# Smart Poles **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 15, 2013, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-poles/647271 "2013-01-15T11:18:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Namkcalb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c89c15/32.png) [@Namkcalb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Namkcalb)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-poles/647271/1 "2013-01-15T11:18:09Z")
Let’s have a thread about all the smart pollacks who have added to this world. I’ll start. Marie Curie - A genius radiation researcher Copernicus - Helped us understand our position in the universe and he was a skilled economist to boot. ---
**Author:** ![DrumBum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e79b87/32.png) [@DrumBum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrumBum)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-poles/647271/2 "2013-01-15T12:42:33Z")
Dr. Mark Skalinski is a petrophysicist I work with. He is the quintessential absent minded professor - absolute genius at work but you have to assign a handler with him when he travels so he doesn’t get lost. He also does an awesome rendition of “Wild Thing” when we can coax him onstage. Probably not the answer you were looking but he is unquestionably smart, 100% Polish, and certainly adds to our world here in Luanda. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-poles/647271/3 "2013-01-15T13:38:49Z")
Composers and musicians Frederic Chopin and Ignaz Paderowski. Paderowski was also a diplomat and the Second Prime Minister of Poland (!) Take that, Beethoven! > **[Ignacy Jan Paderewski](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ignacy_Jan_Paderewski)** > > Ignacy Jan Paderewski (Polish: \[iɡˈnatsɨ ˈjan padɛˈrɛfskʲi\]; 18 November \[O.S. 6 November\] 1860 – 29 June 1941) was a Polish pianist, composer and politician who was a spokesman for Polish independence. In 1919, he was the nation's prime minister and foreign minister during which he signed the Treaty of Versailles, which ended World War I. > A favorite of concert audiences around the world, his musical fame opened access to diplomacy and the media, as possibly did his status as a freemason, and ... > **[Frédéric Chopin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fr%c3%a9d%c3%a9ric_Chopin)** > > Frédéric François Chopin\[n 1\] (born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin;\[n 2\]\[n 3\] 1 March 1810 – 17 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period, who wrote primarily for solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown as a leading musician of his era, one whose "poetic genius was based on a professional technique that was without equal in his generation". > Chopin was born in Żelazowa Wola in the Duchy of Warsaw and grew up in Warsaw, which in 1815 became part of Cong... Astronomer Johan Hevelius, whose real name was Jan Heweliusz. The father of Lunar Topography and the guy who literally wrote the book ( _Historiola della stella mira_) on the first-observed variable star, effectively naming it “Mira” > **[Johannes Hevelius](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannes_Hevelius)** > > Johannes Hevelius\[note 1\]\[note 2\] (in German also known as Hevel; Polish: Jan Heweliusz; (1611-01-28)28 January 1611 – 28 January 1687) was a councillor and mayor of Gdańsk (Danzig), in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. As an astronomer, he gained a reputation as "the founder of lunar topography", and described ten new constellations, seven of which are still used by astronomers. > According to the Polish Academy of Sciences (1975) the origin of the name goes back to the surname Hawke, a histo... ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-poles/647271/4 "2013-01-15T13:48:18Z")
[Joseph Conrad](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Conrad). ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-poles/647271/5 "2013-01-15T16:33:55Z")
there was this guy who sent a rocket to the sun at night so it wouldn’t burn up but i forget his name. Stanisław Ulam was a codeveloper of the H-Bomb. a group of mathematicians (included Marian Rejewski, Jerzy Różycki, Henryk Zygalski) cracked the 1932 version of the Enigma machine used by Germany. Jan Łukasiewicz developed Polish notation. ---
**Author:** ![Namkcalb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c89c15/32.png) [@Namkcalb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Namkcalb)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-poles/647271/6 "2013-01-15T22:16:54Z")
> [@Floater](#): > > [Joseph Conrad](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Conrad). He’s an inspiration to all English-as-a-second-language students everywhere. I didn’t peg him as Polish. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-poles/647271/7 "2013-01-15T22:50:49Z")
[Stanislaw Lem](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanislaw_Lem), highly-regarded science-fiction author and philosopher. [Lech Walesa](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lech_walesa): union organizer, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, former president of Poland. [Zbigniew Brzezinski](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zbigniew_Brzezinski): political scientist, former U.S. National Security Advisor. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-poles/647271/8 "2013-01-16T00:14:50Z")
If there was ever a topic that demanded a comprehensive leaflet be written about it, this is it. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-poles/647271/9 "2013-01-16T01:51:56Z")
Russian composers Igor Stravinsky and Dimitri Shostakovich were both of Polish ancestry. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-poles/647271/10 "2013-01-16T15:17:14Z")
My wife, who improves every life she comes in contact with. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2013, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-poles/647271/11 "2013-01-17T16:55:34Z")
Every time I read the title of this thread, I think of stripper poles with a built-in telephone and wi-fi, so the strippers can check their Facebook pages while going through the motions on stage. That is what a Smart Pole means to me…sort of an iPole? ---
**Author:** ![Number](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/number/32/242_2.png) [@Number](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Number)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2013, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-poles/647271/12 "2013-01-18T01:40:54Z")
I just posted about him a few weeks ago, but I think the name [Witold Pilecki](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witold_Pilecki) is well worth repeating. > [@](#): > > During World War II, he volunteered for a Polish resistance operation to get imprisoned at Auschwitz in order to gather intelligence and escape. While in the camp, Pilecki organized a resistance movement and as early as 1941, informed the Western Allies of Nazi Germany’s Auschwitz atrocities. He escaped from the camp in 1943 and took part in the Warsaw Uprising. Setting aside for a moment how much of a stone-cold badass thing it was to get _sent to Auschwitz on purpose_, he must have been incredibly clever to design the plan and pull it all off. Perhaps it doesn’t qualify as smart in the traditional academic sense, but it’s certainly an amazing set of accomplishments. ---
**Author:** ![leahcim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b4bc9f/32.png) [@leahcim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leahcim)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2013, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-poles/647271/13 "2013-01-18T02:51:18Z")
> [@DMark](#): > > Every time I read the title of this thread, I think of stripper poles with a built-in telephone and wi-fi, so the strippers can check their Facebook pages while going through the motions on stage. That is what a Smart Pole means to me…sort of an iPole? I recently encountered an extendable rod which was placed floor-to-ceiling and had a sign attached giving directions to the bathroom. It was literally branded “Smart Pole”. I personally know [Zbigniew Michalewicz](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zbigniew_Michalewicz) to be fairly clever (and also a douche). ---
**Author:** ![Namkcalb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c89c15/32.png) [@Namkcalb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Namkcalb)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2013, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-poles/647271/14 "2013-01-18T03:21:29Z")
> [@Number](#): > > Setting aside for a moment how much of a stone-cold badass thing it was to get _sent to Auschwitz on purpose_, he must have been incredibly clever to design the plan and pull it all off. Yes, never confuse insane bravery with stupidity. ---
**Author:** ![Rollo\_Tomasi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/58956e/32.png) [@Rollo\_Tomasi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rollo_Tomasi)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2013, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-poles/647271/15 "2013-01-18T03:43:00Z")
If you’ve never seen anything by the brilliant Polish filmmaker [Krzysztof Kieslowski](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krzysztof_Kie%C5%9Blowski), you’re missing out. ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2013, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-poles/647271/16 "2013-01-18T07:26:23Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > If there was ever a topic that demanded a comprehensive leaflet be written about it, this is it. As opposed to [Famous Jewish Sports Legends](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airplane!)? ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2013, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-poles/647271/17 "2013-01-18T14:36:37Z")
Another vote for Stanislaw Lem. I first read _The Star Diaries_ in high school and was very impressed. And even at the time, I realized that the translator had to be brilliant as well. However, he doesn’t seem to be Polish. (Anyone else think of the thread title as relating to some kind of geographic location? “Well, son, everyone knows about the North Pole and the South Pole. But there are many lesser-known poles, such as the East Pole, the West Pole, the Pole of Inaccessibility, the Cold Pole, the Smart Pole, and the Dumb Pole…”) ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2013, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-poles/647271/18 "2013-01-18T14:37:55Z")
[Marian Rejewski.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marian_Rejewski) This is going to rock your world. Despite his _several_ brilliant deductions about the German _Enigma_ code – from an initial intuition that the mysterious code groups must be produced by some sort of machine, to the development of a “bombe” computation machine to process solutions rapidly, one of the earliest computer-like devices, Rejewski’s biggest break into understanding and deciphering _Enigma_ was accomplished by pure mathematical reasoning, before he developed the bombe. [QUOTE=Wikipedia] “The solution”, writes historian David Kahn, “was Rejewski’s own stunning achievement, one that elevates him to the pantheon of the greatest cryptanalysts of all time”.[18] Rejewski used a mathematical theorem that one mathematics professor has since described as “the theorem that won World War II”.[19] [/QUOTE] Another author has called Rejeswki’s deduction one of the greatest practical feats of pure mathematics of all time. He worked on German ciphers and codes all through the war, in many ways. But as a young man, alone, in his head, he broke open the “unbreakable” _Enigma_ cipher using mathematical reasoning, and eventually laid the innermost secrets of Hitler’s empire on the desks of his archenemies. ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2013, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-poles/647271/19 "2013-01-18T14:38:27Z")
If we’re taking smart and talented, even if not internationally recognized, and include Polish-American (he speaks Polish, so I count him) I’ll throw in this (occasional) blogger: [http://www.idlewords.com/](http://www.idlewords.com/) I think Josef Conrad might envy his writing. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2013, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-poles/647271/20 "2013-01-18T14:56:01Z")
You know, if these guys would just spend as much time pondering more efficient methods of lightbulb replacement as they do inventing modern English literature and discovering rare atomic elements… [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-poles/647271.md?page=2)