Who is your favorite famous biologist?

asfouts · Apr 26, 2012

I just wanted to see who likes which biologist, so that I can see the range of famous reporters

. It doesn't have to pertain to herpetology at all, just an off topic friendly discussion.

I suppose I will start with me. My ALL time favorite is David Attenborough. I grew up with "trials of life" and I have all his episodes... On VHS. I have just about memorized his shows. When people asked me who I looked up to when I was younger I said David Attenborough (I recieved puzzled looks)

Here is my list of Biologists:
1. David Attenborough
2. Jeff Corwin
3. Jeremy Wade
4. Steve Irwin
5. The crew who filmed frozen planet and planet earth

Smdee · Apr 27, 2012

Rosalind Franklin is one of my all time favorite scientists in general (cheating a bit...she was actually biophysics)

Um...I like Charles Darwin lol. And Neil Shubin (paleontology), Robert Koch, Niko Tinbergen...And Alfred Hershey and Martha Chase

(I'm also partial to Lise Meitner and Linus Pauling, but they're not biologists

)

xxianxx · Apr 27, 2012

If i can include a naturalists i would choose Gerald Durrell (for those of you unfamiliar with him Gerald Durrell - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) I spent many happy hours as a child traipsing through the countryside with one of his books in my hand, i came across one the other day with a muddy finger print on a page identifying newts. That finger print is over thirty years old, cant remember how it got there but i like to think i was standing in a ditch holding the book in one hand and a newt in the other.

Azhael · Apr 27, 2012

Sir David Attenborough is not strictly speaking a biologist although personally i couldn´t care less. He is a hero of mine, no doubt, hugely influential in my early development as a biology nutter.
Other people i admire are Charles Darwin, E.O.Wilson, Richard Dawkins or Carl Linnaeus. There are plenty more, in fact there are few biologists i don´t like xD

asfouts · Apr 27, 2012

I also forgot Sarah Goodman!

And I agree very few I dislike. Haha I am suprised no one has sucked up and said John

Wow I just read up on Durrel, I am a fan of his work now too.

Azhael · Apr 27, 2012

That´s because John is a chemist, which clearly has.....nothing.....to do...with......biology....¿?

asfouts · Apr 27, 2012

Oh see I did not know this. Haha... I thought that he was, honest mistake. Well I was wrong, such is the way of life.

At least he isn't an engineer or an architect that would have been way more embarassing.

Now I am not so surprised haha...

Azhael · Apr 27, 2012

I feel like you might have taken my commentary as "mocking" the mistake, so to make sure my badly expressed joke doesn´t cause trouble i should explain that it was just pointing to the fact that biology is chemistry and so the difference between biologists and chemists is blurry indeed. Which doesn´t prevent us from making fun of each other.
I actually used to think John was an herpetologist for a long time, when i found out he was an evil chemist i was sad to learn he was on the dark side.

asfouts · Apr 27, 2012

Hahaha its okay no trouble! Chemistry might as well be witchcraft... I cringe knowing I have to take it next year...

michael · Apr 27, 2012

Rachel Carson.

Ken Worthington · Apr 27, 2012

Hannibal Lecter had a keen interest in Biology (from a culinary stance, admittedly), although I suppose being fictional, his eligebility as a potential candidate might be
flawed.

The chapter in "My Family and other Animals" by Gerald Durrell which recounts the story of the young Gerald placing a scorpion (with it's offspring on her back) in an empty matchbox....and the resulting mayhem......would lean me toward the Durrell vote.

However, are people like Crick and Watson, for example considered biologists?

Hmmmm....I'm gonna have to come back to this one when I'm sober.....

Molch · Apr 27, 2012

I admire so many of them - all those who stuck their necks out and advanced the field with new and revolutionary ideas. Dawson, Dawkins, many others less famous but equally accomplished.

I also admire (and envy) many others who have lived the "cool" life, spending many years in wild and woolly places studying animals and plants. The ones who slide up and down the rainforests and live for months in field camps and dusty little tents in the desert - sigh...

the ones I can do without are certain TV celebrity "biologists" who aren't really biologists at all but hop up and down in front of animals in an attempt to provoke them into some kind of camera-worthy reaction. Yeah. You know the ones I mean...

Molch · Apr 27, 2012

asfouts said:
Hahaha its okay no trouble! Chemistry might as well be witchcraft... I cringe knowing I have to take it next year...

cool. They teach witchcraft at your school?

Otterwoman · Apr 27, 2012

Molch said:
cool. They teach witchcraft at your school?

I took a course in that when I was an undergraduate!

Molch · Apr 27, 2012

otterwoman said:
I took a course in that when I was an undergraduate!

way cool. Did you use eye-of-newt for any of it?

Smdee · Apr 28, 2012

asfouts said:
Hahaha its okay no trouble! Chemistry might as well be witchcraft... I cringe knowing I have to take it next year...

Cool, I'm minoring in witchcraft! This makes my regretful choice so much better :lol:

John · Apr 28, 2012

Well, since I got dragged into this, and then disqualified, I thought it only appropriate to point out that David Attenborough has a Bachelor's degree in Natural Sciences. I too have a Bachelor's degree in Natural Sciences, not Chemistry. So why can't I be a biologist too? I will grant you that my Fud is in Chemistry though.

I am a big Gerald Durrell fan. "My family and other animals" meant a lot to me when my aunt gave me that book at the age of 10.

emz · Apr 28, 2012

Richard Dawkins all the way for me, His book The Greatest Show On Earth was fascinating i couldnt put it down.

Niels D · Apr 28, 2012

Molch said:
Did you use eye-of-newt for any of it?

That reminds me of a movie I've seen a long time ago.... if only I could remember.

Though not a biologist I'm going for Attenborough as well.

John · Apr 28, 2012

Niels D said:
Though not a biologist I'm going for Attenborough as well.

Part of his degree is Biology. Why can't he be a biologist? And who says you have to have a degree to be a biologist? If you spend your time working with biology, as he does, I would call him a biologist. I think he might prefer the term "naturalist" though.

Who is your favorite famous biologist?

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