The 100 Most Influential People - Try the Third

The Game Room
461

Inventors. Ts’ai Lun
Leaders. Lenin
Philosophy. Karl Marx
Science. Charles Darwin

Only 1 change this time. Paper before the press? Yeah, because it was the invention of the printing press in Europe which gave them the ability to become the first civilization to spread (and administer) their empires on a global scale. It allowed for the storage, distribution, and multiplication of ideas on a scale never before seen, gave the means for future Revolutions and Reformations to occur and succeed, and a lot more than I’ll be able to go into in this little post.

462

Inventors. Ts’ai Lun
Leaders. Julius Caesar
Philosophy. Confucius
Science. Louis Pasteur

Aww, I missed the last round… stupid holiday. I was slightly dismayed to see Jesus booted before Paul, but flabbergasted to see Paul gone before Mohommed. I suspect the Dope’s famous anti-Christian bias is showing; Christianity has been more influential than Islam in almost every conceivable category and for seven centuries longer. Oh well, at least it makes my first vote in the finals easier.

463

Inventors. James Watt
Leaders. Augustus Caesar
Philosophy. Confucius
Science. Louis Pasteur

464

Inventors. Thomas Edison
Leaders. Sui Wen Ti
Philosophy. Karl Marx
Science. Euclid

It seems clear who’ll get #1 and #2 in science, but I have trouble picking among Galileo, Darwin and Pasteur for slots #3-#5. Fortunately I don’t have to pick: Euclid is still there for elimination.

Christianity is more influential, but what portion of that is due to Paul?
Egypt has been more influential than France over the long term, but Napoleon lingered till just now, while Menes is long gone.

What flabbergasts me is to see Sui Wen Ti still around, while the First Emperor, who built the Great Wall, is long gone.

465

Wouldn’t it be easier to bring Mohammed to the e-mail?

I think it was more the dilution effect. Jesus and Paul split the influence over Christianity while Mohammed had sole influence over Islam.

Inventor. James Watt
Leader. V.I. Lenin
Philosophy. Plato
Science. Charles Darwin

Another recycling.

466

Inventions. Johann Gutenberg
Leader. George Washington
Philosophy. Karl Marx
Science. Louis Pasteur

467

Inventors: Thomas Edison
Leaders: Augustus Caesar
Philosophy: Karl Marx
Science: Charles Darwin

468

Invention. James Watt
Leader. Julius Caesar
Philosophy. Confucius
Science. Louis Pasteur

Two new faces, as the religion section closes. Picking James Watt, who more or less helped kick off the Industrial revolution, but what the hey, someone has got to go. And picking on poor Louis Pasteur who liked to boil things.

469

Invention. James Watt
Leaders. Genghis Khan
Philosophy. Karl Marx
Science. Louis Pasteur

470

If only I had known, I would have shown up years ago. But the Dope’s anti-Shakespeare bias is really putting me off my tea.

471

Let’s draw him celebrating his vic- gets shot

472

Last day for round 17!

473

Inventors. Ts’ai Lun
Leaders. Genghis Khan
Philosophy. Plato
Science. Euclid

The picks are getting tougher with every round. I voted for Ts’ai Lun for largely the same reasons that JohnT already described.

474

Inventors. Ts’ai Lun
Leaders. Genghis Khan
Philosophy. Plato
Science. Louis Pasteur

475

Inventors: Thomas Edison
Leaders: Julius Caesar
Philosophy: Confuscius
Science: Charles Darwin

476

Inventor. Ts’ai Lun
Leader. Sui Wen Ti
Philosophy. Confucius
Science. Louis Pasteur

For the first two, I’m admittedly going with my Western bias – the names just aren’t as universally known outside China as are the Europeans’ and Americans’. Pasteur is a tough choice, but seems just a little less of a giant than his competitors.

477

Invention. Ts’ai Lun
Leaders. Julius Caesar
Philosophy. Aristotle
Science. Isaac Newton

478

I think that’s the first vote for Isaac Newton (my odds-on favorite to win the scientist category) in this contest.

479

Round 17 is over!

Category, Name, # of votes

I, Ts’ai Lun, 6
L, Julius Caesar, 4
P, Karl Marx, 5
S, Louis Pasteur, 7

Marx lost the tie-breaker with Confucius. I’m surprised Lenin is still hanging around - Caesar was largely responsible for the Romanization (such as it was, of course) of Europe with enormous consequences for the future of global history, while Lenin’s influence was, imho, much less so.

But that’s why we play the game, eh? :slight_smile:

Remaining names:

Inventors

James Watt, British Scientist, Invented Steam Engine, Invention and Exploration
Johann Gutenberg, Scientist, Inventor of Printing Press, Invention and Exploration
Thomas Edison, American Scientist, 1,000+ inventions, Invention and Exploration

Leaders

Augustus Caesar, Roman Princep, Founded Roman Empire, Leader
Genghis Khan, Mongol Ruler, Founded Mongol Empire, Leader
George Washington, American Statesman and General, Fought For Independence of United States, Leader
Lenin, Russian Leader, Founded Communism in Russia, Leader
Sui Wen Ti, Chinese Emperor, Reunited China, Leader

Philosophy

Aristotle, Greek Philosopher, Philosophy and Arts
Confucius, Chinese Philosopher, Founder of Confucianism, Philosophy and Arts
Plato, Greek Philosopher, Developed Platonism, Philosophy and Arts

Science

Albert Einstein, Scientist, Physicist, Theory of Relativity, Science
Charles Darwin, British Scientist, Theory of Evolution, Science
Euclid, Greek Mathematician, Science
Isaac Newton, British Scientist, Theory of Universal Gravitation and Motion, Science

480

2 replacements:

Inventors. Thomas Edison
Leaders. Lenin
Philosophy. Confucius
Science. Charles Darwin

That inventor category is a beyatch - might as well close your eyes and randomly draw a name. I chose Edison because:

a. I believe that the invention of the printing press is the most significant single invention of the past 1,000 years.
b. The Industrial Revolution is the single most important societal development since the development of agriculture, and Watt, rightly or wrongly, is seen as its “starter”.
c. Edison is supremely influential: movies, electric light, recorded sound, etc. But he would’ve never been able to achieve any of this without an industrial economy.

Philosophy was easy, what with me being a Westerner and all.