To you, who is the greatest person who ever lived?
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Sounds like i'm not the only one who plays a lot of civilizationRegnes said:
But my own answer would probably be George washington, now don't get me wrong here. I'm sure the american revolution would've taken place regardless, there's only so much one can wear the yoke of oppression in a grand crown colony (looking at you India, yeah you know you're awesome) but the fact that their revolution ultimately led to the founding of America as a nation, and the international superpower that it is today is my answer.
Or Abraham L, for pushing the envelope and actually giving those states a conscience to follow, whether king cotton wanted to or not.
[HEADING=1]Norman Borlaug[/HEADING]
[small]Pictured on the right, obviously.[/small]
Saved more than a billion lives.
[small]Pictured on the right, obviously.[/small]
Saved more than a billion lives.
Awards and Honours (according to his Wiki):
In 1968, Borlaug received what he considered an especially satisfying tribute when the people of Ciudad Obregón, where some of his earliest experiments were undertaken, named a street after him. Also in that year, he became a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences.
In 1970, he was given an honorary doctorate by the Agricultural University of Norway.
In 1970, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize by the Norwegian Nobel Committee "for his contributions to the "green revolution" that was having such an impact on food production particularly in Asia and in Latin America."
In 1975, he was named a Distinguished Fellow of the Iowa Academy of Science.
In 1980, he was elected honorary member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.
In 1984, his name was placed in the National Agricultural Hall of Fame at the national center in Bonner Springs, Kansas. Also that year, he was recognized for sustained service to humanity through outstanding contributions in plant breeding from the Governors Conference on Agriculture Innovations in Little Rock, Arkansas. Also in 1984, he received the Henry G. Bennet Distinguished Service Award at commencement ceremonies at Oklahoma State University. He recently received the Charles A. Black Award for his contributions to public policy and the public understanding of science.
In 1985, the University of Minnesota named a wing of the new science building in Borlaug's honor, calling it "Borlaug Hall."
In 2012 a new elementary school in the Iowa City, IA school district opened, called "Norman Borlaug Elementary"
In addition to the Nobel Prize, Borlaug received the 1977 U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom, the 2002 Public Welfare Medal from the National Academy of Sciences, the 2002 Rotary International Award for World Understanding and Peace, and the 2004 National Medal of Science.
As of January 2004, Borlaug had received 49 honorary degrees from as many universities, in 18 countries, the most recent from Dartmouth College on June 12, 2005, and was a foreign or honorary member of 22 international Academies of Sciences. In Iowa and Minnesota, "World Food Day", October 16, is referred to as "Norman Borlaug World Food Prize Day". Throughout the United States, it is referred to as "World Food Prize Day".
The Government of India, where he is known as the Father of India's Green Revolution, conferred the Padma Vibhushan, its second highest civilian award on him in 2006. He was awarded the Danforth Award for Plant Science by the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, St Louis, Missouri in recognition of his life-long commitment to increasing global agricultural production through plant science.
Several research institutions and buildings have been named in his honor, including: the Norman E. Borlaug Center for Farmer Training and Education, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, in 1983; Borlaug Hall, on the St. Paul Campus of the University of Minnesota in 1985; Borlaug Building at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) headquarters in 1986; the Norman Borlaug Institute for Plant Science Research at De Montfort University, Leicester, United Kingdom in 1997; and the Norman E. Borlaug Center for Southern Crop Improvement, at Texas A&M University in 1999. In 2006, the Texas A&M University System created the Norman Borlaug Institute for International Agriculture to be a premier institution for agricultural development and to continue the legacy of Dr. Borlaug.
The stained-glass "World Peace Window" at St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral in Minneapolis, Minnesota, depicts "peace makers" of the 20th century, including Norman Borlaug. Borlaug was also prominently mentioned in an episode ("In this White House") of the TV show The West Wing. The president of a fictional African country describes the kind of "miracle" needed to save his country from the ravages of AIDS by referencing an American scientist who was able to save the world from hunger through the development of a new type of wheat. The U.S. president replies by providing Borlaug's name.
Borlaug was also featured in an episode of Penn & Teller: Bullshit!, where he was referred to as the "Greatest Human Being That Ever Lived". In that episode, Penn & Teller play a card game where each card depicts a great person in history. Each player picks a few cards at random, and bets on whether one thinks one's card shows a greater person than the other players' cards based on a characterization such as humanitarianism or scientific achievement. Penn gets Norman Borlaug, and proceeds to bet all his chips, his house, his rings, his watch, and essentially everything he's ever owned. He wins because, as he says, "Norman is the greatest human being, and you've probably never heard of him." In the episode -- the topic of which was genetically altered food -- he is credited with saving the lives of over a billion people.
President George W. Bush along with House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi congratulate Borlaug during the Congressional Gold Medal Ceremony on July 17, 2007.
In August 2006, Dr. Leon Hesser published The Man Who Fed the World: Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Norman Borlaug and His Battle to End World Hunger, an account of Borlaug's life and work. On August 4, the book received the 2006 Print of Peace award, as part of International Read For Peace Week.
On September 27, 2006, the United States Senate by unanimous consent passed the Congressional Tribute to Dr. Norman E. Borlaug Act of 2006. The act authorizes that Borlaug be awarded America's highest civilian award, the Congressional Gold Medal. On December 6, 2006, the House of Representatives passed the measure by voice vote. President George Bush signed the bill into law on December 14, 2006, and it became Public Law Number 109-395. According to the act, "the number of lives Dr. Borlaug has saved [is] more than a billion people" The act authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to strike and sell duplicates of the medal in bronze. He was presented with the medal on July 17, 2007.
Borlaug was a foreign fellow of the Bangladesh Academy of Sciences.
Saint Paul on the other hand, he shaped almost alone the most important organization in the history of mankind. He also feels from his writings like a badass politician you don't want to mess around.The Night Angel said:
To the current chistian based organized religions he is more important than Jesus, but whatev.
Isaac Newton or Alexander Fleming. On one hand, Isaac Newton gave mathematics and physics an amazing boost while he lived, but Fleming have probably saved a few million lives by now due to penicillin... So I'm not sure what to pick.
King Leonidas(don't know if i spelt that right)and the 300 spartans
i don't think i need to explain it
i don't think i need to explain it
That's dreadfully modest of you!Rawne1980 said:
I don't want to argue, but IMO excessive (and inadvertent) reverence of St Paul is what's wrong with mainstream Christianity (and I speak as a Christian).Tanakh said:
OT: It really does depend on context, and how you define 'great'. Is it contribution to social evolution? Scientific impact? Peace-making? Warcraft? Philanthropy? Extent of legacy?
Each has influence upon the shaping of history in their own ways, but it is difficult, if not impossible, to impartially judge and compare their effects. Thus we are left to the subjective decisions of individuals and attempt to decide just how much they were made by their own volition, whether or not circumstances forced such a decision to be made. Also, ambition restricts the greatness of an individual because it turns necessary introspection of the servant to hubris in superiority. This discounts a great many commonly considered 'great' men as 'greatness' should encompass 'greatness of mind' in the context of character, where act is committed without the expectation of either reward or recognition.
Now this, on the other hand, I am willing to argue, and will do for as long as you wish. I continue to contend that Scipio was superior to Hannibal in virtually all ways except as a tactician. COME AT ME BRAH!!thespyisdead said:
A small country? That's modest of you.Rawne1980 said:
What happened to you, maaaaaan?
OT: I have a slight list.
Julius Caesar, Martin Luther King jr, John Locke, Alexander Flemming, Ian Flemming (and Christopher Lee), and "mad" Jack Churchill.
Ohh, i didn't ment hippie great like in Buddha or Chist, i meant shape the history great like in Genghis Khan or Alexander the Great. Saint Paul founded an empire that used Christ as it's banner and selling point, took over Rome, then over most of the world and still persist; that guy is badass; and Chistian oragizations have never been about that Jesus guy, common missunderstandingSckizoBoy said:
Edit: Well... maybe some of them have, like the Franciscans or the Liberation theology. They are usually roflpwned though by the establishment.
Ah, I see. In that case, I'd agree, much as I'd hate to admit it. He spread Christianity far and wide... mainly because the apostles didn't really know what they were doing...Tanakh said:Ohh, i didn't ment hippie great like in Buddha or Chist, i meant shape the history great like in Genghis Khan or Alexander the Great. Saint Paul founded an empire that used Christ as it's banner and selling point, took over Rome, then over most of the world and still persist; that guy is badass; and Chistian oragizations have never been about that Jesus guy, common missunderstanding
Though I wonder at his reaction to be referred to as 'a badass'... what?! I make an unruly mule?! =P
