On Tue, 11 May 2010 09:11:59 +0100, Invisible wrote:

>>> Ask some random person "who is Einstein?" and they'll instantly know
>>> he was a world-famous scientist.
>>>
>>> Ask somebody who Richard Dawkins is and see how many of them actually
>>> have any clue. (I've only heard of him because I read the book he
>>> wrote.)
>> 
>> Well, again, he's written several, so which did you read?
> 
> Uh... I can't actually remember the title now. Let me go check...
> 
> ...OK, the copy on his website has different cover art [sigh], but I
> believe it was Climbing Mount Improbable.

OK, so that's one book.  The more important works that he wrote had to do 
with genetics.

>> But in my circles, Richard Dawkins is quite well know.  So's Jane
>> Goodall, for that matter.
> 
> My point being that you don't need to be in any particular "circles" to
> know who Einstein or Newton is. 

Well, you assume everyone has heard of them.  There's probably some guy 
living in a little village in a remote part of Africa who's never heard 
of either of them.

> Even very small children have heard the
> tale of how Newton was hit on the head by an apple. (I wonder if that
> myth actually happened?)

It didn't; there was a bit on an episode of QI this series that talked 
about the myth.

> Everybody has heard of Archimedies, even if they're not sure exactly
> what he did.
> 
> Unfortunately, there's nobody alive today of quite the same stature -
> except perhaps Steven Hawking.

Again, Jane Goodall probably fits that bill.  If we counted people who 
have lived in our lifetimes, Carl Sagan.  Vint Cerf, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, 
both of whom I previously mentioned, are also quite well known.

Jim

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