Someone is bound to pop in to say that these three are not the only well-known scientist. “What about Kepler? What about Copernicus? Brahe? Bohr? What about Ptolemy?” All great minds; but go up to the average schmoe on the street, and he’s probably not going to have heard of him. Naturally, Dopers are better informed. However, Newton, Einstein and Hawking are probably the only scientists familiar to the greatest number of people. They’re “household names”.
So what scientist will be the next “household name” after Hawking?
IMHO, not even close in terms of name recognition… younger people won’t recognize Sagan, and nobody would recognize Gould.
One scientist that definitely has a lot of name recognition would be Darwin. Another would be Galileo (what with the Leaning Tower of Piza story that he has and all. Everyone loves a good story, whether it’s true or not… as evidenced by the inclusion of Newton on your list.)
I’ll go out on a limb and say whoever is able to produce or propose the first useful fusion reactor will probably get widespread name recognition.
> However, Newton, Einstein and Hawking are probably the only scientists
> familiar to the greatest number of people.
Have you done a survey to show that these three are the most famous scientists? Over what population? If it’s all adult Americans, I suspect that you’re wrong. Hawking is nowhere near as famous, I suspect. He’s not as well known as Galileo, Darwin, or even Sagan, I suspect. It’s also disputable that Hawking’s contributions to science are anywhere close to those of Newton or Einstein.
No, of course I haven’t taken a poll. “Probably” was meant to indicate that I’m guessing.
Sagan did much to popularize science. Probably most people are familiar with him through hs TV show. But I don’t see where he came up with any theories on the order of Newton’s or Einstein’s or Hawking’s.
Ptloemy is known for his astronomical theories. Brahe was also an astronomer. Copernicus developed the theory of a sun-centric solar system. Kepler discovered the three laws of planetary motion. Newton has his laws of motion. Niels Bohr, Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking are physicists.
So what I was getting at was astronomers/physicists, and scientists who attempt to describe the nature of the universe. While Darwin is certainly well-known, I didn’t include him because he doesn’t fit in with the others.
Whether or not Hawking has made “contributions to science anywhere close to those of Newton or Einstein”, he is seen as being pretty darned high on the heirarchy nowadays. “Not as well known”? He has appeared in several documentaries, Star Trek, The Simpsons and Futurama. And his book A Brief History of Time was used in a gag on Third Rock From The Sun. He’s well-enough known to be a cultural icon.
Now you’re changing your definitions. Do you want to limit your question to a particular science or is any science O.K.? Do you want to limit your question to those scientists who have made major discoveries or to anyone known mostly as a scientist? I don’t think you have any idea which scientists are “household names”. Even if you did, I don’t think any of us can predict who the next scientist to be a household name will be. If there is such a person, he/she probably hasn’t even made their major discovery yet.
Carl Sagan was a smart guy, but he earned his popularity primarily as a popularizer of science.
Stephen Jay Gould is likewise intelligent, but he’s nowhere near as well-known as Hawking or Sagan. Additionally (and I realize that I’ll be stepping on some toes here), the very nature of his work renders it hugely speculative. I’ll grant that Hawking’s work is speculative as well, but not to the same degree, and it is mathematical nature is at least demonstrable.
Frankly, I can’t think of anyone who can be called a true pop culture icon, and who can be classified in the same category as Hawking. Richard Feynmann, maybe, but I’d hesitate to call him a cultural icon.
It might be better to allow the experts to determine who rates as a cultural icon. I suggest only those appearing on The Simpsons qualifies. That includes Hawking, Gould and Sagan. Let’s not forget Professor Frink either.
How about some away from mainstream science, who nevertheless must surely qualify? I suggest… Burt Rutan. If he really starts selling space on his space plane, he may well reach some level of mass adoration.
OK, thank you. I’d like to attempt to hijack this thread (sorry, Johnny, if I succeed, which is doubtful) into a discussion of who are the top living scientists. With the deaths of Sagan and Gould it seems to me Hawking is the only Household Name left of any sort. This is of course tragic. So who are the current living scientist Household Names besides Hawking, and if there aren’t very many, who ought to be a Household Name?
Excluding Hawking, and now that Sagan and Gould are dead, are there really any names of living scientists that are anywhere close to being household words? If none of us can come up with any, I fear for the world. Not that I didn’t already.
Whoever succeeds Hawking as Lucasian Professor of Mathematics, Cambridge?
Or, do you mean who is the next pop figure sci guy?
If #1, I have no idea. #2, I used to think Timothy Ferris. Now I don’t know. The genre of pop-sci seems pretty glutted anymore. Lots to read, which is a good thing, but no one figure stands out.
