Who is the most influential person in history?

clax · Dec 25, 2012

David said:
He was born in 6 BCE, so no.

Also we didn't invent fire, some H. erectus did.

Being that the title "6 BCE" didn't exist until Long after his death, really that the common era wasn't really common before it existed this term BCE doesn't mean anything to the people that counted time in the days before Christ, I really doubt they were counting down to some arbitrary date.

BCE is the synonym of BC it is just a removal of Christ to make the term more secular. Further more he was born in 6 BC according to the Gregorian Callender, which didn't exist in those days, I believe they used a lunar Callender in those days so over the past couple of thousand years the Gregorian Callender doesn't sync up to events before it's existence. A six year obscuring doesn't seem unreasonable.

Funny how December 25 2012 AD is exactly the same as December 25 2012 CE. CE and AD,.same thing. Unless this is first month of the first year of common era it would have it's own meaning.

So the homo erectis that created a way to start fire want a person? I would imagine if they choo existed with us we would call them persons.

clax · Dec 25, 2012

tecoyah said:
Actually, no one invented fire...nature did.

We simply decided to play with it.

People discovered it, but invented techniques to summon it, methods that still work. Petty cool to me

tecoyah · Dec 25, 2012

clax said:
Being that the title "6 BCE" didn't exist until Long after his death, really that the common era wasn't really common before it existed this term BCE doesn't mean anything to the people that counted time in the days before Christ, I really doubt they were counting down to some arbitrary date.

BCE is the synonym of BC it is just a removal of Christ to make the term more secular. Further more he was born in 6 BC according to the Gregorian Callender, which didn't exist in those days, I believe they used a lunar Callender in those days so over the past couple of thousand years the Gregorian Callender doesn't sync up to events before it's existence. A six year obscuring doesn't seem unreasonable.

Funny how December 25 2012 AD is exactly the same as December 25 2012 CE. CE and AD,.same thing. Unless this is first month of the first year of common era it would have it's own meaning.

So the homo erectis that created a way to start fire want a person? I would imagine if they choo existed with us we would call them persons.

No one really knows the year of Christs birth...at best we guess based on dates in the bibles. No one knows the Date either....though the time of year can be implied in the same way (newborn sheep in spring and all that). The calendar argument is a valid one only in that Christianity played a role in the Georgian system of documenting times passage.

Considering the use of fire:

"
The controlled use of fire in the Early Stone Age (or Lower Paleolithic). The earliest evidence for controlled use of fire is at Gesher Benot Ya'aqov in Israel, where charred wood and seeds were recovered from a site dated 790,000 years ago.
There is some controersy about that date; the next oldest site is at Zhoukoudian, a site in China dated to about 400,000 ,years ago, and at Qesem Cave (Israel), between about 200,000-400,000 years ago."

Even at 800,000 yrs ago, they would be considered Homo Sapiens.

clax · Dec 25, 2012

tecoyah said:
No one really knows the year of Christs birth...at best we guess based on dates in the bibles. No one knows the Date either....though the time of year can be implied in the same way (newborn sheep in spring and all that). The calendar argument is a valid one only in that Christianity played a role in the Georgian system of documenting times passage.

Considering the use of fire:

"
The controlled use of fire in the Early Stone Age (or Lower Paleolithic). The earliest evidence for controlled use of fire is at Gesher Benot Ya'aqov in Israel, where charred wood and seeds were recovered from a site dated 790,000 years ago.
There is some controersy about that date; the next oldest site is at Zhoukoudian, a site in China dated to about 400,000 ,years ago, and at Qesem Cave (Israel), between about 200,000-400,000 years ago."

Even at 800,000 yrs ago, they would be considered Homo Sapiens.

Fascinating about fire. I am not very versed on prehistory

to my understanding the Gregorian calender is only approx 500 years old, prior was the Julian calendar, prior to that, was the roman calendar. not sure that they counted the year. if so they surly had to have a starting place

Gregorian calendar
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregorian_calendar

Julian Calender
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_calendar

Roman Calender
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_calendar

really quite interesting the thought put into this, makes me wonder if our current calender will ever be replaced.

Nemo · Dec 25, 2012

If I could meet those ancients most renowned in history - Julius Caesar, Jesus Christ - I would forego them all for but one hour’s conversation with Samuel Johnson.

chris7375 · Dec 25, 2012

Though I am Christian and most would I should say Christ. I say that is apparent among Christians. Though the most influential short of Christ would have to be JFK. We still feel his influence even today. That's who I think it is.

blurinoctober · Dec 26, 2012

Regarding people there is 100% proof of existing, that we still discuss in modern culture, I'm going to have to say Hitler. The entire War and Holocaust wouldn't have happened if it weren't for him. He changed culture in general and such a great number of people lost their lives or relocated during this time.

David · Dec 26, 2012

blurinoctober said:
Regarding people there is 100% proof of existing, that we still discuss in modern culture, I'm going to have to say Hitler. The entire War and Holocaust wouldn't have happened if it weren't for him. He changed culture in general and such a great number of people lost their lives or relocated during this time.

I'm not sure I agree but he's up there. Time's Person of the Year, united Europe for the 1st time since the fall of Rome (and it can be argued the EU is an indirect continuation of his empire), made Total War and genocide, up to that point the status quo, unthinkable, etc.

myp · Dec 26, 2012

To add a point for thought- since history is a continuum, wouldn't the older influential figures have the greatest impact since they impacted the later people who then impacted the later people? So maybe one of the oldest leaders in history is in fact the most influential.

clax · Dec 26, 2012

myp said:
To add a point for thought- since history is a continuum, wouldn't the older influential figures have the greatest impact since they impacted the later people who then impacted the later people? So maybe one of the oldest leaders in history is in fact the most influential.

Guy who invented method to make fire.

Trustme · Dec 27, 2012

Michael H. Hart is a Jewish American astrophysicist and he is the writer of the famous book “The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History”which has sold more than 500,000 copies and been translated into 15 languages.

The said book was not directed to Muslims but Hart chose prophet Mohamed because he believes that prophet Mohamed peace be upon him was the only Man in history who was supremely successful on both the religious and secular levels.

In his book hart says about the reason behind choosing the prophet as number one in the list:”My choice of Muhammad to lead the list of the world's most influential persons may surprise some readers and may be questioned by others, but he was the only man in history who was supremely successful on both the religious and secular levels.Of humble origins, Muhammad founded and promulgated one of the world's great religions, and became an immensely effective political leader. Today, thirteen centuries after his death, his influence is still powerful and pervasive.”

In comparison with the rest of men in the list, Hart says about Mohamed peace be upon him: “The majority of the persons in this book had the advantage of being born and raised in centers of civilization, highly cultured or politically pivotal nations. Mohammad, however, was born in the year 570, in the city of Mecca, in southern Arabia, at that time a backward area of the world, far from the centers of trade, art, and learning”.

chris7375 · Dec 30, 2012

clax said:
Guy who invented method to make fire.

Yeah he has to be up there. Where would we be without him. Don't forget the man who made the wheel.

David · Dec 30, 2012

or the guy who 1st realized pointy sticks made the predators go away/die.

chris7375 · Dec 30, 2012

David said:
or the guy who 1st realized pointy sticks made the predators go away/die.

Yeah that guy also would suck if were still trying to club our food to death :giggle:.

Who is the most influential person in history?

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