Greatest German contributions to the world ?

What is/are Germany's greatest contribution(s) to the world ?

  • Beer

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Sauerkraut & sausages

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Philosophy (Leibniz, Kant, Hegel, Nietzsche, Heidegger...)

    Votes: 1 50.0%
  • Classical music (Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Schumann, Wagner, Strauss...)

    Votes: 2 100.0%
  • World's first pocket watch

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • World's first petrol/gasoline engine, diesel engine, motorcycle and Jet engine

    Votes: 1 50.0%
  • Cars (BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Porsche, VW...)

    Votes: 1 50.0%
  • World's first light bulb, TV, LCD screen

    Votes: 1 50.0%
  • Electric appliances & electronic goods (Siemens, Bosch...)

    Votes: 2 100.0%
  • Aspirin & other pharmaceutical products

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Dogs (dachshund, german shepherd, doberman, rotweiler...)

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Other (please specify)

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    2
Karnival in Dusseldorf, Koln and Mainz.
 
How about fairy tales ? Many Disney stories originated in Germany
 
From the former list, I am for Philosophers, Musik, Dogs and Cars, in that order.

Chemistry (and not only pharm. producsts) is something that the Germans have been good always and are still IMO the masters of it.

Ah!! We should not forget that most of what we know modernly about the Atom is because of the Germans scientists (Einstein, Schrödinger, Planck, Heisenberg, Pauli, etc.).

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The scientific revolution of the 20th century (Relativity and Quantum Mechanics) were due mostly to the German Science.

To that, we should add that the most important mathematicians of Europe in the last three centuries have been mostly French and Germans.

http://rchsbowman.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/gauss-3.jpg

+++++

Apart from that, there have been very original artistic / architectural movements, like the "Deutsche Expressionismus"...

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... and the Bauhaus.

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Now that I think about it Germans have made a lot of contributions almost in every realm of human knowledge.

They have the right to be very proud of their culture.

(The only thing that I don't like of them, is that sometimes they are a bit arrogant "Am deutschen Wesen soll die Welt genesen")


Regards.
 
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From the former list, I am for Philosophers, Musik, Dogs and Cars, in that order.

Chemistry (and not only pharm. producsts) is something that the Germans have been good always and are still IMO the masters of it.

Ah!! We should not forget that most of what we know modernly about the Atom is because of the Germans scientists (Einstein, Schrödinger, Planck, Heisenberg, Pauli, etc.).

Wolfgang Ernst Pauli shoulnd't be considered german but austrian. He was born in Vienna and moved to the USA right after the german annexation of Austria. Later he was naturalized north-american.

Regards.
 
For me the greatest contribution to the world came from Martin Luther who founded the Protestant Reformation.

That apart Germany and German nationals have delivered so very much that is so very valuable to the world. It is precisely that which created the shock when the Weimar Republic fell and the events that followed began.

But even then England (NOT Britain) was in the lead, because the Germans were only repeating what England had done during the Boer War.

As for the (in)famous Schrödinger, I would baulk at naming him amongst the greats on the basis of his proposing to be an absolute bastard to his cat!
 
For me the greatest contribution to the world came from Martin Luther who founded the Protestant Reformation.

How is that a world contribution ? It only affected a part of northern Europe and the USA. At least everybody can use cars or electronics.
 
Protestantism broke the stranglehold of the Roman Catholic church.

It brought people into a relationship with God that was direct and not dependent on priests who were in turn (and still are) controlled by Rome.

It also started the move towards the availability of the Bible in other than Latin and so allowed people to read for themselves what was written there.

Protestantism also allowed people to be Christians first and members of a church second, totally unlike Roman Catholicism which in many ways is distinctly UN Christian.

In short it started the great reformation which in turn opened up learning and advancement that had previously stalled under The Vatican control.

And ALL down to Martin Luther who kicked the whole thing off. The man who in his own way cried “The emperor is naked”.

The effect has been world wide. Wherever there is a Christian church that is free from the influence of the Vatican and the pope it is attributable to the great work and contribution of Martin Luther.
 
As for the (in)famous Schrödinger, I would baulk at naming him amongst the greats on the basis of his proposing to be an absolute bastard to his cat!

Who is also austrian, btw. :innocent:
 
I voted for classical music.
 
Before I continue, replying to what @Gwyllgi said, it is interesting to share for those that don’t know it, that interesting part of Welsh lore…

The gwyllgi
compound noun of either gwyllt "wild" or gwyll "twilight" + ci "dog") is a mythical dog from Wales that appears as a frightful apparition of a mastiff with baleful breath and blazing red eyes.
It is often referred to as "The Dog of Darkness" or "The Black Hound of Destiny", the apparition's favourite haunt being lonely roads at night. It is said to resemble a mastiff.

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blackdog.jpg
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I think that the contributions of @Gwyllgi could be divided in three main parts.

The historical contributions of Martin Luther and undeniable and in my opinion (if we except the religious wars in Europe) very interesting and positive, just as he discribed.

I am not friend of the RCC (Roman Catholic Church) and I feel right now not in the mood to defend anything they have done. Just to point that anti RCC is one of the main three conducting lines of the participations of @Gwyllgi in this forum... and this is the part less interesting to me.

That apart Germany and German nationals have delivered so very much that is so very valuable to the world. It is precisely that which created the shock when the Weimar Republic fell and the events that followed began.
But even then England (NOT Britain) was in the lead, because the Germans were only repeating what England had done during the Boer War.

I have always believed that a deep understanding of Nazism comes not from studying the years 1933-1945, but to look at the events and culture and political developments of the period 1914-1933.

As a good Welsh, @Gwyllgi wants to remind us that the U.K. is a composed entity...

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland encompasses the most of the three. As its full name suggests, it includes Northern Ireland in addition to Great Britain.

Great Britain is composed of three areas: England, Scotland, and Wales.

As for England, it is the largest and most populous portion of the United Kingdom.
In practice, the terms are often used interchangably through metonymy, though those living in the UK but outside of England tend not to be fond of the practice.

... however, I didn't understand why he brought here the events of the Boer war in South Africa. It will be interesting if he elaborated more about that.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Now, here comes the most interesting part.

As for the (in)famous Schrödinger, I would baulk at naming him amongst the greats on the basis of his proposing to be an absolute bastard to his cat!


I don't know if the analogy of the cat in the box was fortunate or infortunate. However Schrödinger is much more than talking about living or dead cats.

Schödinger was not the man that initially proposed the dual character of paticle-wave duality of everything (it was the French DeBroglie http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_de_Broglie ), however the Schrödinger equation and its predictive results in understanding atomic structure, undoubtly put this man among the absolute Geniuses of all times. I don't know how an educated person could say otherwise.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_orbital

scrod.gif


Regards.
 
Before I continue, replying to what @Gwyllgi said, it is interesting to share for those that don’t know it, that interesting part of Welsh lore…







It’s interesting that you’ve taken the time to see just what a Gwyllgi is! But in fairness like so many things he does get “bad press”.

Most things mythical are poorly communicated between “cultures”, even poorly communicated between societies within the same culture, and round the parts where I live even an everyday story can change substantially from one end of the village to the other.

”That Blodwyn Jones, she’s had twins, not identical though, the girl has darker hair. Still fraternal twins run in her side of the family isn’t it”

(Note how in colloquial Welsh a statement often ends with what would otherwise be a question)

By the time the story has reached the OTHER end of the village it has become:-

“That Jones woman, been at it again she has, Two different babies, look nothin’ like each other. Two fathers obviously. Mind you, her mother and her grandmother were just the same. Easy isn’t the word to describe them!”

So it is with Gwyllgi. Black dogs in British folklore traditionally have a bad reputation, often well founded if only in myth, but a reputation which in some cases with Gwyllgi ignores also being a guardian to travelers on the road.

Many stories exist of a man traveling alone at night through places such as Bettws-y-coed ( http://www.dakotaboo.com/postcards/images/bettws-y-coed,%20swallow%20falls%20(grosvenor).jpg ) on an unknown path and finding a Gwyllgi padding silently beside him snarling whenever he stepped to left or right.

Next day when retracing his steps in daylight then finding that where the Gwyllgi walked to each side of the track was a precipitous cliff that he would otherwise have fallen down in the dark.
 
In reply to Sirius2b

I (think that I) have a sense of humour. An odd one maybe, but one nevertheless.

I also believe in the principle that life is too short to drink cheap whisky, or take serious things too seriously. I also much prefer cats to Schrödinger, a prejudice that I built up when reading Physics as an undergrad nearly fifty years ago!

As for the Boer War, it’s often forgotten that it was the English who first made use of concentration camps for Boer civilians and where the inmates were systematically starved to death.

http://www.erroluys.com/BoerWarChildsStory.htm for one authenticated account.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/513944.stm from “The Beeb” (BBC)

One of the most famous Welshmen of the Twentieth century, David Lloyd George, was utterly opposed to the Boer War and especially the manner in which the English were prosecuting it, an opposition that blighted him politically in the eyes of many for the rest of his life.

There is a great deal for the British, even the English, to be proud of, but a great deal to be utterly ashamed of as well.
 
It’s interesting that you’ve taken the time to see just what a Gwyllgi is! But in fairness like so many things he does get “bad press”.


OK.

Most things mythical are poorly communicated between “cultures”, even poorly communicated between societies within the same culture, and round the parts where I live even an everyday story can change substantially from one end of the village to the other.
......
So it is with Gwyllgi. Black dogs in British folklore traditionally have a bad reputation, often well founded if only in myth, but a reputation which in some cases with Gwyllgi ignores also being a guardian to travelers on the road.


There is a lot of reason in what you say.

It is fascinating how rich the folklore of many European cultures are.

I for my part, if I ever meet a Gwyllgi I will not be so hasty to take for granted its intentions... I will look carefully for maybe it is well intentioned. :innocent:

Regards.
 
In reply to Sirius2b

I (think that I) have a sense of humour. An odd one maybe, but one nevertheless.

I also believe in the principle that life is too short to drink cheap whisky, or take serious things too seriously. I also much prefer cats to Schrödinger, a prejudice that I built up when reading Physics as an undergrad nearly fifty years ago!

Life is too short, so we have to take the best of it, I agree.

As for the Boer War, it’s often forgotten that it was the English who first made use of concentration camps for Boer civilians and where the inmates were systematically starved to death.

I will read the articles with detail. Thank you.

(Naturally I knew that the Boer concentration camps were not one of England best moments).


One of the most famous Welshmen of the Twentieth century, David Lloyd George, was utterly opposed to the Boer War and especially the manner in which the English were prosecuting it, an opposition that blighted him politically in the eyes of many for the rest of his life.

Naturally many of his time and in present, recognize Lloyd George as one of the most influential and visionary man of his time.

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There is a great deal for the British, even the English, to be proud of, but a great deal to be utterly ashamed of as well.

Probably. All things they have to live with (the good and the bad), I guess.

( I as a Mexican have no grudge against British ( why should I? )

And I see that as an oportunity to appreciate the most of their culture and good things... that could come from a relaxed and friendly relationship, whenever possible. )

Regards.
 
Germany is strongly engaged in GMES and carries out an important part of its GEOSS contributions in the context of this European initiative. In general Germany has a share of approx. a quarter (+- 5%) of the European GEOSS contributions. From the numerous contributions of the United Nations Germany bears about 10%.
 

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