Great Thinkers

Meet the great minds whose ideas have shaped the world — philosophers, scientists, artists, leaders, and revolutionaries whose thinking still matters today.

6 thinkers
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Technology & Engineering
Al-Jazari
1136-1206 · Upper Mesopotamia (modern Turkey/Syria)
Badi al-Zaman Abu al-Izz ibn Ismail ibn al-Razzaz al-Jazari (1136-1206) was an engineer, craftsman, inventor, and mathematician who served the Artuqid dynasty in Upper Mesopotamia,…
Scientific thinking Creative expression Research skills Cultural heritage and identity +1
"It is not permissible once one has understood a subject completely to neglect to give credit to the pioneers."
Technology & Engineering
Fazlur Rahman Khan
1929-1982 · Bangladesh / United States
Fazlur Rahman Khan (1929-1982) was a Bangladeshi-American structural engineer whose innovations transformed how tall buildings are designed and made the modern generation of skyscrapers possible.…
Scientific thinking Creative expression Research skills Critical thinking +1
"The technical man must not be lost in his own technology. He must be able to appreciate life, and life…"
Technology & Engineering
Frederick Winslow Taylor
1856-1915 · United States
Frederick Winslow Taylor (1856-1915) was an American mechanical engineer whose systematic approach to industrial work created the school of thought known as scientific management and…
Scientific thinking Critical thinking Research skills Ethical thinking +1
"In the past the man has been first; in the future the system must be first."
Technology & Engineering
Marshall McLuhan
1911-1980 · Canada
Marshall McLuhan (1911-1980) was a Canadian media theorist. He was born in Edmonton, Alberta, and studied literature at the University of Manitoba and Cambridge University…
Media literacy Digital literacy Critical thinking Civic media and democracy +1
"The medium is the message. This is merely to say that the personal and social consequences of any medium result…"
Technology & Engineering
Nikola Tesla
1856-1943 · Serbian, Austrian Empire / United States
Nikola Tesla (1856-1943) was an electrical engineer and inventor whose work on alternating current, induction motors, and wireless power transmission helped shape the modern electrical…
Scientific thinking Creative expression Research skills Critical thinking +1
"The present is theirs; the future, for which I really worked, is mine."
Technology & Engineering
Taiichi Ohno
1912-1990 · Japan
Taiichi Ohno (1912-1990) was a Japanese industrial engineer whose work at the Toyota Motor Company produced the Toyota Production System, a way of organising manufacturing…
Problem solving Critical thinking Scientific thinking Research skills +1
"Having no problems is the biggest problem of all."