Betty Shannon, Unsung Mathematical Genius (2017)

Re:Betty Shannon, Unsung Mathematical Genius (2017) by notacoward on Wednesday February 12, 2020 @10:24AM (#22309503)

I've seen enough stories like this to wonder how many more there are. How many of the "great men" of scientific and technological history were great in part due to "hidden partnerships" with spouses or others who aren't listed as co-authors on papers and such? Seems like a book collecting a dozen or so such stories would be a great read.

Note: this is not to deny any scientist or inventor any credit. Most of those we celebrate deserve it. I'm just thinking there are even more great people we should know about.

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Re:Betty Shannon, Unsung Mathematical Genius (2017) by caycep on Wednesday February 12, 2020 @11:19AM (#22310082)

Granted, I have seen other forms of this in creative partnerships, both marriage and also non-marriage, where there is a creative dreamer and an organizational genius.

n/naka, one of the best restaurants in LA here, is like that - the chef is a totally disorganized "Dreamer" and her partner makes it happen

Greene and Greene, the architecture firm that designed the landmark Gamble house, also appeared to operate like this, one brother was the creative dreamer and the other was the business guru.

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Re:Betty Shannon, Unsung Mathematical Genius (2017) by BurningFrog on Wednesday February 12, 2020 @11:14AM (#22310021)

I suspect the "Edison Syndrome", to coin a term, where the head of a lab takes credit for all inventions is fairly common.

Though what the Shannons did doesn't really sound unethical to me. This is just how they liked to do things.

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Re:Betty Shannon, Unsung Mathematical Genius (2017) by OzzyB on Wednesday February 12, 2020 @10:31AM (#22309571)

If you want to see this dynamic play out in dramatic form I highly recommend The Wife w/ Glenn Close.

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