The Greatest people in the World

"Be not afraid of greatness: Some men are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them." From Shakespeare's Twelfth Night.

Readers of an important international newspaper published in Britain were recently asked to nominate the greatest person who has ever lived, giving a reason for their choice. The readers were permitted to name the second greatest person, if they wished. It was emphasized, however, that it was very important to provide a clear reason in each case.

The editor and staff of the newspaper at first thought that the two figures most of their readers would choose would be Jesus Christ and Shakespeare. After further consideration, they thought that Shakespeare would be the clear favorite rather than Jesus Christ since the newspaper was international and many readers would vote for other religious leaders. By contrast, Shakespeare was regarded as universal and uncontroversial. They were certain he would stand unchallenged as the greatest playwright in the world and the greatest contributor to the English language. Moreover, they were confident that he had a greater understanding of people and human nature than anyone who had ever lived. The results were not as expected! Though mentioned many times, Shakespeare received fewer votes than Walt Disney. Surprisingly, the latter was praised for exactly the same reason as Shakespeare—namely, that he gave the greatest pleasure to the greatest number of people in the world today.

In the case of religious leaders, Jesus Christ emerged as the clear winner but Mohammed was a good second and Buddha a close third. Confucius, though a philosopher rather than a religious leader, also received a large number of votes though not half so many as he would have undoubtedly received had the survey been conducted mainly in Asia. Most of the newspaper's readers put Christ first, pointing out that he fundamentally changed the way people thought and lived while his teaching and life provided the inspiration for some of the world's greatest art, architecture, music and literature. Mohammed (570—632 A.D.), whose teaching was not vastly different from Christ's, believed in repentance, prayer and giving to the poor as well as in education, inculcating a love for learning among those who were illiterate. Buddha (563—483 B.C.), born a long time before Christ, is still being discovered today, even far away from Asia. Frequently people who put Christ first, chose Mohammed or Buddha as second, and vice versa. Moreover, in the reasons given for each choice, the person's common humanity was stressed rather than their divinity.

In many cases, admiration for religious leaders went hand [in hand with respect for science. No one expressed the view that religious beliefs were incompatible with scientific research. One reader argued that Mohammed was the greatest of the religious leaders as he was not only a great religious leader and teacher but also a first-class administrator. The same reader put Albert Einstein second for discovering the formula E = MC2. From all the replies received by the newspaper, it seemed that the two greatest influences on mankind have been religion and science.

Many readers put Sir Isaac Newton second as he revolutionized the world and set modern science on its present course with his unified theory. It was argued that Newton's work changed people's daily life throughout the world. In terms of first and second choices, Newton tied with Beethoven in receiving more support than anyone except a religious leader. Yet the difficulty in choosing scientists was identified by Newton himself, "The reason I see so far is because I stand on the shoulders of the giants." Thus, it is hard to attribute great scientific discoveries and breakthroughs to individuals.

Our great ignorance about the distant past also makes it difficult to identify great men. For example, no one knows who invented the wheel or discovered the productive use of fire. Little is known about the invention of writing and of numbers.

Moreover, advances in pure science are not the only criteria for greatness. There are also technological advances which have altered our lives. A few readers nominated Thomas Crapper, who lived in Britain in the mid-19th century and has now been almost forgotten. It was Crapper who invented the modern water closet, thereby contributing to life expectancy public health and personal comfort throughout the world. A reader in Taipei suggested that Crapper represented the high point of the industrial revolution! Still on the subject of technology, several readers voted for Ts'ai Lun, who invented paper in China around 100A.D.