[asa] offspring of important historical figures

This recent discussion of selfish genes got me to wonder
about the status of some important historical figures. A
cursory look:

Christ, none: unless you subscribe to the "da Vinci Code" et al.

Newton, unlikely,
Plato, unlikely,
Socrates, 3 (all legitimate)
Aristotle, 2 (all legitimate)
Galileo, 3 (well...)
DaVinci, unlikely it seems
St. Augustine, 1 (err, died before replicating)
Kant, unlikely
Bacon, unlikely
Descartes, 1 (err, died before replicating)
Boyle, unlikely

So some of the most important developers of modern
science and the foundations of philosophy may have
had no offspring at all. Others did, but not under
the best of circumstances. Only a few seem to have
made it to a full marriage and a family.

Of course, the Catholic church would have been of
some important influence here, so I expect after
the reformation, the proportion of important
contributors who also had families is likely to be
higher. Some of these people also suffered from
political matters beyond their control. Nevertheless,
if gene optimization is the sole (or is that soul) target,
would it not have been more intelligent to "think" less,
and "exercise" more? I think, therefore, I procreate.

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Received on Wed Aug 16 13:06:33 2006