Norman Borlaug - Badass of the Month - September 2009

**Sley** · Posted On: 9/16/2009 8:16pm

Originally Posted by 1point2

I think Phrost's point is that the death of Oxyclean-man went more noticed by more people than the guy who actually had an impact on so many lives.

Oxyclean has saved countless shirts...

Yes this guy is pretty badass, he just went to India in the middle of a war and help them, thats badass

**danno** · Posted On: 9/16/2009 9:14pm

people like this deserve to be put up on a pedestal. i don't give a **** about the details, because people much less deserving get their faces on every magazine on the planet day to day.

good work, phrost.

**maxthegeek1** · Posted On: 9/16/2009 10:10pm

Although he has saved a billion lives relatively "directly", if we're willing to be deterministic about things, there are scientific and technological achievements which may have saved even more lives, prevented more deaths, and allowed more people to live in the first place. Not only that, but scientific achievements are the stepping stools for other achievements to come afterward them (some more than others obviously). So to say that someone is the most badass scientist ever because they've saved a billion lives in the short term seems to be a limited way of looking at things. To know who the most badass scientist has been as of yet, we would have to understand the full scope of human history, and understand the most far reaching consequence of every achievement up till this point. That being said we can at least guess who the most badass scientist is, I'd bet on the guy who invented fire, and if our criteria for being a scientist is more specific than that, idk, i'd bet on newton probably.

**3moose1** · Posted On: 9/16/2009 10:50pm

It is ridiculous that our scientists and doctors are not bigger celebrities then some blonde tramp who couldn't **** her way out of a wet paper bag.

Seriously.

**TheRuss** · Posted On: 9/16/2009 10:56pm

Originally Posted by HappyOldGuy

(That would pretty much have to be Watson and Crick)

You spelled Rosalind Franklin wrong.

Also, Phrost, I approve of the selection.

**hairydynamicist** · Posted On: 9/17/2009 7:36am

Originally Posted by TheRuss

Also, Phrost, I approve of the selection.

And I approve of this thread. A scientist being given badass of the month on a site which places so much weight on rational thinking is only fitting. That three pages (to date) of debate follow on the issue between people who punch each other in the face for fun?

I'm welling up.

**Kuma** · Posted On: 9/17/2009 8:11am

I'd never heard of him until his radio obit on NPR. The man was like a science missionary, going to the worst places on Earth for his whole damn life just to keep other people from starving. He made Gandhi look like an idiot in comparison.

Also, the photo of him in the unitard indicates that he might in fact have been able to kick at least some ass at the collegiate level, which means he trained alive. So the haters can collectively **** themselves and eat a bowl of anything and thank Norman Borlaug for it because he probably helped make it.

(and saving evil people is morally equivalent to saving good people, you zero-sum jackasses. You should pay more attention in Philosophy.)

**Sophist** · Posted On: 9/17/2009 8:45am

Another example of a guy who wasn't famous but saved a hell of a lot of lives:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maurice_Hilleman

On the other hand, some of these great humanitarian scientists would perhaps prefer to remain anonymous. Jonas Salk actually did get the fame and recognition (and a day in 1985 dedicated to his honour by the US Government), and was somewhat unhappy about many of the impacts his celebrity had on his ability to continue doing useful work.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonas_Salk

Personally, I'd rather see a few million kids taking Hilleman and Salk and Borlaug as their role models than Eminem and Britney Spears, even if some of them would rather shun the limelight.

**BestatwhatIdo** · Posted On: 9/17/2009 8:46am

Honestly, when I first clicked this link, I figured it would be some old time boxer or wrestler. I didn't recognize the younger Norman Borlaug, but I have definitely heard of him before and completely agree that he is a badass.

You did good, Phrost.

**Rough&Tumble** · Posted On: 9/17/2009 10:34am

Originally Posted by HappyOldGuy

He got basically every prize that it is possible for a scientist to receive.

He isn't even the most impactful nobel laureate biologist out there.

(That would pretty much have to be Watson and Crick)

He accomplished amazing stuff, and if saving lives makes you a badass, then he is the badass of the decade. But the unsung hero thing is crap. He is as celebrated as any scientist in recent memory.

He was also a partisan is some messy debates about development, which is the agenda behind P&T making a stink about him on Bullshit.

Hmm, I suppose Al gore is a more deserving candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize? I ROFL in your face sir.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21262661/