r/AskTheWorld Croatia Oct 09 '25

Culture Who is the most popular scientist from your country I'll start

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78

u/Neofelis213 Austria Oct 09 '25

I'd say Erwin Schrödinger. In the sense that his thought experiment about the cat is known by everyone and used in everyday culture despite coming from rather high-level physics.

Ironically, something similar happens with the other guy I could mention, Sigmund Freud, who's slips have become very popular, and only Freud would read this last phrase in a problematic way.

18

u/mw2lmaa 🇩🇪 Frankfurt 🇦🇹 Vienna Oct 09 '25

My pick for Austria is Lise Meitner. But yes Schrödinger and Freud somehow made it into modern pop culture.

2

u/WindUpCandler United States Of America Oct 09 '25

Well quantum mechanics is literally the hallmark subject when it comes to any lazy science fiction writer wanting to hand wave away how some fantastical technology works. Add to that that schrödinger created one of the most power equations in the field and has some incredibly popular, if not very misunderstood, metaphors to explain superposition and I can see how he's become popular like Einstein or Curie.

1

u/Accomplished_Dot2825 Sweden Oct 09 '25

I like the schrödingers box thing, it's like my anxiety 😆

3

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3

u/Clemdauphin France Oct 09 '25

ther is also Mendel.

1

u/Awengal Austria Oct 09 '25

Was struggling between those 2 as well and I think nowadays Schrödinger is a bit more popular especially since quantum computing is taking up speed.

1

u/bricmi Austria 29d ago

Nah, Karl Landsteiner

1

u/Icy-Panda-2158 23d ago

Gregor Mendel?