Pick one historical luminary for each of Science, Math, and Philosophy to come up with the strongest triumvirate of intellects for a country/nation/associated empire. For example Newton/Wiles/Russell vs. Einstein/Gauss/Kant (game over already?). Feel free to give a **** about whether someone is English or Scottish, allowing for responses like Newton/Wiles/Hume.

Arguments about which is the strongest triple for one particular country, and arguments about which country is best, are encouraged. Same person for multiple categories will be tolerable if appropriate. For example, a valid (though sentimental and incorrect) answer for Greece may be Plato/Plato/Plato.

Uruguay is way behind already.

Just wait a few more years, the biggest revolution is still ahead of us to unravel and reconnect everything. Who will get there first is a good question but it will be massive. More massive than Relativity or QM together. My point is the next one will have to draw from all of them before. Its no longer a country game, its a world game. The ones that do it today do it because of all the other countries that influenced them in so many ways. It may even be AI itself.

David Sklansky/BruceZ/Tom Cowley for team 2+2. Masque, Chez and BTM2 are backups in case some of the top three are disqualified on basis of racism (I guess the same would also go for Newton).

For Greece (ancient) going SMP:

Archimedes/Euclid/Plato

DS for science, BruceZ for math, Tom Crowley for philosophy?

You're going to have to pick MDZ or someone else for science, it's a Sophie's choice between a bunch of people on math, and then Philo or OriginalPosition for philosophy.

For the vile and sickening French, going SMP

Marie Curie/Blasé Pascal/Descartes.

Replace that idiot lightweight Kant, with Leibniz. Leibniz was a polymath so he fits about anywhere but slide him up under philosophy for the extra laughs. You could pick Nietzsche but we are under extra sensitive scrutiny now and we don't want to upset the immature too badly.

Wow. The posts are getting messed up. Smrk2's original post is gone and mine somehow replaced it?

Wtf a thread so good I broke the mechanics of the forum?

You the man, Smrk2!

Russians: Mendeleev/Perelman/Tolstoy -- no decent philosopher to choose from

Poles: Marie Curie/Godel/Tarski -- stealing Curie from the French, and Tarski is a big stretch for philosophy, although he has seminal papers in philosophy of language

Italy: Galileo/Fibonacci/Thomas Aquinas

That's a good Italian team right there.

Oh I know, I think you clicked into my post in edit mode and just posted your reply into it. Although this explanation would suggest that you are fallible, which is a dangerous insidious heresy, for which I repent like Jonah.

That is probably what happen. And since I'm drinking some great 'October Fest' beer from a local brewery while posting tonight this only adds to the probability. If BruceZ were here he could give you the exact number(s) on this probability. I miss my friend already.

I'm only fallible as a contributing poster. As mod I'm as infallible as the Pope. Ex cathedra

Damn. I was wondering if someone would steal Marie Curie. That is a very underhanded move you made and I'm so jealous I'll have to drink another beer and think of how to get back at you*.

Damn Italians. They always screw things up but they are a fun bunch to hang out with. I have qualms about Aquinas but at the moment can't come up with anyone better. Unless you wish to slip in Machiavelli, but be careful, God is watching.

*When you become a French citizen, the state issues you a French birth certificate.

The French could give up Curie and take Pasteur for the very formidable trio of Pasteur/Pascal/Descartes.

Just in time for the referendum, is there a chance the Scots can take the English?

Newton/Wiles?/Locke (subbing out Russell for Locke) vs. Maxwell/Napier/Hume. Can it be?? Newton >> Maxwell but Maxwell was no slouch. Hume > than any Englishman philosopher that I can think of. Napier was a strong find, who will England put up, Wiles, Turing?

Newton/Turing/Locke vs Maxwell/Napier/Hume. What would the Queen say about this?

China (ancient) SMP

Guo Shoujing/Zu Chongzhi/Confucius


China is a tough one. Many great and unknown men that made contributions to math and science that are really unknown to the west. I just took a stab. You will have to goggle the names of the first two. The westernized name Confucius is obviously well known. Mencius is also but I went with the "founder".

I would rank Lev Landau over Mendeleev if the metric is scientific genius rather than notoriety (with Western bias). Although he's technically not Russian.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lev_Landau

Can you provide examples of David Sklansky's science contributions on 2+2?

Anyway...

Denmark: Bohr / Erlang (for stats/OR fans) / Kierkegaard
Netherlands: van der Waals / Lorentz* / Spinoza
Hungary: von Karman (for aero buffs, or Teller for nuke lovers) / Erdos / Polanyi

* Although a theoretical physicist, Lorentz was educated in math and his work created the mathematical foundation for breakthroughs in relativity and electron behavior, among other things.

Wait, I am erzatz to the weird Bitcoin guy?

David made science contributions? I'm shocked.

Zeno, don't forget about yourself.

Ok, still tongue in cheek (at many levels) but also because 2+2 has yet to declare its independence as a sovereign nation; it really doesn't qualify.

Going SMP

MDZ/BruceZ*/OriginalPosition


*Currently on Sabbatical

2+2 Backups have been taken to a lonely place in the dark woods and summarily shot. Sorry about that guys.

I'm still alive.

Should tell you something.

For Japan going SMP:

Hideki Yukawa*/Shinichi Mochizuki**/Nishida Kitarō

* Received Nobel prize in physics for prediction of mesons.

**Good chance he solved the abc conjecture, still under review