If you were to choose the most influential scientist of the twentieth century who would you pick and why?

Question

If you want

you can pick from this list

Einstein

Max Planck

Neils Bohr

Fermii

JJ Thompson

Madam Curie

Watson and Crick

Keynes

Pauling

Stephen Hawking

Edwin Hubble

Noam Chomsky

Sigmund Freud

Answer 1

Really tough one.  Einstein captured the popular imagination by single-handedly instigating a paradigm shift, but quantum mechanics plays a far greater role in science today, so I'd probably lean towards Dirac.  I'd have to also say that anyone can learn physics to a pretty advanced level by reading Feynmann's lectures.  But I am still going with Dirac.

Answer 2

James Clerk Maxwell, followed closely by Albert Einstein

Answer 3

Dmitri Mendeleev (OK he was mostly 19th Century but he didn't die until 1907.

How can you justify putting Sigmund Freud on that list?

Answer 4

It would have to be Einstein - he influenced so many other scientists.

But other non physicists also have their place - what about Fleming for instance.

Answer 5

Max Planck, without a doubt. He made many important contributions on his own. For example he started the whole idea of quantum physics by explaining black body radiation and avoiding the "ultra-violet catastrophe". But perhaps more importantly than that, it was Planck who brought Einstein's work to the serious attention of the scientific community. Some people have said the Einstein was Planck's greatest discovery. Einstein's work and the whole concept of relativity might well have been ignored if it wasn't for Planck championing it.

BTW, it was also Planck who first coined the word "Relativity"

Answer 6

Doctor Dre...

Weeessssst Side!!!!

Answer 7

well i wud say EINSTEIN becuz he has inspired me a lot.

Answer 8

Tricky one.

I would say Einstein as he contributed to both quantum mechanics through the photo-electric effect and created GR. Although he also worked our SR it was likely that that would have come along with a decade of Einstein's work,but GR was ground breaking.

Answer 9

Einstein, definitely.  Although one could argue that Keynes saved Western civilization by helping us survive the Great Depression, I wouldn't consider him a scientist.  Social science doesn't really use the scientific method, and I'd consider that necessary for consideration in this contest.  Also, Maxwell died in 1879.