towards ranking
(1) Niels Bohr
(2) Tycho Brahe
(3) Alfred Nobel
(4) Soren Kierkegaard
(5) Dag Hammarskjold
(6) Gunnar Sonsteby and the Norwegian Resistance
(7) Gustavus Adolphus
(8) Queen Margaret of Norway, Sweden and Denmark
(9) Snorri Sturluson
(10) Henrik Ibsen
(11) Carl Linneaus
(12) Svante Arrhenius
(13) Linus Torvalds
(14) King Canute
(15) Gunnar Myrdal
(16) Greta Garbo
(17) Ingmar Bergman
(18) Edvard Munch
(19) G. H. Hansen
(20) Hans Christian Anderson
At this stage, the ranking is spurious, even rash. I suspect the Vikings and monarchs will gravitate down, in favor of scientists and artists...But I will be surprised if Bohr finds a rival for the one spot.
How do you adjudicate between an 11th century Viking chieftain and a 20th century pop star? As best you can. Moreover, even if your rankings and selections are objectively correct, they won’t stay way. In fact, they’re certain, over time to change, as the influence of A wanes, and that of B waxes. Kierkegaard (#4) was barely known at the time of his untimely death.
#78 (always a place of especial honor on such a list, in my opinion) will probably be Sveinbjorn Beinstensson, the neo-pagan revivalist, along with a hopeful prayer that the future will see his influence rise. In 100 AD a list of history’s 78 most influential humans would not yet include Jesus Christ. Some of the most influential people who ever lived became influential only long after their deaths. Let us hope Sveinbjorn becomes influential, that Scandinavians will recover their authentic pagan spirituality, and remember what their forebears knew, that all things return, that Jormungandr bites his own tail.
Vikings and Monarchs already have a lot of press. Do they interest you? Do scientists and artists interest you more? What's the criteria for your list?
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, I don't yet have a good answer to your third question. It seems like I should, but I don't. Niels Bohr's achievements do seem objectively greater than, say, Harald Bluetooth's. I am certainly very interested in the Vikings, particularly Viking mythology, one of the earliest and purest loves of my life. I like the early modern monarchs, in particular; this is a phase of history that fascinate me quite apart from the Scandinavian angel. It's possible I'm overrating these folks relative to the artists and scientists, and others but the fact is, I love them all.
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