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50 Brilliant Atheists

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    #2
    pts
    Registered Users Posts: 576 ✭✭✭pts


    ehm, what about Goduznt Xzst, Wicknight, AtomicHorror etc :D
    Also what about Sam Harris? Was half expecting to see him on the list.
    EDIT: Christopher Hitchens isn't on the list either, was expecting to see him too.


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    #3
    studiorat
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,408 ✭✭✭studiorat


    Bruce Lee and Mick Jagger! :cool:

    Never heard of any of those other guys..

    Hitchens is a slob.


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    #4
    Goduznt Xzst
    Registered Users Posts: 1,353 ✭✭✭Goduznt Xzst


    liah wrote: »
    Imo they left out Stephen Fry

    they probably read his twitter page :rolleyes:

    Stephen Fry, apart from being somewhat of a savant, does not really stand out in my mind as a "brilliant" individual. But then they do have the founder of facebook in that list so I wouldn't take it too seriously.

    I swear, on any given day, 1% of the internet is actually doing something original and the other 99% are making lists of things or looking at pornography.


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    #5
    pts
    Registered Users Posts: 576 ✭✭✭pts


    studiorat wrote: »
    Hitchens is a slob.
    He does get on my nerves some times, but he can also be very interesting.
    I'm not saying I'd neccesserily put him in my top 50, only saying that I was expecting him to be in the list as he has a pretty high profile.


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    #6
    liah
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,750 ✭✭✭liah


    Goduznt Xzst wrote: »
    they probably read his twitter page :rolleyes:

    Stephen Fry, apart from being somewhat of a savant, does not really stand out in my mind as a "brilliant" individual. But then they do have the founder of facebook in that list so I wouldn't take it too seriously.

    I swear, on any given day, 1% of the internet is actually doing something original and the other 99% are making lists of things or looking at pornography.

    Hardly fair judging him based on twitter.

    Have you seen any of his documentaries? Read any of his site? Listened to him give lectures? Read any of his novels?

    He is, genuinely, an incredibly smart and highly underrated human being.


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    #7
    studiorat
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,408 ✭✭✭studiorat


    Goduznt Xzst wrote: »
    they probably read his twitter page :rolleyes:

    If you believe that really is Stephen Fry. Maybe you should start praying;)

    Stephen Fry with a Twiter account? Come on man!

    EDIT: I take that back http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7934941.stmapols.


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    #8
    robindch
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 24,399 Mod ✭✭✭✭robindch


    There's one hell of a lot of talent on that list.

    My vote for most prominent missing atheist goes to Robert G Ingersoll, fl USA, mid to late late 19th century and whose spent much of his life delivering a splendid range of oratorical flourishes in which he bollocked religion in the same terms that religion bollocked him. He produced far too many quotes to include here, but a few:
    Robert Ingersoll wrote:
    Every pulpit is a pillory, in which stands a hired culprit, defending the justice of his own imprisonment.

    Who can over estimate the progress of the world if all the money wasted in superstition could be used to enlighten, elevate and civilize mankind?

    Labor is the only prayer that Nature answers.

    I would not for my life destroy one star of human hope, but I want it so that when a poor woman rocks the cradle and sings a lullaby to the dimpled darling, she will not be compelled to believe that ninety-nine chances in a hundred she is raising kindling wood for hell.
    There's much more here.


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    #9
    liah
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,750 ✭✭✭liah


    studiorat wrote: »
    If you believe that really is Stephen Fry. Maybe you should start praying;)

    Stephen Fry with a Twiter account? Come on man!

    Actually, it is Stephen. He's quite into all things technological and is a self-proclaimed nerd. He loves twitter. Just because he's a celeb doesn't mean it's not actually him.. just go to his own site, he links to it.

    Nice edit. XD


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    #10
    Goduznt Xzst
    Registered Users Posts: 1,353 ✭✭✭Goduznt Xzst


    liah wrote: »
    Have you seen any of his documentaries? Read any of his site? Listened to him give lectures? Read any of his novels?

    Yes. What is your point? I'm assuming since you have that you'd know he tends to be very self analytical and has, on more than one occasion, expressed how wasted he feels his life has been, and that he has not achieved anything of worth. I'd agree with him insofar that his life seems to lack focus. I am not saying he isn't an interesting and watchable individual who has an eloquent diction, rather, that, in my opinion, he would not be classed as brilliant.


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    #11
    KnifeWRENCH
    Closed Accounts Posts: 11,148 ✭✭✭✭KnifeWRENCH


    Goduznt Xzst wrote: »
    they probably read his twitter page :rolleyes:

    Stephen Fry, apart from being somewhat of a savant, does not really stand out in my mind as a "brilliant" individual. But then they do have the founder of facebook in that list so I wouldn't take it too seriously.

    :eek:
    Blasphemy!

    So what if he has a Twitter page?


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    #12
    liah
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,750 ✭✭✭liah


    Goduznt Xzst wrote: »
    Yes. What is your point? I'm assuming since you have that you'd know he tends to be very self analytical and has, on more than one occasion, expressed how wasted he feels his life has been, and that he has not achieved anything of worth. I'd agree with him insofar that his life seems to lack focus. I am not saying he isn't an interesting and watchable individual who has an eloquent diction, rather, that, in my opinion, he would not be classed as brilliant.

    Of course he feels it's wasted, most people with bipolar disorder feel that way half their lives :P

    Nah, he's just a perfectionist. I would easily class him as brilliant, he's got a quick and eloquent mind far above that of your average bloke. Just because he puts it towards things more creative than analytical doesn't mean he's not brilliant, it's just a different form.


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    #13
    Goduznt Xzst
    Registered Users Posts: 1,353 ✭✭✭Goduznt Xzst


    liah wrote: »
    he's got a quick and eloquent mind far above that of your average bloke.

    I agree
    liah wrote: »
    Just because he puts it towards things more creative than analytical doesn't mean he's not brilliant, it's just a different form.

    human brilliance, being subjective, is open to personal interpretation. I can accept that you can find him brilliant. It's just that we each put emphasis on different qualities. If you gave me a mixed list of 200 engineers, mathematicians, physicists, scientists, artists, authors, celebrities, sports athletes... etc my top 50 people who I'd view as brilliant would mainly consist of those from scientific and engineering fields.


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    #14
    studiorat
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,408 ✭✭✭studiorat


    +1
    Ingersoll.
    I discovered him last year, enjoyed Some mistakes of Moses.

    posted the same link there!


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    #15
    sink
    Registered Users Posts: 4,314 ✭✭✭sink


    Isaac Asimov?


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    #16
    pH
    Registered Users Posts: 4,188 ✭✭✭pH


    Damn, they left Stalin out, you know what that means ...


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    #17
    Overblood
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,359 ✭✭✭Overblood


    Great link.

    As others mentioned, a few people are missing... Hitchens should definitely be on that list. I love his no-holds-barred-straight-to-the-point demeanour and I think he's a very worthy atheist. He has done much for "the cause".

    And what about James Randi, Salman Rushdie, Einstein...


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    #18
    Poppy78
    Closed Accounts Posts: 79 ✭✭Poppy78


    Does Kurt Vonnegut not count because he was a humanist.


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    #19
    Dades
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 25,558 Mod ✭✭✭✭Dades


    I'd happily replace a few on that list with Arthur C. Clarke.

    The volume of quality, intelligent and prophetic work he produced easily outweighs some of the achievements there.
    Arthur C. Clarke wrote:
    "One of the great tragedies of mankind is that morality has been hijacked by religion."


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    #20
    CerebralCortex
    Registered Users Posts: 3,809 ✭✭✭CerebralCortex


    Dades wrote: »
    I'd happily replace a few on that list with Arthur C. Clarke.

    The volume of quality, intelligent and prophetic work he produced easily outweighs some of the achievements there.

    Wow I should really read some of his works.


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    #21
    Dades
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 25,558 Mod ✭✭✭✭Dades


    I love my old-school, real sci-fi and he was the King.
    Childhood's End would be a great single book to start with.

    He has an orbit named after him!


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    #22
    MrPudding
    Registered Users Posts: 9,788 ✭✭✭MrPudding


    Dades wrote: »
    I'd happily replace a few on that list with Arthur C. Clarke.

    The volume of quality, intelligent and prophetic work he produced easily outweighs some of the achievements there.
    "One of the great tragedies of mankind is that morality has been hijacked by religion." would make a great sig quote.

    MrP


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    #23
    Overblood
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,359 ✭✭✭Overblood


    And can anyone thing of 50 great Christians? Great enough to match the awesomeness of the link above?

    Anyone?

    *cough*

    *crickets*




    Ah, Martin Luther King.


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    #24
    sink
    Registered Users Posts: 4,314 ✭✭✭sink


    Overblood wrote: »
    And can anyone thing of 50 great Christians? Great enough to match the awesomeness of the link above?

    Anyone?

    *cough*

    *crickets*




    Ah, Martin Luther King.

    To be fair there are a fair few. Thomas Jefferson and Isaac Newton come immediately to mind.


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    #25
    studiorat
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,408 ✭✭✭studiorat


    Dades wrote: »
    I love my old-school, real sci-fi and he was the King.
    Childhood's End would be a great single book to start with.

    He has an orbit named after him!

    +1 for the old skool sci-fi...

    Just read the Wireless World article where he predicted satellite communications. It must have been amazing to read this in 1945.


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    #26
    Overblood
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,359 ✭✭✭Overblood


    sink wrote: »
    To be fair there are a fair few. Thomas Jefferson and Isaac Newton come immediately to mind.

    Fair enough. Jefferson wasn't a Christian, though he was a deist. I think.

    Question with boldness even the existence of a god; because if there be one he must approve of the homage of reason more than that of blindfolded fear.

    -Thomas Jefferson
    The whole history of these books [the Gospels] is so defective and doubtful that it seems vain to attempt minute enquiry into it: and such tricks have been played with their text, and with the texts of other books relating to them, that we have a right, from that cause, to entertain much doubt what parts of them are genuine. In the New Testament there is internal evidence that parts of it have proceeded from an extraordinary man; and that other parts are of the fabric of very inferior minds. It is as easy to separate those parts, as to pick out diamonds from dunghills.

    -Thomas Jefferson


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    #27
    liah
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,750 ✭✭✭liah


    We could make our own Top 50.. or even Top 100.


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    #28
    stevejazzx
    Registered Users Posts: 3,247 ✭✭✭stevejazzx


    the guy who wrote the facebook code has got a redeeming feature after all...he shouldn't on that list though!

    completely agree with arthur c clarke - 2001, great book and movie
    hitchens not there?
    ingersoll???


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    #29
    The Mad Hatter
    Registered Users Posts: 4,718 ✭✭✭The Mad Hatter


    Overblood wrote: »
    And can anyone thing of 50 great Christians? Great enough to match the awesomeness of the link above?

    Anyone?

    *cough*

    *crickets*




    Ah, Martin Luther King.

    Uh, most of the great composers, artists, writers, etc. have been Christians.


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    #30
    Woger
    Closed Accounts Posts: 165 ✭✭Woger


    No David Attenborough, what about Irleands own Mike Murphy?


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    #31
    Overblood
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,359 ✭✭✭Overblood


    The Mad Hatter wrote: »
    Uh, most of the great composers, artists, writers, etc. have been Christians.

    Oops. My bad.
    No David Attenborough?


    David Attenborough is an agnostic isn't he?


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