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Brutal

The real joke is of course that everyone goes for Einstein in a world where John von Neumann[0], Srinivasa Ramanujan[1] and Bertrand Russel[2] also exist (well, used to exist)

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EDIT: I'm more than slightly annoyed by my male-centric top three here, so I tried to think of extremely prolific female geniuses. So my mind went to Marie Curie[3], Margaret Hamilton[4], Grace Hopper[5], Marilyn vos Savant[6], and Lynn Margulis[7] (my favourite - crazy contrarian conspiracy theorist near the end of her life, but punk AF).

They are all awesome of course, but more as "famous successful and important scientists" (except for vos Savant). None are quite so "polymathy" or extremely prolific.

I can explain that within the historical context of sexism and traditional gender roles but goddamn is it frustrating.


So I check Wikipedia. First the list of women in science. Full of amazing scientists, but nothing that helps me figure out who is *exceptional* among them. So onto the list of child prodigies we go[9]. Well.. ehm... again nobody quite as prolific... Anne-Marie Imafidon[10] is cool but it's too young to tell.

And then there is Hildegart Rodríguez Carballeira, whose tragic story is a stark reminder of what we're actually joking about here

> Hildegart Rodríguez Carballeira (December 9, 1914 in Madrid – June 9, 1933 in Madrid) was an activist for socialism and sexual revolution, born and raised by her mother as a model for the woman of the future. She spoke 6 languages when eight years old, finished law school as a teenager, and was a leader of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party and afterward of the Federal Party.

> Hildegart was conceived in Ferrol by Aurora Rodríguez Carballeira and an undisclosed biological father chosen by her mother with eugenic intentions. When she was sure she was pregnant, she moved to Madrid, where Hildegart was born. Aurora set a clock to wake herself up every hour, allowing her to change her sleep position so blood could irrigate the fetus uniformly.

> Hildegart spoke 6 languages when eight years old

> In June 1928, at age 13½, she enrolled in the School of Law of the Complutense University of Madrid. She later gave lessons at its School of Philosophy during the Second Spanish Republic.

> She was a leader of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party and afterward of the Federal Party.

> Hildegart was one of the most active people in the Spanish movement for sex reformation. She was connected to the European vanguard, corresponding with Havelock Ellis, whom she translated, and Margaret Sanger.

> By the time she was 17 years old and had become internationally known, her mother shot her to death.

> There were several hypotheses about the cause of the murder. Hildegart may have fallen in love. She intended to separate from her mother who, out of paranoia, threatened suicide. Aurora's explanation was that "the sculptor, after discovering a minimal imperfection in his work, destroys it." She shot her daughter twice in the head and twice in the heart

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[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_von_Neumann

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Srinivasa_Ramanujan

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bertrand_Russell



[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_Curie

[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Hamilton_%28scientist%29

[5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grace_Hopper

[6] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marilyn_vos_Savant.

[7] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynn_Margulis


[8] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_female_scientists_in_the_20th_century

[9] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_child_prodigies

[10] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne-Marie_Imafidon

[11] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hildegart_Rodr%C3%ADguez_Carballeira

Note how the main character looks like David Graeber