Well, one might argue that so many people had a hand in the development of quantum theory that you just can't pick out one or two who really laid its foundations. So yeah, lots of great scientists were involved there, but that's the problem: it's a lot.Yeesh, I don't know man, do Planck, deBroglie, and Schrodinger really just get the shaft like that? It seems like their discoveries are at the very least bizarre enough that they should stand out from their contemporaries.
OT: Definitely Maxwell, for pretty much the same reasons stated, however Tesla might be better material for a screenplay.
I feel I have to go Tesla because his work had alot more direct applicable impact. He effectively ushered in teh 2nd industrial revolution almost singlehandedly.
Perhaps. But Nikola Tesla is a tiny minnow in a very large pond of people who have developed new applications of known science. By contrast, Maxwell is really a giant in science.Man would be pretty f*ked if he understood how the world worked but couldn't put any of it into practical applicatiions.
There are many more practical applications of a deep understanding than there are of a shallow understanding.
And that depends on how you define deep and shallow understanding.
Too deep and it's just mental masturbation with zero gain.
Wrong. There is no to deep an understanding as there is always more to be learned. The deeper the understanding the more there is to be uncovered.
And that depends on how you define deep and shallow understanding.
Shallow understanding = fiddling about until it works
Deep understanding = fiddling about until you understand why it works
Understanding why it works generally speaking means there's less fiddling about next time.
And how is that relevent to the poll? Tesla wasn't a tinkerer who doesn't understand how it works.