The 19th Century Heiress Who Saw The Future

Science is a slow, methodical process of testing hypotheses and forming conclusions, but every once in a while, a mind comes along that leapfrogs the entire scientific community. And even though they are right, it might take years, decades, even centuries for their ideas to be accepted. Here’s 10 examples of scientists the world just wasn’t ready for.

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TIMESTAMPS
0:00 - Intro
4:02 - Ignaz Semmelweis
6:07 - Gregor Mendel
7:03 - Ludwig Boltzmann
8:05 - Ada Lovelace
9:56 - William Harvey
11:22 - Alfred Wegener
12:21 - Aristarchus of Samos
13:14 - William B. Coley
14:09 - Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot
15:23 - Zhang Heng
16:28 - Brilliant

[bitgypsy]

For reasons, I spent 42 nights in a row sleeping under the stars this summer. No devices, just the stars, two full moons, two starlink trains, satellites and airplanes. Based on that, I am convinced that NOBODY thought the earth was flat until people started sleeping indoors.

[Impossiblah]

There's an actual textbook about thermodynamics and statistical mechanics that begins with the introduction "Ludwig Boltzmann, who spent much of his life studying statistical mechanics, died in 1906, by his own hand. Paul Ehrenfest, carrying on the work, died similarly in 1933. Now it is your turn to study statistical mechanics."

[heatherduke]

I had a university science class in 2008 or so with a professor who was maybe in his late 50s. I was blown away when he said that when he was in university they weren't teaching about plate tectonics yet.

[robsquared]

Speaking of the 99/1 ratio of science it reminds me of the quote "they laughed a Columbus, they laughed at Einstein, but they also laughed at bozo the clown."

[Wodz]

I would put Ramanujan at the top of that list. Dude was effortlessly writing out black hole physics before anyone even knew up from down

[emmaponymous]

Ada Lovelace was highly respected by the mathematic and scientific community in her lifetime, even as a teenager, likely because her mother was well known as talented mathematician. There was no head patting involved. And yes, while on the subject of revisionist history to suit modern pop-history, she most definitely had pockets in her gowns.

[auldrick]

One more random note about Ada Lovelace: In 1983 the Honeywell Corporation released the first standard for the programming language Ada under contract with the U. S. Department of Defense, which was looking for a language to replace the 450 programming languages it was using at that time. Ada was, of course, named after Ada Lovelace, who has been credited as "the first computer programmer".

[malachiXX]

A few points...
Regarding the doctors who gave Ignez so much trouble. They would go, not just, from patient to patient, but from learning anatomy on corpses to live patients without washing their hands. That's just to add to the creep factor. He noticed the death rate was high when doctors treated patients but lower when nurses or nuns treated patients. He instituted a chorinated lye solution that his students were required to rinse their hands with before each case. But the doctors complained it chapped their skin. So they stopped using it when he wasn't around. Also, Ignez died in an insane asylum of septisemia. He got a cut on his finger and it got infected.
About Mendel, he was a very humble man who did his work as a monk and really thought very little about it. It was interesting but not life changing to him. The story I learned as a student portrayed him as not even publishing his work at all. He eventually became abbot of the monastary but when he was succeeded, the new abbot tried to have his work destroyed for hubris. A student of his, saved it, and eventually published it years later. Here's the real kicker. The one aspect of heredity that wasn't accounted for by Darwin's original theory was 'the throwback'. How could a less evolved or less advantageous form recur if selective pressure was always for the more advantageous outcome? Mendel's explanation of the 'recessive' trait would have easily explained it. During the cleaning of Darwin's lab after his death, a package was found in the back office. It was 30+ years old and had never even been opened. It was Mendel's work that had been sent to him for his evaluation but he had been either too busy or too arrogant to look at the work of a mathematical monk who supposedly had figured out heredity before he or the scientific community had.

Someone you missed, that's much more recent, is Barry Marshall. He postulated in the early 1980's that many gastric ulcers and peptic ulcers were caused by an infection and that they should be treatable with antibiotics. The concensus was that no known bacteria would be able to survive in the acidic environment of the stomach. Until that point, it was generally thought that once you got an ulcer, you were stuck with it for life. This actually was the case for my uncle. Marshall's research was based in Australia and no one really paid attention to it for 30 years. When I informed my uncle, who had been dealing with his ulcer for 5+ years at the time, of this theory, he took immediate interest and his doctor reluctantly tried the treatment, expecting very little. My uncle became ulcer-free and much happier. It still took another 10+ years for the world, in general, to begin to believe this theory.

[whatbroicanhavecharacter]

It really bothers me that "self unalive" is a topic that needs to be danced around on YouTube. Its entirely unhelpful to the people the subject actually affects. Forcing its censorship only perpetuates the idea that its something to be ashamed of and to be kept to yourself, not discussed. This mindset kills people. A lot of different kinds of censorship on this platform completely and shamefully disregards context and just blanket bans topics and words. Cant talk about "angry funny mustache german man" in any context without fear of recieving disciplinary actions against your channel, yet avoiding conversation about that specific topic removes the possibility of us learning from the past and avoiding similar tragedies as a society. We'll look back on this in time and regret letting corporations decide what we're allowed to hear. The internet is too influential on how an average person thinks and acts for this to not have a long lasting and likely negative impact on our society as a whole.

[me]

In one of my undergrad books, it was discussed how Boltzmann's studies of thermodynamics drove him mad to the point of committing suicide, and now it is our turn to understand thermo. Lives rent free in my head.

[LaurieAnnCurry]

I love me my Joe and one of the many reasons is your humbleness & realness. The snippet where you correct yourself on the year and say “numbers are hard”; so relatable.

[LyleFrancisDelp]

As far back as 1974, my 8th grade science teacher introduced us to, what was then termed The Theory of Continental Drift. At the time, it still wasn’t fully accepted by the science community. About ten years later, while watching a science show on TV, it had been renamed Plate Techtonics.

[jesusgaud]

Thank you so much for the intro on explaining how real science works. It is getting scary how the internet has become so full of the anti-scientific process rhetoric, in particularly, from big name “influencers”. It is refreshing to see someone with a prominent channel like yours sounding the woo woo alarm.

[jaffa]

I know this is kinda dumb but I'm quite impressed with myself for it. When I was like 12 or so, I independently came up with the theory of natural selection years before I was taught about it. I was literally in the shower and I just randomly realised that animals evolved over time because those who weren't good enough died off and the ones who were good enough, lived

[rabindramishra]

Great video! Speaking of scientists who were way ahead of their time one can also think about Aryabhata, Bhaskara 1 and Bhaskara 2 whose contributions to Mathematics and Astronomy were indeed ahead of their times!!

[ryenick]

Your videos have never failed me. Despite working for almost 10 hours a day, I couldn't even miss a single topic you uploaded.

[johncliffalvarez]

Joe consistently delivers top-notch content, shedding light on overlooked scientific figures and introducing a new generation to important but often unsung heroes in the field. I'm confident they'll appreciate this.

[bootblacking]

Semmelweis was so hard-headed, and that's unfortunately where he failed as a scientist. However, I wouldn't say he did no experiments. He was deeply troubled by the death rate in that clinic and when he began enforcing handwashing it resulted in a drastic decline of dead mothers. We know because he kept records of these things, he was obsessed with figuring out how to stop these unnecessary, everyday tragedies. And when he put this hard evidence to his peers they said it was too concerned with numbers, as if that, the hard data and the reduction of human suffering weren't _the entire point._ The fact he would not publish is maddening, however. He was right tho

[caseyczarnomski]

At 5:38 "Ichorous exhalations" easily explained is ichor=blood and body fluid from a wound, and exhalations=exhale as in breathe out, cough, or leave the body. Not confusing, but 💯 correct

[ThePdeHav]

No one ‘ patted Ada Lovelace on the head, ’ in a patronizing manner. She was a highly respected mathematician. Furthermore she was able to think conceptually in four dimensions, a fact that became extant when she was working in the field of geometry with a famous dude whose name I forget. Finally, she corresponded with most the great scientists of her day. So no; no patronizing.