These funny looking dead men are among the most brilliant individuals who ever lived. Although the discussions in this article are more on the lighter side, no disrespect was intended to these great scientists.

1. Copernicus

   

   Who will ever forget Copernicus? The guy enraged the wise men, clergy, and scholars of his day. He challenged Ptolemy’s belief that the earth was at the center of the universe (by the way, I can imagine Ptolemy as a bald headed philosopher who writes books everyday, but don’t take my word for it). Instead, Copernicus boldly stated that the sun is at the center of the solar system, and moving around it are the planets. This concept might seem dumb and obvious to us today (just ask your nine year old daughter and she will even enumerate the names of the planets for you), but during the time of Copernicus, challenging the accepted beliefs of the Church is equivalent to heresy. Too bad, those old timers from the 1400’s never had the Discovery Channel, or National Geographic magazines, so they never figured out that the sun (not the earth) was at the center of this neat little system known as the Solar System. They were lucky to have Copernicus, but he was too much of a smart alec for them, so they made him look like a loser. Know what I mean?

2. Galileo Galilei

   

   Read more in Science

   « Weird Insect Sex

   More Facts About Salamanders Than You Need »

   What would you do if you bump into an odd looking guy today who claims that he was the first person to see spots on the sun, moon craters, and the “four stars” of Venus? I bet you’ll think the guy is a nut. That’s why I have reason to believe that a lot of people in Galileo’s time thought he was a first class psychotic. By the use of a telescope, he scanned the Milky Way and saw stars never seen before by any scientist. After his discoveries, he instantly became a Copernican (believing in the Heliocentric Theory). What else can I say? Galileo was a very smart and courageous man, but whew, what a name. There’s no way anyone can get me to name my future kids after him.

3. Johannes Kepler

   

   A scholarly scientific magazine referred to Kepler as a “versatile theoritician”. Now I don’t know what that means. I can imagine he was similar to Mel Gibson’s character in the film “Conspiracy Theory”. But kidding aside, Kepler was the one who theorized the three laws of planetary motion and his statements became the basis for the pattern and movement of spacecraft and satellites that orbit the earth.

4. Isaac Newton

   

   When I was in grade school, my teacher illustrated to us the theories of Isaac Newton. She (our teacher) told us to attach a string to a small ball and then start rotating that thing horizontally above our heads. She further stated that if enough energy was exerted, it would take time before the ball will give in to gravity and it will continue to encircle our head and stay in “orbit”. At that time, I thought Newton was a dumb and stupid scientist. Aren’t scientists supposed to give us some hard, complicated problems and stuff? Any dummy can perform this ball and string thing! It was only during high-school and college that I came to realize just how brilliant Newton was. This guy actualy formulated the Law Of Gravitation and the laws of motion, two very important concepts in the study of the behaviour of heavenly bodies. He was also an expert in integral and differential calculus. Sorry Newton, I misjudged you.

5. William Herschel

   

   Image Source

   Funny how coincidence can change the destiny of an individual. William Herschel was a musician by profession. But for some reason, he unintentionaly acquired a telescope. This started within him a lifelong fascination with the study of space and heavenly bodies. After many years of studying outer space, he became famous after discovering the planet Uranus. There were no Pulitzer Prize or Time Magazine Man Of The Year awards during those days, so Herschel never had the chance to stand behind a podium and make a speech. And another thing, we can’t eat Uranus, but at least it became an additional item to our Science exams.

6. Albert Einstein

   

   Ok, these next fellow we’re about to discuss is one big fish. Albert Einstein was the first man to prove that gravitation bends light, which later gave birth to a term called “relativity”. As he continued to develop and prove this concept, he came up with the now household formula, E=mc squared. I don’t blame the kids nowadays for thinking that Einstein was the one who invented the Atomic Bomb. We cannot deny that Einstein’s brilliant idea gave way for the massive carnage in Hiroshima and Nagasaki a few decades later. But come on, let’s be nice and gentle to this guy Albert. He was reportedly a loner and introvert. If you will be so kind to join him to lunch, who knows, he might help you with a math problem or two.

7. Edwin Hubble

   

   Although Hubble looks like a mysterious machine operator from the film Star Trek, you better think twice about making fun of him. He invented a very powerful telescope called the Hubble Space Telescope (I bet this guy’s having an ego trip). Anyway,the Hubble telescope broke man’s concept regarding the boundaries of the universe. Through the eyes of Edwin Hubble and his invention, scientists were able to behold the massive and limitless splendor of the universe. With the discovery of the expanding cosmos, “Hubble brought us a giant step closer to understanding the origins of the universe” (National Geographic Magazine, 1974). After his death in 1953, he left a legacy to the history of space exploration — a challenge to the future generations to continue expanding our understanding of the vast cosmos.