What 5 people would you bring back to life and why?

In My Humble Opinion
1

I was musing the other day about how Einstein would have used the tools available now to explore the quantum mysteries of the universe. Much of modern physics is based on his work in relativity, and yes there were others, but his theories still stand as a pretty influential work to the discipline. If he were alive today, I wonder what answers he could discover about the universe! But then while my interest may be science, and my goal the betterment of humanity or the solving of the universe’s mysteries, others may have different goals in mind

If you could bring any 5 people from history back to life now, who would it be?

Let’s have some limitations and rules first. This would have to be a famous named person, you can’t say “I’ll bring back the first human!” or “Whoever shot JFK and have him explain himself”. And to ease our erstwhile zombie into the modern world, let’s assume he or she has proficiency in english or whatever modern language he’s resurrected into in order to prevent the first 10 years of his existence from having to relearn how to communicate with us, and that he quickly accepts his newfound second life without freaking out and killing himself. Also, ignore them immediately dying, even if the person you bring back is old; he will live a healthy lifespan for at least 30 more years (the side effects of resurrection seems to be a slower rate of aging) to give him time to contribute to humanity

My first is Einstein, for the reasons above. I think bringing back scientists from hundreds or thousands of years ago may be tempting, but they will have too much of a gap in knowledge to be much help. You could bring them back if you simply wanted to talk to them, however, but that seems like a waste. Einstein would be resurrected in a time where his work still have weight. While guys like Newton may have been bigger influences in their field, I think we’ve moved so far beyond what he knew that he may struggle to comprehend the theories we have now based on his work hundreds of years ago.

I’ll tell you who I won’t bring: authors, writers, and poets. That means no Shakespeare, no Cicero, no Chaucer. I don’t have a problem with them, but they don’t really mesh with my goal of adding to humanity’s knowledge and helping to solve today’s problems. Would be fun to talk to though, but we have most of their creative works already and there’s little I think they can add.

However, I don’t consider Leonardo Da Vinci to be just a creative genius, the man has done so much that I think he would be able to contribute to humanity even now. His ideas for things like a helicopter were planned out 600 years before it actually became reality. I would love to see what his mind could come up with using our modern computers. And if he failed to get up to date, well, the man can still paint.

My 3rd person would be Thomas Jefferson. I respect him as the author of the Declaration, a deist or agnostic when it wasn’t cool or safe to be one, and a man who put down many of the ideas we still follow down on paper. I think getting one of the Founding Fathers would also really really help us shut those stupid Tea Party people up. They’re always trying to say they’re only following what the FF’s put down. I believe Jefferson thinks more like a modern person than the idealized personification the Republicans make him out to be. It may finally force some of our warring political factions to simmer down and work together.

My last 2 would be both Mohammad and Jesus (in a steel cage!). For being the founders of the two largest religions in the world, a lot of the person they were has become this mythical fable. I’m atheist, so I don’t think either of them are divine, so I would bring them back to learn more about the people behind the legend. If there’s anybody who can tell their followers to chill out and stop with all the hatred and killing, it would be them. Plus, bringing them back would either make their respective religions more open and tolerant, or demystify the mystique and hopefully get some to quit idolizing them. I wonder what Jesus would think of all the little crucifixes of him in his dying moments. If I were him, I’d be a little creeped out

2

I would bring back a friend who died of a brain tumor in college, my grandma’s three stillbirths (so I’d have more aunts and uncles and a bigger family, and so she would be less of a bitter bitch), and the girl in my 7th grade class who died in a car accident.

As you can see, I’m less concerned with consulting scientific figureheads who greatly affected the progress of mankind than I am with my own selfish happiness. I’m okay with that.

3

Its cool. I think a lot of people would do this to be honest and there’s nothing wrong with that.

4

Hell I don’t need 5.
I’d bring back my mom.

Oh, she’d be pissed as all hell, but oh well :smiley:

5

Could I exchange 5 living people for the 5 dead, or hell I would do it even for 5 live one for just one dead one. Let me round up the live ones now, I’ll redeem the store credit later.

6

Isaac Asimov, so he can write more books. (And, especially, more science essays.)

I’d ask him to participate on the SDMB, especially on the General Questions forum, when questions about basic physics get kicked around.

Maybe playing with fire, but Jesus of Nazareth, so he could (if he chose to) explain Christianity to the millions of Christians who…um…might benefit from it. (I’m a little worried, though, that he might decree a new great Crusade against Islam…)

Pushing the boundaries of the question a bit, but can I give Stephen Hawking a brand new working physical body? (Of course, rather than doing physics, he might decide to go off and have a lot of sex instead, and who could blame him?)

The poet Homer, so he could recite all the poems of his era that have been lost.

Franz Schubert, so he could finish that damn symphony… :wink:

7

Turing. I’m certain he had more to contribute, and we owe it to him in any case.

ETA: I’ll think of another 4 later…

8

Frank Zappa, Jerry Garcia and Dale Earnhardt.

9

My grandmother, my grandfather, and my favorite aunt.

10

Jeff Buckley, because there was more music there and I want to hear it.

My grandfather, so he could have one more go at saying something nice to my father. And so I could speak to him as an adult.

My other three require more thought…

11

John Lennon.

I’m convinced The Beatles would have got back together at some point.

12

Robert A Heinlein-I’d love to see him write more Science Fiction in the post-Cold War world. He had far more understanding of politics than the other two big SF writers (Asimov and Clark)

Jonathan Edwards-We need some more good old fashioned hellfire and brimstone preaching these days

Abraham Lincoln-I’d want him to see the America he helped preserve and turn into the greatest superpower

Paul of Tarsus-I’d want him to see the instrumental work he did in spreading the Gospel and its legacy

HP Lovecraft-Would want him to create more stories

13

Shakespeare - just have to talk to him

Apostle Paul - wonderful conversation

Norman Borlaug - deserves it

Hitler - pay for his crimes with a lifetime of suffering

My grandfather - never met him. Born 1899, Died in 1979. Dude saw a ton of stuff in his life and I’d love to chat with him.

14

Being an aficionado of mutual erotic asphyxiation, I’d enjoy *several *do-overs.

For real?

  • Theodore Roosevelt. Get him a talk radio gig pronto. And a hunting show on cable.
  • Octavian/Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus. Presidential adviser and Ivy League lecturer.
  • The rest I’d blow on rock stars who went out too young. Lennon, Hendrix, Buddy Holly. Holly’d be especially nice because his wife María is still alive.
15

Richard Feynman - He more than Einstein I think would be able to make more headway on modern quantum theory. There were a lot of advances in quantum thanks to Einstein but it was mostly in response to his nit-picking, because he couldn’t fully accept it. He would be a great resource on modern relativity though. On that note…

Albert Einstein - I’d love for him to see GPS, the first practical application of his greatest legacy, General Relativity. I’m sure he’d also be greatly amused by the discovery of dark energy and how his biggest blunder, the cosmological constant, is making a comeback.

Carl Sagan - Although he’d likely do great things for science outreach today, this is purely for selfish reasons. I’d love to hang out with him.

Thomas Jefferson - He was the first and possibly only scientist president. He was a scientist before the word science was even invented. I’m sure he’d be disappointed in a lot of ways with the direction the country has gone since his time but I’d still be fascinated to hear his views. He’s also for some reason my go-to person for when I’m on an airplane and I fantasize about bringing someone from the past on an airplane ride and imagining their reaction.
Can’t think of a 5th, but I’m fascinated with the choice of Hitler. I’ll admit I’ve fantasized about bringing Hitler back and letting him see his lasting legacy: how his name is synonymous with evil, as being the greatest villain in history, and his own people are so ashamed of him that showing any allegiance to him is a crime.

16

Jesus, so he could once again toss the money changers from the temples.

FDR so he could show milk-toast liberals how it is done.

Jerry Garcia 'cuz you just can’t have enough versions of Dark Star.

Abraham Lincoln because he would be wonderful elder statesman, lawyer and vampire hunter.

Tolkien, so he could give us a few more tales of Arda.

17

nitpick, The Second Stone: milquetoast, not milk-toast.

18

I guess I’m selfish too. My mama, my maternal grandparents and I guess Jesus. Just to talk to him, to see what he was really like. And some random woman from the Middle Ages, just to freak her out a bit.

PS on the nitpick: The name Milquetoast came from milk toast.

19

[Gaius] Julius Caesar - Finally someone who can show the EU how it is done.

20

The word is derived from the character Caspar Milquetoast from the 1924 comic strip The Timid Soul. His name came from milk toast, but the meaning came from him.