Who are your favorite living intellectuals/ geniuses/ thinkers/ teachers?
Some of mine: Camile Paglia, Lawrence Krauss, PZ Myers, Neil DeGrasse Tyson, Jane Goodall.
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Richard Feynman.
Feynman for sure! He had a lot to say about everything, not just physics. He also played bongos in a strip joint!
Charles Richter, Carl Sagan, Richard Feynman, Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins and Lawrence Krauss are personal favourites.
Randomhero1982
"Charles Richter, Carl Sagan, Richard Feynman, Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins and Lawrence Krauss are personal favourites."
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You sir have been peeking at my list. ;-)
I tend to avoid naming people that I have not had extended personal interaction with, or only seen more or less scripted works from them, as favorite intellectuals.
So my favorites end up being people like my dad, a couple of my good friends, I would even include possibly a person or 2 on this board if I ever met them in real life and could verify their intellectual input displayed here is their own and original and non scripted. (Of which I strongly suspect they are just that, original, non scripted intellectuals.)
Sean Carroll
Jonathan Swift, Samuel Johnson, George Orwell
My OP asked for your favorite living intellectuals. I am not an effective herder of cats. Have at it!
They live on in their work!
I agree! Every fresh mind inspired is a notch on their pistol grip!
With that I have to add Mark Twain, Kurt Vonnegut, Hitchens, Emma Goldman.
The Notorious RBG.
Smart woman!
@Nyarlathotep
Excellent choice. Not enough people read his stuff.
Sam Harris is in the bubble at the top of my list but I really like J. Krishnamurti, (He poked holes in Buddhism when I thought I was Buddhist) George Carlin - don't sell the comedians short. Christopher Hitchens, a charming man, Epicurus - whom I quote often, Plato for his method of questioning and shadows on a wall, and TD Suzuki for explaining Buddhism. I can think of a hundred more. Wolphe, a very articulate Rabbi who is amazing to listen to from the religious side. One of the few religious people that does not sound like a complete moron. Matt Dillahaunty - up and coming. He may not have a university degree but trust me when I say: "Some University is going to recognize him and give him one for all the work he has done."
You know, how do you choose a favorite. I absolutely love Douglas Adams. I think Dawkins is a bit of a pedantic arse, but if you want to know about biology the man knows his field. Krauss is fantastic, as is Neil Degras Tyson. I have no idea how to choose a favorite./
Peter Mason, Aussie scientist and pacifist.
http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/mason-peter-14943
The books mentioned in the article, are well worth reading, Genesis to Jupiter, Half Your Luck (on probability), Blood and Iron, The Light Fantastic (no not the Pratchett story) and Cauchu, the Weeping Wood.
Peter Medawar British biologist, who made great advances in immunology and graft rejection research and wrote a lot of books on science and philosophy. Dawkins described him "as the wittiest of all scientific writers". Memoirs of a Thinking Radish is his autobiography. A delightful, insightful man.
Choosing a favorite for me is pretty much out of the question. Robert A. Heinlein (oddly enough) was one of my first stepping stones toward escaping the religion pit. Carl Sagan, naturally, was there on NOVA during my childhood/formative years, although I did not recognize it at that time. Matt Dillahunty and the AE crew were a fantastic source of enlightenment for me before I ever found this site. I am an absolute fan of Neil DeGrasse Tyson. That guy is simply amazing to me, and I love his laid-back good-humored demeanor. I have seen a few YouTube debates with Sam Harris and Mr. Hitchens. Those two guys are truly impressive, and it is most amusing and satisfying watching them when they totally SLAM some little twerp who thinks he/she is throwing them some type of K.O. punch. Not sure he qualifies as an "intellectual", but having read much of Arthur C. Clarke's works since I was a kid, I have no doubt he had a significant impact on my thinking over the years. I'm sure there are many I have failed to mention, but these are the main ones who immediately come to mind.