The internet has brought us some amazing things. It's practically impossible to live without it! Social media helps us to be in touch with loved ones, and streaming platforms are a delight. However, If you spend at least an hour of your day on the internet, you know that cancel culture is here. Even more troubling, the movement seems to gaining momentum.
Scientists are notorious for being eccentric. However, all we hear from the famous ones are their amazing accomplishments. The internet is pretty good a digging up dirt, and lately the dark sides of some revered scientist are resurfacing. Listverse has saved you the work of searching the internet yourself. Here is a list of the top 10 famous scientists that would definitely be #cancelled in today's jackboot-wearing cancel culture.
10. Steven Hawking
#gaslighting #mysoginistic
To other people, Hawkins is recognized for the long lasting fight he waged against amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a condition hinders muscle movement. That includes voluntary muscles control, like chewing, walking, and talking. Known as a hero, there is still some controversy when it comes to his ex-wife Jane Baryl Wilde. You see, she abandoned her studies to support Hawkins's career. However, in a twisted turn, when Hawkins was appointed the youngest fellow of the Royal Society (at 32) he did not mention his wife in his speech. Also, according to her, he demanded to be carried around their house like a king, and shamed her about her religion (Hawking was an atheist).
9. Thomas Edison
#animalrights #govegan
Thomas Edison is the archetype of the creative genius. He is known as America's greatest inventor, with over 1000 patents in electricity, communication and sound recording. He was also engaged in a heated rivalry with fellow genius and inventor Nikolas Tesla, and inspired Homer Simpson to become an inventor in one of the best Simpson's episodes ever.
The feud with Tesla itself is not why Edison made this list, but rather because of how far he was willing to go to win the debate. Their scientific bout (called "War of Currents") was about whose system would be the future of electricity: Tesla's alternating-current (AC) system or Edison's direct-current (DC) system. Who paid the price, you ask? Toby, the elephant. To prove that Tesla's AC system was too dangerous to be used by people, Edison electrocuted the poor animal in front of a crowd and journalists (full disclosure, his DC would have the same effect). There is no need to tell that this gruesome act, would NOT fly today.
8. Dr. John Charles Cutler
#racist #blacklivesmatter
You may not know John Cutler, and perhaps calling him famous is a bit of a stretch. However if you work with biology, health or any of the related sciences you are probably aware of who he is. Cutler is credited to be one of the most prominent figures in the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases in the world. This American scientist also was involved in vaccination programs against polio in the '60s and reproduction studies.
Sadly, even more famous than his name is one of his projects: The Tuskegee experiment. If you ever studied the progression of syphilis from a medical textbook, you might have noticed how detailed the descriptions are to the point of gore. The reason? From 1946 to 1948, Dr. Cutler led a team that studied the effectiveness of penicillin by deliberately infecting hundreds of black Americans. As a result of being treated like guinea pigs, one man died. The penicillin was not given to him until it was too late. The whole thing was so bad that in 1997 the then president Bill Clinton apologized on behalf of the whole country.
7. Francis Crick
#sexisminscience
Francis Crick and James Watson (AKA Watson & Crick, for the initiated) are two American scientists accredited for the discovery of the structure of DNA, in the 1950s. The keyword here is accredited. At the time, there was a race for the recognition of this scientific milestone. The research community already knew about the existence of DNA and its basic composition. The last mystery about DNA was its shape: A double helix. The two scientist shared the Nobel Prize for their achievement.
