There are/have been quite a few people who make/made significant -positive- contributions and improvements to the World we live in now.

WHO ARE/WERE THEY IN YOUR OPINION and WHY?

One of them was ALBERT EINSTEIN, or wasn't he?

LaoPo

The two people that did the greatest good for this world were my Mother & Father.

The two people that did the greatest good for this world were my Mother & Father.

Very good answer

Another 'Grand Lady'

Mother Teresa

LaoPo

Mahatma Gandhi. Peace, non-violent conflict resolution.

"...........Nobody would be more happy than ourselves if by any chance our countrymen at home should succeed in liberating themselves through their own efforts or by any chance, the British Government accepts your `Quit India' resolution and gives effect to it. We are, however proceeding on the assumption that neither of the above is possible and that a struggle is inevitable.

Father of our Nation in this holy war for India's liberation, we ask for your blessings and good wishes".

Edited March 6, 200620 yr by tywais

Mahatma Gandhi. Peace, non-violent conflict resolution.

"...........Nobody would be more happy than ourselves if by any chance our countrymen at home should succeed in liberating themselves through their own efforts or by any chance, the British Government accepts your `Quit India' resolution and gives effect to it. We are, however proceeding on the assumption that neither of the above is possible and that a struggle is inevitable.

Father of our Nation in this holy war for India's liberation, we ask for your blessings and good wishes".

Ghandi was certainly a great man.However his non-violent conflict resolution worked well because he was dealing with the British who ultimately were shamed into leaving India.If he had been dealing with the Japanese, Nazi Germany or the Chinese, there would have been bloodshed on a massive scale (though probably not as extensive as when the Hindus and Muslims stated murdering each other).The British were no saints -sometimes with an unpleasant racist undercurrent- but there was an element of humanity quite lacking in other colonial powers.Unfashionable comment I know but I have Indian friends who though fiercely nationalistic recognise the British contribution.

Ghandi was certainly a great man.However his non-violent conflict resolution worked well because he was dealing with the British who ultimately were shamed into leaving India.If he had been dealing with the Japanese, Nazi Germany or the Chinese, there would have been bloodshed on a massive scale (though probably not as extensive as when the Hindus and Muslims stated murdering each other).The British were no saints -sometimes with an unpleasant racist undercurrent- but there was an element of humanity quite lacking in other colonial powers.Unfashionable comment I know but I have Indian friends who though fiercely nationalistic recognise the British contribution.

I totally agree with you cassandra. And furthermore there is quite often sort of a glorification going on with heroes of the past, whether violent of not. And sometimes they become "saints" and are untouchable especially for people living in the particular country. But on the other hand one should acknowledge the efforts and the contribution these people were putting into their aims of liberation or whatever they seeked for.

There are always two sides of the story and I'm rather interested in both than in one alone... good thread though.

KY

Ghandi was certainly a great man.However his non-violent conflict resolution worked well because he was dealing with the British who ultimately were shamed into leaving India.If he had been dealing with the Japanese, Nazi Germany or the Chinese, there would have been bloodshed on a massive scale (though probably not as extensive as when the Hindus and Muslims stated murdering each other).The British were no saints -sometimes with an unpleasant racist undercurrent- but there was an element of humanity quite lacking in other colonial powers.Unfashionable comment I know but I have Indian friends who though fiercely nationalistic recognise the British contribution.

I totally agree with you cassandra. And furthermore there is quite often sort of a glorification going on with heroes of the past, whether violent of not. And sometimes they become "saints" and are untouchable especially for people living in the particular country. But on the other hand one should acknowledge the efforts and the contribution these people were putting into their aims of liberation or whatever they seeked for.

There are always two sides of the story and I'm rather interested in both than in one alone... good thread though.

KY

Tom Jones - the greatest singer/artist ever!!

Tom Jones - the greatest singer/artist ever!!

is he one of the violent or non violent ? ...

Greatest people of the world? Well, lets see.........

If anyone would consider America to be a great feat or accomplishment then we should recognize the people responsible for it. Of course I am talking about Italians. Yes, thats right, Italians. Now I know you might be asking yourself "What the heck do Italians have to do with America?" Well, I shall tell you.

To put it simply, America is an Italian country at its core. It was officially founded by one Italian and then named after another Italian. So, in essence, America is an Italian country.

Greatest people of the world? Well, lets see.........

If anyone would consider America to be a great feat or accomplishment then we should recognize the people responsible for it. Of course I am talking about Italians. Yes, thats right, Italians. Now I know you might be asking yourself "What the heck do Italians have to do with America?" Well, I shall tell you.

To put it simply, America is an Italian country at its core. It was officially founded by one Italian and then named after another Italian. So, in essence, America is an Italian country.

If you are referring to Columbus in the first part then that (origin) is still in debate: Origin

If anyone would consider America to be a great feat or accomplishment...

does anyone ?

and in a way (and if you want to go to the core...) this is a good example how "colonization" of the original inhabitants was "successful" unlike India mentioned earlier in this thread

Does anyone consider America still occupied and India free though ?

KY

lets get back to the real heroes...

Tom Jones - the greatest singer/artist ever!!

Now that IS unusual.

greatest brain, Steven Hawking

Okay, here I go, some smart a$$ will start with derogatory comments... The greatest thinker ever was Jesus. Plain and Simple.

greatest brain, Steven Hawking

Well, that's to be discussed. I have no opinion...

Here's a picture of Steven Hawking:

LaoPo

Okay, here I go, some smart a$$ will start with derogatory comments... The greatest thinker ever was Jesus. Plain and Simple.

Apparently, he's been advising Tony Blair and George Bush on warfare! Silly me, I thought that the Bilderberg group told them what to do.

Martin Luther King must be somewhere near the top of the list. He brought freedom to many at the expense of his own life. Having considered for a moment the history of the various Christian churches, I would say that puts him above Jesus.

Okay, here I go, some smart a$$ will start with derogatory comments... The greatest thinker ever was Jesus. Plain and Simple.

Apparently, he's been advising Tony Blair and George Bush on warfare! Silly me, I thought that the Bilderberg group told them what to do.

Martin Luther King must be somewhere near the top of the list. He brought freedom to many at the expense of his own life. Having considered for a moment the history of the various Christian churches, I would say that puts him above Jesus.

well, everybody entitled to his own opinion, I would say.

He certainly looks like that on this portrait.

LaoPo

greatest brain, Steven Hawking

He was also at the top of my list of great thinkers until I started to do a little personal research into string theory and discovered Edward Witten. Probably few here will have heard of him but those interested in really abstract physics should take a look.

"Edward Witten is so softly spoken that his voice sometimes threatens to drift away completely. His desk is a jumble of papers and his blackboard a mess of equations. But his hushed words come straight to the point and are infused with understanding and passion.

Witten's quiet manner belies his status. In his role as de facto scientist-in-chief of string theory, Witten, the Charles Simonyi professor of mathematical physics at the Institute of Advanced Study (IAS) in Princeton, is undoubtedly the heir to Albert Einstein's title of greatest living physicist. If Einstein were alive today, he would probably be a string theorist, engaged in a remarkable, but still very controversial, theory that claims to explain absolutely everything around us.

As personal opinions go, Witten's make other scientists sit up and listen. His ideas in the development of string theory are legendary.

"There is no question of the extraordinary quality of Witten's intellectual achievements," says renowned physicist Roger Penrose in his latest book, The Road to Reality. "Where Witten goes, it does not take long for the rest to follow."

Source:

Edited March 6, 200620 yr by tywais

Okay, here I go, some smart a$$ will start with derogatory comments... The greatest thinker ever was Jesus. Plain and Simple.

Apparently, he's been advising Tony Blair and George Bush on warfare! Silly me, I thought that the Bilderberg group told them what to do.

Martin Luther King must be somewhere near the top of the list. He brought freedom to many at the expense of his own life. Having considered for a moment the history of the various Christian churches, I would say that puts him above Jesus.

There you go, what did I say would happen, confusing Jesus with the 'various Christian churches'. I rest my case!

Ohh sorry wrong thread, thought you were talking about me

well thats easy to answer

well thats easy to answer

Greatest person maybe, but certainly not the biggest brain

I read somewhere that the people who have had most influence on our everyday lives, out of all proportion to their population, are the Scots.

Adam Smith - Founding father of economics.

Alexander Graham Bell - Telephone.

Alexander Fleming - Antibiotics.

James Watt - Inventor of the steam engine, which started the industrial revolution in earnest.

Robert Stevenson - Inventor of the steam locomotive.

I'm sure there are many more.

Greatest people of the world? Well, lets see.........

If anyone would consider America to be a great feat or accomplishment then we should recognize the people responsible for it. Of course I am talking about Italians. Yes, thats right, Italians. Now I know you might be asking yourself "What the heck do Italians have to do with America?" Well, I shall tell you.

To put it simply, America is an Italian country at its core. It was officially founded by one Italian and then named after another Italian. So, in essence, America is an Italian country.

Sorry .....Columbus wasn't Italian...he was Genoan

Edited March 6, 200620 yr by lampard10

Okay, here I go, some smart a$$ will start with derogatory comments... The greatest thinker ever was Jesus. Plain and Simple.

And his followers responsible for the greatest loss of life and misery in history.

I read somewhere that the people who have had most influence on our everyday lives, out of all proportion to their population, are the Scots.

Adam Smith - Founding father of economics.

Alexander Graham Bell - Telephone.

Alexander Fleming - Antibiotics.

James Watt - Inventor of the steam engine, which started the industrial revolution in earnest.

Robert Stevenson - Inventor of the steam locomotive.

I'm sure there are many more.

Robert the Bruce.......................inventor of the spiders web

Flora McDonald..........................inventer of buttered hamburgers

William Wallace..........................inventer of the split personality

Does he belong to the most positive brains in the world?

Bill Gates

LaoPo

Does he belong to the most positive brains in the world?

Bill Gates

LaoPo

The luckiest man in the world.

Okay, here I go, some smart a$$ will start with derogatory comments... The greatest thinker ever was Jesus. Plain and Simple.

And his followers responsible for the greatest loss of life and misery in history.

See, again this is exactly what I mean, confusing Jesus with his 'so-called' followers. Jesus said "But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you..." Mat 5.44. So don't blame him if his 'so-called' supporters choose to ignore his words.

Thank you.

Okay, here I go, some smart a$$ will start with derogatory comments... The greatest thinker ever was Jesus. Plain and Simple.

And his followers responsible for the greatest loss of life and misery in history.

I would agree that these people said they were acting in His name, but let's be honest - they weren't doing as He told them. Jesus Christ is at the top of the list, IMHO - don't confuse Him with those purportedly acting in His name. The Yorkshire Ripper told the Daily Mail that Jesus told him what to do, and that is the same as the Conquistadores, the Crusaders and all the rest of the vile bunch. Doesn't mean it was true.

On the list (obviously after Jesus and Homer Simpson) could go John Nash (remember 'A Beautiful Mind"?). He was a phonomenal thinker who received the Nobel prize for 'Game Theory', used in economics and business every day.