethe Virchow ---
**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 13, 2017, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825/142 "2017-11-13T11:59:43Z")
Ah. If we get eleven votes, then add **Harvey, William** (yes, I know I nominated him but I’d rather give the credit to Ibn al-Nafis) **Goddard, Robert** to the Eliminate list. > [@Gyrate](#): > > 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:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2017, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825/143 "2017-11-13T13:22:24Z")
Eliminations: Anning, Mary Bruno, Giordano Goethe, Johann Wolfgang Von Hamilton, William Keynes, John Maynard Leavitt, Henrietta Swan Noether, Emmy Patterson, Clair Rubin, Vera Virchow, Rudolf Wigner, Eugene If I still have a bonus vote, I’ll use it to keep Leonardo da Vinci around for a few more days. ---
**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 13, 2017, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825/144 "2017-11-13T17:51:54Z")
There have been many interesting comments; and I’ve learned of a dozen great scientists I’d never heard of. Thank you. For example: > [@jtur88](#): > > I’m going to add Marconi. He was on a very short list of thinkers who used a physical property that was not intuitively visible to common men, and apply it to practical use. > > And Benjamin Franklin. Just because he did other things does not detract from his being a brilliant theoretical scientist. Wikipedia itemizes eleven different scientific principles to which Franklin contributed. > [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > I think a lot of this will come down to criteria. Is science that has a lot of applications better? Is revolutionary better than incremental improvement? Depth vs breadth of contributions? > > Interesting thread. _ **Yes; I do hope for more discussion.** _ I was intrigued by the comments about Kip Thorne and several others. I want to make my own comment, to ask about our Armistice Day Massacre, when all the economists were shoved off the Island on or about Eleventh of November. Contrast the quick elimination of all economists with the continued presence of practitioners of immunology or antiseptics. Is this intended to reward the health helpers for saving millions of lives? while the economists, however smart, have mostly failed, unable to outguess or influence Mother Nature, the Idiotocracies and Kleptocrats? But if human benefit is the measure, I think Keynes and Friedman each espoused theories that increased production by billions or even trillions of dollars! (True, others could have written the textbooks. But vaccinators weren’t irreplaceable either.) _ **And what did post-Newton astronomers ever do for us?** _ Even if you call the economists useless … so are astronomers, really. The astronomers observe the stars — that makes them scientists. But economists observe human and social decision making and economics data — a domain even more complicated than astronomy. Yet the astronomers and vaccinators are both still in the pool, while the economists are all gone. SAD. 😛 ?? :eek: ETA: Yes, eventually the astronomers and quantum physicists may eventually discover interstellar travel. But perhaps it will be the economists who invent Selden’s psychohistory and save the Galactic Empire !! 🙂 ---
**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 13, 2017, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825/145 "2017-11-13T18:47:29Z")
**Elimination Round #3 is over.** There _will_ be a Vote counting **Elimination on Wednesday, Nov. 15 at 2 pm EST** , and another Friday, also about 2 pm. To encourage frequent voting, and speed the game’s pace, the Mod _may_ also do vote count eliminations at about 2 pm on Tuesday or Thursday as well. **For the next round(s) each player has eleven votes, up to two of which may be spent as Keeps.** Here are some of the Round #3 vote totals. The first seven names are eliminated. [INDENT]Eliminated: Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von : 6 Keynes, John Maynard : 5 Braun, Werner von : 3 Goddard, Robert : 3 Halley, Edmund : 3 Sakharov, Andrei : 3 Virchow, Rudolf : 3 Others with 2+ votes: Alhazen Ibn al-Haytham : 2 Bruno, Giordano : 2 Ibn al-Nafis : 2 Marconi, Guglielmo : 2 Patterson, Clair : 2 Hopper, Grace : 3-1 = 2 Leonardo da Vinci : 3-1 = 2 Anning, Mary : 2-1 = 1 Aristotle : 2-1 = 1 Franklin, Benjamin : 1-1 = 0 [/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 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 Godel, Kurt - math Goodall, Jane - primatology Haber, Fritz - chemistry; invention (fertilizer, gas warfare) 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 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. 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 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]Braun, Wernher von - rocket science[/del] 11/13 [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]Goddard, Robert - rocket science[/del] 11/13 [del]Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von - natural philosophy[/del] 11/13 [del]Gutenberg, Johannes - invention[/del] 11/11 [del]Halley, Edmond - astronomy, etc.[/del] 11/13 [del]Jung, Carl - psychology[/del] 11/11 [del]Keynes, John Maynard - economics[/del] 11/13 [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]Sakharov, Andrei - nuclear physics[/del] 11/13 [del]Samuelson, Paul - economics[/del] 11/11 [del]Smith, Adam - economics[/del] 11/11 [del]Tyson, Neil deGrasse - astrophysics, science popularizer[/del] 11/09 [del]Virchow, Rudolf - medicine, cell doctrine, etc.[/del] 11/13 ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2017, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825/146 "2017-11-14T19:29:48Z")
Eliminations: Alhazen Ibn al-Haytham Anning, Mary Bernard, Claude Bruno, Giordano Hamilton, William Leavitt, Henrietta Swan Noether, Emmy Patterson, Clair Rubin, Vera Wigner, Eugene Keep: Leonardo da Vinci ---
**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 14, 2017, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825/147 "2017-11-14T19:58:33Z")
I voted against economists not because they’re not great, but because they’re not scientists. Or to be more precise, there are some parts of economics which are mathematical, but they don’t apply to the real world, only to some very vague approximation to the real world, populated by rational actors. ---
**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 15, 2017, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825/148 "2017-11-15T11:23:06Z")
ELIMINATE: Aristotle Babbage, Charles Galen, of Pergamon Haber, Fritz Harvey, William Lister, Joseph Lovelace, Ada Byron Countess of Marconi, Guglielmo Patterson, Clair Russell, Bertrand Ventner, Craig ---
**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 15, 2017, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825/149 "2017-11-15T13:10:57Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I voted against economists not because they’re not great, but because they’re not scientists. Or to be more precise, there are some parts of economics which are mathematical, but they don’t apply to the real world, only to some very vague approximation to the real world, populated by rational actors. All science applies to approximations of the real world. ---
**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 15, 2017, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825/150 "2017-11-15T13:17:29Z")
Anning, Mary Aristotle Ventner, Craig Marconi, Guglielmo Leonardo da Vinci Haber, Fritz Hopper, Grace - computer science ---
**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 15, 2017, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825/151 "2017-11-15T14:24:08Z")
Well, yes, all science involves approximations, but usually the approximation is at least close enough to be recognizable. ---
**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 15, 2017, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825/152 "2017-11-15T14:47:52Z")
Eliminate: Bruno, Giordano Franklin, Benjamin Goodall, Jane Haber, Fritz Hamilton, William Hawking, Stephen Liebig, Justus van Rubin, Vera Shannon, Claude Thorne, Kip Zhang Heng ---
**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 15, 2017, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825/153 "2017-11-15T15:13:12Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > Anning, Mary > Aristotle > Ventner, Craig > Marconi, Guglielmo > Leonardo da Vinci > Haber, Fritz > Hopper, Grace - computer science You’re allowed 11 votes altogether. I show you with an old (leftover) vote on B. Franklin. I’ll keep that vote on unless you tell me otherwise. ---
**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 15, 2017, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825/154 "2017-11-15T15:23:21Z")
Scientists with two or more active votes are: Marconi, Guglielmo : 4 Alhazen Ibn al-Haytham : 3 Anning, Mary : 3 Bruno, Giordano : 3 Haber, Fritz : 3 Hopper, Grace : 4-1 = 2.99 Leonardo da Vinci : 4-1 = 2.99 Hamilton, William : 2 Patterson, Clair : 2 Rubin, Vera : 2 Goodall, Jane : 2 Ibn al-Nafis : 2 Ventner, Craig : 2 Aristotle : 3-1 = 1.99 Franklin, Benjamin : 2-1 = 0.99 As you can see, I’m counting the Keep votes as canceling 1.01 Evict votes. To speed the game, I’m thinking of eliminating those with 2 votes this round (but not Aristotle at 3-1 = 1.99). ---
**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 15, 2017, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825/155 "2017-11-15T18:51:51Z")
\*\*Elimination Round #4 is over. There will be a Vote counting Elimination on Friday, Nov. 17 at 2 pm EST. For the next round(s) each player has eleven votes, up to two of which may be spent as Keeps.\*\* I showed the current vote counts in the previous post. 13 scientists are eliminated now: Alhazen Ibn al-Haytham Anning, Mary Bruno, Giordano Goodall, Jane Haber, Fritz Hamilton, William Hopper, Grace Ibn al-Nafis Leonardo da Vinci Marconi, Guglielmo Patterson, Clair Rubin, Vera Ventner, Craig There are still 101 scientists left. **Official Scientists List:** Agassiz, Louis - biology, geology Al-Biruni, Abu Rayhan Muhammad - natural philosophy Al-Khwarizmi, Muhammad ibn Musa - math, astronomy 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 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 Godel, Kurt - 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 Hubble, Edwin - astronomy Hutton, James - geologist Huygens, Christiaan - optics, physics Jenner, Edward - vaccination Kepler, Johannes - astronomy, math Lavoisier, Antoine - chemistry Leakey, Louis - anthropology Leavitt, Henrietta Swan - astronomy Leeuwenhoek, Antonie van - microbiology, microscopy Leibnitz, Gottfried - math, physics, 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 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 Pauli, Wolfgang - quantum physics Pauling, Linus - chemistry Planck, Max - quantum physics Poincare, Henri - math Ptolemy - astronomy Pythagoras - math Russell, Bertrand - math Rutherford, Ernest - nuclear physics, atomic theory, radioactivity. 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. Vesalius, Andreas - founder of anatomical sciences Volta, Alessandro - chemistry, physics Watson, James - Dna Wegener, Alfred - meteorology, continental drift Wigner, Eugene - physics, symmetry Zhang Heng - astronomy, mechanics [del]Alhazen Ibn al-Haytham - physics, etc.[/del] 11/15 [del]Anning, Mary - paleontology[/del] 11/15 [del]Arrow, Kenneth - economics[/del] 11/11 [del]Braun, Wernher von - rocket science[/del] 11/13 [del]Bruno, Giordano - philosophy[/del] 11/15 [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]Goddard, Robert - rocket science[/del] 11/13 [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]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]Leonardo da Vinci - anatomy, invention, etc.[/del] 11/15 [del]Marconi, Guglielmo - radio transmission[/del] 11/15 [del]Nisibis, St. Jacob of - theology, founded early school[/del] 11/09 [del]Ockham, William of - philosophy[/del] 11/11 [del]Patterson. Clair - geochemistry[/del] 11/15 [del]Ricardo, David - economics[/del] 11/11 [del]Rubin, Vera - astronomy[/del] 11/15 [del]Sagan, Carl - astronomy[/del] 11/09 [del]Sakharov, Andrei - nuclear physics[/del] 11/13 [del]Samuelson, Paul - economics[/del] 11/11 [del]Smith, Adam - economics[/del] 11/11 [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 ---
**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 16, 2017, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825/156 "2017-11-16T08:39:00Z")
Today under the hammer… Justus von Liebig - scientific work mostly incremental Joseph Lister - just one main accomplishment - though it was a big one Charles Lyell - a lot of work as a populariser rather than purely practising scientist Ernst Mach - as Lister Othneil Marsh - if I ditched Mary Anning, I really have to can him too Margaret Mead - persistent claims of inaccuracy from multiple sources Edward Morley - not prolific outside of that one famous experiment Kary Mullis - supporter of AIDS denialists and climate change denialists Robert Oppenheimer - strip out his work as teacher, mentor and administrator, and his scientific accomplishments are still good - but not great enough Pythagoras - can’t tell how much of his work was really **his** work Ignaz Semmelweis - I give him credit as a magnificent obstinate bastard, but he didn’t know \*\*why \*\*he was right, only \*\*that \*\*he was. ---
**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 16, 2017, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825/157 "2017-11-16T09:55:27Z")
ELIMINATE: Aristotle Babbage, Charles Bacon, Francis Galen, of Pergamon Harvey, William Lister, Joseph Lovelace, Ada Byron Countess of Marsh, Othneil Mullis, Kary Pauling, Linus Russell, Bertrand ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2017, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825/158 "2017-11-16T22:02:37Z")
Eliminations: Bardeen, John Bernard, Claude Cannon, Annie Jump Hipparchus of Nicaea Leavitt, Henrietta Swan Marsh, Othneil Mullis, Kary Noether, Emmy Russell, Bertrand Semmelweis, Ignaz Wigner, Eugene ---
**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 16, 2017, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825/159 "2017-11-16T22:19:45Z")
Eliminate: Aristotle Brahmagupta Franklin, Benjamin Godel, Kurt Hawking, Stephen Liebig, Justus von Mullis, Katy Shannon, Claude Thorne, Kip Wigner, Eugene Zhang Heng ---
**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 17, 2017, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825/160 "2017-11-17T02:43:34Z")
Remove: Aristotle Russell, Bertrand Franklin, Benjamin Marsh, Othneil Pythagoras Keep: John Bardeen [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-scientists-ever-elimination-game/800825.md?page=9)