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(1) Sir Isaac Newton
It may be a myth that Newton discovered the law of gravity when an apple bonked him on the noggin, but it’s tough to argue with the guy’s genius credentials. By parsing out the composition of white light, he made himself the father of optics. By enumerating his three laws of motion, he became the father of modern physics. By discovering calculus, he became the bane of college freshmen for centuries to come. If that’s not enough, he also had a really terrific wig collection.
(9) Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs may be one of the computing industry’s most brilliant minds. Just ask Steve Jobs! His list of achievements is impressive. Jobs built both Apple Computers and Pixar into the revered cultural juggernauts they are. Are you reading this while listening to an iPod and wearing Finding Nemo pajamas? Then you’ve got Jobs to thank.
The Breakdown
Newton should be favored in this matchup, but does developing calculus and formalizing the law of the conservation of momentum outweigh the pure relief one feels when switching from a PC to a Mac? Telescopes are great and all, but what would you rather spend the rest of your life without: a telescope or an iPod? Newton’s achievements are astonishing in terms of both scale and scope, but Jobs has quite the devoted following. Can Newton avoid the upset, or will an Apple fall on his head?
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Comments (11)
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If Jobs is such a genius, how come he can’t fix his hair? Newton had great hair. You can surf on these waves.
posted by OM on 3-25-2009 at 11:22 am
This is the matchup where we need Bill Rafftery to yell “Onions!”
posted by Paul on 3-25-2009 at 12:01 pm
Come on people, one created the Apple and the other saw one fall.
posted by PartiallyDeflected on 3-25-2009 at 3:32 pm
The fact that Jobs isn’t at 0% next to arguably the greatest genius in history proves that mental-floss readers are far from genius.
posted by Justin on 3-25-2009 at 9:26 pm
The battle of the Apple guys!
posted by Austin on 3-27-2009 at 12:37 pm
I concur with Justin
posted by Justin H. on 4-8-2009 at 7:36 am
A current businessman versus one of the very top scientists of history? Get a life and get an education, Mental Floss.
But how about Jobs versus Gates? That would actually be interesting.
posted by anon on 4-8-2009 at 12:00 pm
Anon? It’s called a tournament bracket. That’s how these two people ended up going against one another. Look it up!
posted by Sandy Wood on 4-8-2009 at 12:03 pm
Imagine if Jobs had grown up with Newton’s family in the 1650s and Newton with Job’s family in the 1960s, then I think Jobs would not have gone into anything science but probably would have stayed on the farm and maybe invented a new farm implement or two.
Newton, on the other hand would probably have ended up running a department at Cal Tech.
posted by Bruce W on 4-8-2009 at 1:56 pm
Arguably the greatest genius? No one else is even remotely close to Newton. History is quite obviously divided into two sections–before Newton and after Newton. Quantitative physics is what makes the modern world modern and calculus is the mathematics needed for it to exist.
posted by Brian W on 4-11-2009 at 9:10 pm
Seriously?? This is a ‘contest’? Jobs is no match, not even close, not in a million years. Newton wins, that is a no brainer. Justin has it nailed.
posted by Arne on 4-22-2009 at 1:54 pm