- [Voiceover] Everyone
engages in thought.
But that is merely a consequence
of being a human being
and fairly unremarkable.
There are, however, human minds
that have changed the very
nature of how we conceptualize
and conceive of things in ways
no one else could have done.
Sometimes we call
these minds geniuses.
But that actual
name we give them
matters less than
what they've done.
These are the 10 minds
that have revolutionized
human thought as we know it.
Gottfried Wilhelm
Leibniz is a name
that some people should know.
But he's not as popular
as he should be.
A contemporary of
Sir Isaac Newton,
Leibniz is known to
have independently
developed differential
integral calculus,
and the two engaged
in a raging debate
on who should be given
credit until their deaths.
But Leibniz, unlike Newton,
was a true polymath.
Whereas Newton spent
his spare time engaged
in studying biblical
prophesy and alchemy,
Leibniz was making important
contributions to many areas
of thought and science.
Some of his philosophical ideas,
such as the universe
being formed
of elementary
particles called monads
anticipated the modern
understanding of things
such as molecules and atoms.
Leibniz also made essential
contributions to other fields
and could well be thought of
as the first computer scientist
and information theorist.
Which can be summarized
in his concept
of the Calculus Ratiocinator,
or universal calculator,
where he anticipates
the existence
of the modern computer
centuries in advance.
He might not be well known,
if only because he's German,
but Leibniz made lasting and
significant contributions
to the building blocks of
modern science and thought.
Very few people outside of
linguist circles have heard
of Panini.
But writing in the 4th century
BCE in India, he devised many
of the concepts concerning
grammatical analysis
and structure of
language 2000 years
before anyone else had
put anything together
of similar thoroughness.
Embodied in his
Sanskrit grammar,
where he formulated a
staggering set of rules,
numbering 3,959, he
expounds in depth
on topics such as phonology,
syntax, and morphology
to an astounding degree
that would only take place
more than two millennial
later in Europe.
He's even credited
with developing the
first formal system
that to a certain
degree is mirrored
in modern-programming languages.
Alan Turing is rightly called
the father of the computer,
and was a truly brilliant mind.
He was, of course, best known
for his cryptography skills
which came into full
effect when he successfully
and almost single handedly
cracked the enigma code
of the Axis powers
during World War II.
Morse-coded radio
communications that,
after having been cracked,
gave the allied powers
a substantial advantage
over the Axis powers.
However, Turing's greatest
contribution was that
of the concept of
binary computation,
which is why he is called the
Father of Modern Computers.
Since all modern computers run
on the principle of
binary computation,
which in simple terms
means a system based
on zeroes and ones.
Without this concept,
the modern computer might
never have been developed.
Unfortunately for Turing,
the British government convicted
him of the alleged crime
of homosexuality,
and he was sentenced
to chemical castration
as a consequence.
Two weeks after his conviction,
he committed suicide,
and decades later, the queen
pardoned him for his crime.
John Von Neumann
is cited by some
as the smartest man
who has ever lived.
And, though that is debatable,
this Hungarian-American
thinker was a true polymath.
He was deeply involved
in the Manhattan Project,
along with many other
famous physicists,
and like Turing is
considered a founding father
of modern computing.
But his work was
so all-encompassing
that it is hard to
summarize it all.
In the field of
computer science,
one of his greatest
contributions
was the Von Neumann
Architecture,
which was the first
design structure
for the electronic
digital computer.
He also founded Modern
Mathematical Game Theory,
which extending beyond
pure mathematics
has had a tremendous impact
across disciplines ranging
from biology to economics
to sociology and beyond.
Von Neumann is also
interestingly credited
with devising the
equilibrium strategy
behind mutually
assured destruction,
which he humorously called MAD
and made important contributions
to various weaponry
in the nuclear-arms race.
When fellow Hungarian
Eugene Wigner
who won the Nobel Prize
in physics in 1963,
was asked why the Hungary
of his time had produced
so many geniuses,
his reply was simple.
Neumann was the only genius.
Considered to possibly be
the greatest mathematician
of all time,
Archimedes of
Syracuse was a pioneer
in mathematics and invention.
Nearly 2000 years prior
to its development
by Newton and Leibniz,
Archimedes anticipated
modern calculus
by using concepts
with infinitesimals.
He was also one of the
first, if not the first,
applied mathematician using
mathematical calculations
applied to physical phenomena,
such as his inventions.
He's credited with founding
both hydro-statics and statics
along these lines and
applying these principles
to all manner of mechanics
used in warfare and defense.
Unfortunately, much if not most
of Archimedes legacy
has been lost to time,
as very little of his
original work survives today.
But that which does survive
lends credence to his title
as the greatest mathematical
mind of all time.
Leibniz said of him, "He
who admires Archimedes
and Apollonius will admire
less the achievements
of the foremost men
of later times."
It is possible that William
Shakespeare's literary genius
is unrivaled, not just in
the English-speaking world,
but beyond.
A major playwright whose drama
depicts virtually every facet
of human psychology and a
poet of unparalleled skill,
Shakespeare remains a
mystery to this day.
His vocabulary and
understanding of human nature
have long made scholars
question his authenticity.
But his legacy is such that
his plays still resonate
today in the 21st century,
and many look up to
him as a role model
of just how good
a writer can be.
As Prince Hamlet states, "The
play indeed is the thing.
Serbian born Nikola Tesla
could very well be the
most important inventor
of the 20st century, and
possibly of all time.
His contributions are
almost too numerous to list.
But a short list of them
would be the radio, x-rays,
remote control, the
laser, robotics,
and wireless communication.
Tesla also was able to
perform integral calculus
in his head,
which made many of his
early teachers suspect him
of cheating.
And perhaps his greatest talent
was combining his innate genius
with the power of vision.
Perhaps more so than
any others on this list,
Tesla was a futurist
and someone who believed
in the transformative
power of technology.
The idea, for example,
of the electric car
can ultimately be
traced back to him.
And many of our modern
convenience technology
can be attributed
to him as well.
And you know the Tesla cannon
from games such as Fallout?
That, too, stemmed from him,
as he synthesized the idea of
the directed-energy weapon.
Niccolo Di Bernardo
Dei Machiavelli
was an Italian politician
and philosopher,
whose famous book, The Prince,
laid down the principles
of modern duplicitous
statecraft, which is to say
lying, cheating, and keeping
a population in fear.
He is quoted as saying,
"It is better to be
feared than loved."
And his theory of
politics was one
that stressed the
necessity of ruthlessness
in order to keep the
population in line,
and where the ends always
justified the means.
Many dictators in the
20th century admired him.
Unsurprisingly,
Joseph Stalin read
and kept an annotated
copy of The Prince.
Francis Bacon was an English
statesman, orator, philosopher
and scientist.
Generally considered
to be the father
of the scientific method,
which is a hallmark of
modern scientific conduct,
Bacon carefully
stressed the importance
of inductive reasoning based
on the observation of nature,
careful testing and measuring,
and seeing whether or not
the observed phenomena
fit the data available.
In this sense, he is one
of most impactful figures
of all time because this
methodology is universal
in the sciences to this day.
Bacon was so brilliant that
skeptics of the authenticity
of Shakespeare often posit
Francis Bacon as the real author
behind the literary works.
Charles Darwin rightfully
takes the spot of number one
as the human mind that
revolutionized human thought.
His theory of evolution
and the descent of man
transformed our understanding
of biological life forever,
and still more importantly,
transformed the very way
in which we view ourselves
as human animals.
Until Darwin, people thought
that humans were unique
in their place in
the animal kingdom,
and specially chosen by God,
but Darwin's theory of evolution
through natural selection
shattered that belief
because, of necessity,
humans had to be included
in the group of animals
that evolved over time.
After his death, the theory
of evolution continued
to be vindicated in
the form of fossils
and later on the
discovery of DNA
and the modern
science of genetics.
No human mind has had
as transformative effect
on the world as
Charles Darwin has.
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And thanks for watching.
And thanks for learning.
