People who inspire?

steddyeddy · 05-01-2013 02:49AM #1

Which people inspire you? They could be war heros, scientists, politicians, people who you know personally or a figure from history?

Mine are

Dianne Fossey: If not for her the mountain gorilla would be extinct
Oscar schindler: For obvious reasons
Richard feynman: He revolutionised physics as we know it and made it accessable to a lot more people than it had been.
Ivan cooper: Organised the civil rights movement in the north
The Medici family: For the italian renaissance
Ramanujan: A self thought mathematician from a poor family in India who had literally no formal education but came up with theorems that many mathematicians with formal education could not come up with

bleepp · 05-01-2013 02:57AM

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_O'Flaherty

Saved thousands, he would have surly been killed if caught out.

Hippies! · 05-01-2013 02:58AM

Zumo Bishop: Actor lacking any physical strength/ toughness/ menacing appearance but manages to get the role as Fair Cities tough guy....*the mind boggles and struggles to pass wind*

steddyeddy · 05-01-2013 03:01AM

bleepp wrote: »

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_O'Flaherty

Saved thousands, he would have surly been killed if caught out.

I only heard of him once in my life. It's a pity because I think his contribution was undervalued!

donvito99 · 05-01-2013 03:01AM

Dr. Garrett Fitzgerald

True statesman among a shower of ****.

steddyeddy · 05-01-2013 03:02AM

donvito99 wrote: »

Dr. Garrett Fitzgerald

True statesman among a shower of ****.

Why's that? I'm not doubting you but I dont know much about him to be honest!

Edit: Anytime I seen an interview with him he sounded like a gent.

Stained Class · 05-01-2013 03:04AM

David Attenborough.

86 & still going strong.

Doing what he does best & educating people at the same time.

Cool.

policarp · 05-01-2013 03:08AM

Bertie Ahern.
Stopped loads of people from committing suicide. . .:)

Stained Class · 05-01-2013 03:10AM

policarp wrote: »

Bertie Ahern.
Stopped loads of people from committing suicide. . .:)

And by his actions, inspired more people to do so..

Absolute Tosser!:mad:

bleepp · 05-01-2013 03:10AM

steddyeddy wrote: »

I only heard of him once in my life. It's a pity because I think his contribution was undervalued!

There was a good documentary about him on TG4 around last year. He created a circle of other priests and nuns who gave safe passage to Jews. They put them up in their homes etc always with the risk of getting themselves killed. Pretty amazing stuff really.

steddyeddy · 05-01-2013 03:13AM

bleepp wrote: »

There was a good documentary about him on TG4 around last year. He created a circle of other priests and nuns who gave safe passage to Jews. They put them up in their homes etc always with the risk of getting themselves killed. Pretty amazing stuff really.

Wow didn't know all that! Thanks

policarp · 05-01-2013 03:15AM

Stained Class wrote: »

And by his actions, inspired more people to do so..

Absolute Tosser!:mad:

Do you remember his comment about the property boom?

Tom_Cruise · 05-01-2013 03:16AM

Tom Cruise

Brian Cox

squod · 05-01-2013 03:16AM

ET. He can fly bicycles.

Mardy Bum · 05-01-2013 03:18AM

Personally it would be David Simon and Ed Burns, both are responsible for the greatest work of art of the past 10 years.

Amazingly its a television programme.

Oscar Wilde's tragic life is one which brought so much wonderful, unforgettable art into the world that his contribution will probably never be forgotten, a modern day prophet.

James Joyce for being James Joyce. Ulysses will not be matched for sheer unbounded brilliance. The first man to introduce cinema to Dublin funnily enough before his self imposed exile.

Charles Darwin for discovering our past and changing the world forever.

policarp · 05-01-2013 03:19AM

Mother Teresa of Calcutta.
From Albania.

Lapin · 05-01-2013 03:20AM

Christopher Hitchens.

His ability to talk and debate with true knowledge at length about so many different topics is inspirational.

Tom_Cruise · 05-01-2013 03:20AM

Mardy Bum wrote: »

Personally it would be David Simon and Ed Burns, both are responsible for the greatest work of art of the past 10 years.

Amazingly its a television programme.

Oscar Wilde's tragic life is one which brought so much wonderful, unforgettable art into the world that his contribution will probably never be forgotten, a modern day prophet.

James Joyce for being James Joyce. Ulysses will not be matched for sheer unbounded brilliance. The first man to introduce cinema to Dublin funnily enough before his self imposed exile.

Charles Darwin for discovering our past and changing the world forever.

I agree, i love that programme. I still watch it over and over.

05-01-2013 03:21AM

The late Patrick Moore. Making astronomy accessible so that even idiots like me could understand, without ever being patronising.

Stephen Hawking, not only a beautiful mind, but also the worlds longest surviving Motor Neurone sufferer. Proving that even terribly disabled lives are still worth living, and that being disabled can't/shouldn't prevent you from making a contribution the world will always value.

And this heroic creature....
http://weirdnews.about.com/gi/o.htm?zi=1/XJ&zTi=1&sdn=weirdnews&cdn=newsissues&tm=10&f=00&tt=3&bt=0&bts=0&zu=http%3A//www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSEIC54343320080825%3FfeedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DoddlyEnoughNews

...because humanity could learn a lot from other animals sometimes.

And my granny was pretty inspiring, surviving tough times and crushing losses with fortitude and stoicism, showing all who knew her that you can be pretty low key, but outstandingly awesome at the same time

Profiler · 05-01-2013 03:21AM

Jim Stynes.

He was an inspiration both on field and off.

His impact in Australia was and still is huge.

Reach Foundation in Oz and now Soar in Ireland (which Jim didn't set up but did inspire) are two organisations that are fantastic in their inception and outlook.

IamtheWalrus · 05-01-2013 03:24AM

Stained Class wrote: »

David Attenborough.

86 & still going strong.

Doing what he does best & educating people at the same time.

Cool.

Yawn. David Attenborough, as much as I respect the man, does not deserves the reverence that the common man gives him. He was educated as a naturalist and is now a presenter. The words you hear him gorgeously reading are written by a trained writer. That writer got his words from a scientist who, I'm assuming, spent years studying the very subject you assume Sir Attenborough did. The man is a likeable presenter.

Lapin · 05-01-2013 03:29AM

IamtheWalrus wrote: »

Yawn. David Attenborough, as much as I respect the man, does not deserves the reverence that the common man gives him. He was educated as a naturalist and is now a presenter. The words you hear him gorgeously reading are written by a trained writer. That writer got his words from a scientist who, I'm assuming, spent years studying the very subject you assume Sir Attenborough did. The man is a likeable presenter.

Name the writer then ?

05-01-2013 03:29AM

IamtheWalrus wrote: »

Yawn. David Attenborough, as much as I respect the man, does not deserves the reverence that the common man gives him. He was educated as a naturalist and is now a presenter. The words you hear him gorgeously reading are written by a trained writer. That writer got his words from a scientist who, I'm assuming, spent years studying the very subject you assume Sir Attenborough did. The man is a likeable presenter.

It takes real talent to get those words across to people in a way they understand, engaging their interest, informing them, and making them want more. He might be just a likeable presenter to you, but his love of and enthusiasm for his subject is what makes him so watchable. And the world keeps on watching.

Its safe to say he's doing something right.

donvito99 · 05-01-2013 03:30AM

IamtheWalrus wrote: »

Yawn. David Attenborough, as much as I respect the man, does not deserves the reverence that the common man gives him. He was educated as a naturalist and is now a presenter. The words you hear him gorgeously reading are written by a trained writer. That writer got his words from a scientist who, I'm assuming, spent years studying the very subject you assume Sir Attenborough did. The man is a likeable presenter.

When Attenborough kicks the bucket, a great big swathe of the world will be in mourning.

The same cannot be said for his writers, as you say.

That's the difference, "likeable presenter" or not.

Mardy Bum · 05-01-2013 03:32AM

policarp wrote: »

Mother Teresa of Calcutta.
From Albania.

Lapin wrote: »

Christopher Hitchens.

His ability to talk and debate with true knowledge at length about so many different is inspirational.

Its ironic how these two followed each other.

IamtheWalrus · 05-01-2013 03:32AM

donvito99 wrote: »

When Attenborough kicks the bucket, a great big swathe of the world will be in mourning.

The same cannot be said for his writers, as you say.

That's the difference, "likeable presenter" or not.

The great swathe of the world will not have realised that was, not much more than, a presenter.

steddyeddy · 05-01-2013 03:32AM

IamtheWalrus wrote: »

Yawn. David Attenborough, as much as I respect the man, does not deserves the reverence that the common man gives him. He was educated as a naturalist and is now a presenter. The words you hear him gorgeously reading are written by a trained writer. That writer got his words from a scientist who, I'm assuming, spent years studying the very subject you assume Sir Attenborough did. The man is a likeable presenter.

Sir Attenborough is a scientist by my view and by the accounts of any other scientist who spent time in his presence. He always insists on reading up on any new scientific literature always. Sir Patrick moore wasn't an astronomer by education but likewise he was scientific in his methods and in my view was also a scientist.

IamtheWalrus · 05-01-2013 03:39AM

steddyeddy wrote: »

He always insists on reading up on any new scientific literature always.

? So do I. Do I inspire you? Terrible argument.

Stained Class · 05-01-2013 03:39AM

IamtheWalrus wrote: »

Yawn. David Attenborough, as much as I respect the man, does not deserves the reverence that the common man gives him. He was educated as a naturalist and is now a presenter. The words you hear him gorgeously reading are written by a trained writer. That writer got his words from a scientist who, I'm assuming, spent years studying the very subject you assume Sir Attenborough did. The man is a likeable presenter.

This is Crap.

DA has been doing nature programes since the 1950's.

Also, how many 86 year olds do as much good work as this man?

What will you be like at that age?

brummytom · 05-01-2013 03:41AM

I think I've posted this before on a similar thread, but anyway: my uncle.
He's in his mid-forties, very happily married with two young kids. Last February, he was told he had cancer (again), but that it had spread to his lymph nodes, lungs and elsewhere. He was told that, though they could administer chemo to prolong his life, they couldn't do anything more. He's never smoked, hasn't had any kind of alcohol problem, hasn't done drugs or anything like that, he's just had incredible bad luck.

Despite all of that, he has the strongest determination to carry on I've ever seen. He's still working full time, and completely doing up his house in his spare time. He's constantly upbeat, though still realistic.

I know if I was in the same situation, I'd fall to pieces. Seeing him step up and face a terrible situation head on is the most inspiring thing I've seen.

It might not be on a par with great world leaders, or Civil Rights activists, but watching him has had more effect on changing my own outlook than any figurehead ever could.

donegal_road · 05-01-2013 03:43AM

Sergei Rachmaninoff: Russian composer
Django Reinhardt: guitarist who had 2 fingers on his soloing hand
Van Gogh: Impressionist painter
Monet: Impressionist painter
Claude Debussy: composer who wrote Clare de Lune
St. Brendan the Navigator: was supposed to have been the first European to have reached North America, 530 AD
Mike Horn: explorer who circumnavigates the world in a 184 ft aluminium yacht.

People who inspire?

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