[OJFord]

Progress today seems typically more industrial, but I'm sure you could likewise look back in the future and say Good heavens! Musk, Bezos, Altman, Jobs, Ive, Knuth (or extend the period for Turing, von Neumann, Brooks bros.)!

The 'Great Man' fallacy no doubt applies as well to Galileo et al. as it would more obviously be someone's objection to my contemporary list.

[amelius]

You named some people who don't belong in the same sentence.

[OJFord]

My first sentence explained the shift. My last sentence anticipated your complaint.

[AfterHIA]

If you compare our predecessor Turing to people like Musk or Bezos ever again I'll have you chemically castrated.

[OJFord]

I started by saying progress today seems more industrial (vs. academic) - if you fall down the same trap of naming a single figurehead, then yeah, that is people like Musk & Bezos. I too have more respect for Turing.

[AfterHIA]

I know mate I was just razzin' you. Rave on.

[srean]

Turing, Shannon, Neumann definitely but Musk et al ? really ?

I consider their contribution to the body of human knowledge or humanity to be of quite dubious merit. Very smart and successful businessman for sure, very good at enriching themselves, but that's about it. At best they can be compared to Rockefeller, Edison, that too at best.

On the other hand one can argue that a lot of our material welfare (as a product of science and engineering) is a direct consequence of Newton's accomplishments. Of course he did not start the fire all by himself.