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> J. Robert Oppenheimer might be the most important physicist to have ever lived What about Maxwell inventing electromagnetic theory, whoever invented the tran
by sampo 3y ago
> J. Robert Oppenheimer might be the most important physicist to have ever lived
What about Maxwell inventing electromagnetic theory, whoever invented the transistor, and Francis Crick co-discovering the structure of DNA?
- credit_guy 3y agoWell, I don’t know, but for me the top spot is taken by that certain guy who used to ride on the shoulders of giants. Top spot for physics and top spot for math.
- arethuza 3y agoPhysicist and undercover crime fighter! Edit: I'm still hoping someone does a live action version of The Baroque Cycle.
- credit_guy 3y agoWait, what? Newton was involved in crime fighting? Do tell, please.
- arethuza 3y ago"Newton conducted more than 100 cross-examinations of witnesses, informers, and suspects between June 1698 and Christmas 1699. He himself gathered much of the evidence he needed to successfully prosecute 28 coiners." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Later_life_of_Isaac_Newton https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Later_life_of_Isaac_Newton "Disguised as a habitué of bars and taverns, he gathered much of that evidence himself." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Newton https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Newton The Baroque Cycle has some memorable scenes with Newton! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Baroque_Cycle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Baroque_Cycle
- Sai_ 3y agoWith due respect, (a) I would classify this as marketing and self-promoting hyperbole, not worth contradicting, (b) absent any objective measure, the video creator's opinion is as valid as yours and (c) as far as opinions go, Oppenheimer = most important physicist isn't the worst one to have.
- gwd 3y ago> I would classify this as marketing and self-promoting hyperbole Or probably better, "clickbait". The author actually did a video about why he started using clickbait titles; basically, his goal is to make actually educational videos and have them seen, and clickbait titles means a lot more people see them. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2xHZPH5Sng https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2xHZPH5Sng
- SideburnsOfDoom 3y ago> and Francis Crick co-discovering the structure of DNA wouldn't that be Chemistry, not Physics?
- NBJack 3y agohttps://xkcd.com/435/ https://xkcd.com/435/
- tashoecraft 3y agoMy knowledge of Oppenheimer is purely from the book Robert Oppenheimer by Ray Monk, but his title might be "the most important manager to have ever lived". He himself didn't make any big, groundbreaking discoveries (though he was close). His greatest seems to be in understanding the discoveries and organizing the work around the manhattan project. Maybe that makes him the most important, but, as you said, it seems to discredit a lot of actual physicists who made actual discoveries.
- LanceH 3y agoIt was a critical moment in time where it mattered greatly which country completed a certain physics centered project. Other physicists were greater in their accomplishments, but were any so timely in the necessity of their accomplishments (though his may have been mostly managerial, they needed to be done by a physicist).
- defrost 3y ago> but were any so timely in the necessity of their accomplishments The physicists of the UK MAUD committee and Tube Alloys who worked for several years to convince the US that a bomb was theoretically possible and economically feasible (just) and that the Germans and Japanese were taking the challenge seriously? It took multiple approaches to convince the US nuclear scientists of the time.
- tashoecraft 3y agoWith hindsight we can see it wasn't timely as no other nation was close or even could accomplish it.