I concede your point about Maxwell's equations. Their historical significance in particular is the unbelievably rich research that ensued from its implications.

I concede your point about Maxwell's equations. Their historical significance in particular is the unbelievably rich research that ensued from its implications. By this metric, Lisp is obviously the analogue in the programming world. It would have been nice though if Lisp had triggered a sudden paradigm shift instead of this painful 50 year burn we're living through.