Ask HN: Whom do you admire most? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: Whom do you admire most?

#41

Post by antiismist » Thu, Oct 08, 2009, 3:50 AM UTC

Eliezer wrote: post #18

Leo Szilard. Had the idea for fission chain reaction, realized what would happen if Hitler got hold of it, and kept his mouth shut... while browbeating the skeptical Fermi into starting the Manhattan Project, and ghostwriting Einstein's letter to Roosevelt. Right up there with Norman Borlaug and Stanislav Petrov on the list of people you've never heard of because CNN is too busy covering Michael Jackson.

Is the Hitler story true? Wikipedia says that he got the idea in London, where he filed a patent (!) for the fission chain reaction.

Here's the link to his patent, btw: http://v3.espacenet.com/publicationDetails/biblio?CC=GB&...

Re: Ask HN: Whom do you admire most?

#42

Post by smhinsey » Thu, Oct 08, 2009, 3:50 AM UTC

Richard Feynman, because he showed me through his writing that we all, no matter our backgrounds, can be enthralled by the mysteries that surround us.

Re: Ask HN: Whom do you admire most?

#43

Post by netsp » Thu, Oct 08, 2009, 3:55 AM UTC

Literary:

    george orwell
    douglas adams 
    leonard cohen

Re: Ask HN: Whom do you admire most?

#44

Post by [deleted] » Thu, Oct 08, 2009, 3:55 AM UTC

abi wrote: post #4

Steve Jobs. (1) He has amazing taste. (2) He did it twice.

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: Whom do you admire most?

#45

Post by netsp » Thu, Oct 08, 2009, 3:57 AM UTC

mahmud wrote: post #22

elbenshira wrote: post #11

Jesus, because the world would be a better place if we were more like him.

Who is downvoting the man for his beliefs? grow up.

Threads like this are almost a poll. I don't see why beliefs can't participate in this discussion.

Re: Ask HN: Whom do you admire most?

#46

Post by blasdel » Thu, Oct 08, 2009, 4:03 AM UTC

seiji wrote: post #19

crystalis wrote: post #9

pg, because this is a cult. ;)

Google Suggest always wants to autocomplete my searches for "site:news.ycombinator.com" as "site news.ycombinator.com pg cult." (try it yourself) Do people actually search for the term "pg cult?"

They do now!

Re: Ask HN: Whom do you admire most?

#47

Post by [deleted] » Thu, Oct 08, 2009, 4:05 AM UTC

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: Whom do you admire most?

#48

Post by eam » Thu, Oct 08, 2009, 4:09 AM UTC

John Resig.

Re: Ask HN: Whom do you admire most?

#49

Post by nopassrecover » Thu, Oct 08, 2009, 4:15 AM UTC

oldgregg wrote: post #20

nopassrecover wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I know this was probably to provoke a reaction but Jesus as I understand him was a revolutionary who pushed people to stop following the established religion and financing its greed and instead to start living a good life. In this sense he was like Martin Luther in that he envisioned decentralised religion as the ideal - moral living for the masses not blind expensive ritual controlled by the few. But I could be comp…

I totally agree with you on all counts. Except for the moral living part. It's establishment religious types that promote moralism-- Jesus' whole point is that your good works don't do jack squat.

Yeah my view on morals is more egoist than most but I assume that a system of morality is the best-case output of religion.

Re: Ask HN: Whom do you admire most?

#50

Post by bokonist » Thu, Oct 08, 2009, 4:17 AM UTC

elbenshira wrote: post #11

Jesus, because the world would be a better place if we were more like him.

Hmmm. So imagine tomorrow everyone in the world started acting like Jesus. We all throw away our possessions, and wander around preaching to whoever would listen about being nice to each other. How long before everyone starved?