The One Hundred Most Influential People In History Elimination Game

[septimus]

@China_Guy

I vote for Jesus.

running totals thus far show the boy from nazereth to be in a commanding lead…

As others implied, St. Paul, Constantine the Great and perhaps even Pope Urban II (all on Hart’s list) are more responsible for Christianity’s consequences than the Nazorean himself. But I’ll abstain from voting to avoid being labeled a troublemaker.

I’d already mentioned to Mr. (General?) LeMay that his criterion would be troublesome:

@Curtis LeMay

@septimus

Let me recommend again that the Game use Hart’s criteria with little or no change. It might seem good to replace “influence” with “positive influence” to get rid of Hitler, but where would one draw the line? The voting on Muhammed would no longer reflect his influence, but rather a comparison of Islamic Golden Age “goodness” versus modern jihadist “badness.” The question of Constantine’s influence is interesting, but disappears if the debate focusses on whether Christianization was good or bad. The vote on James Watt would be affected by quasi-Ludditism. These all might be interesting debates, but if one were to let them dominate the Hart’s List Elimination Game one wonders why bother to start with Hart’s List in the first place?

Because for the most part I agree with his listing and ranking.

I shouldn’t have closed my comment with a rhetorical question as, oddly, Mr. LeMay chose to answer only it rather than my objection.

By the way, Hart shows Edward de Vere in the #31 slot, not William Shakespeare. Mr. LeMay offered to compromise by putting “Shakespeare” in quotes, but perhaps retracted the compromise in response to the annoyance of my other objection.

I think judging Hart’s list by its own criteria would be an interesting and instructive exercise. I was doubtful that Mr. LeMay’s criterion would work well, though I never predicted that the Saviour Himself would lose in the first round. :smack: