<![CDATA[Do you know a young person?]]>Do you know a young person?

Ask them what famous people they've heard of from before 1950 and let me know.

For example: Einstein? Marie Curie? Cleopatra? Donatello? da Vinci? Isaac Newton? Queen Victoria? Elizabeth I? Henry VIII? William Tell? Robin Hood?

Ask them, and let me know ...

(PS: Boosts would be welcome to get this outside my bubble ... TIA)

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/topic/c0f26792-cb13-4c58-8aaa-b3bb3ed6eb42/do-you-know-a-young-personRSS for NodeSat, 06 Jun 2026 07:22:21 GMTTue, 02 Jun 2026 20:51:34 GMT60<![CDATA[Reply to Do you know a young person? on Thu, 04 Jun 2026 03:04:49 GMT]]>@ColinTheMathmo I’m curious too (but I don’t really know much young people).

That said, born or dead before 1950? Also did you intend for historical people or also fictional?

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://sakurajima.moe/users/yon/statuses/116689619506334874https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://sakurajima.moe/users/yon/statuses/116689619506334874Thu, 04 Jun 2026 03:04:49 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Do you know a young person? on Thu, 04 Jun 2026 02:07:31 GMT]]>@humanhorseshoes Ha! The classic blunder of forgetting New Zealand!
@ColinTheMathmo

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://setouchi.social/users/David/statuses/116689394147040696https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://setouchi.social/users/David/statuses/116689394147040696Thu, 04 Jun 2026 02:07:31 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Do you know a young person? on Thu, 04 Jun 2026 01:50:19 GMT]]>@ColinTheMathmo at least 15 years ago, my brother's gf who was maybe... 24(?) didn't know who Chaplin, Marilyn Monroe, Fred Astair or Robocop were... maybe not the best example since she didn't know what celery was either.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://pataterie.ca/users/chantaryu2/statuses/116689326513613892https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://pataterie.ca/users/chantaryu2/statuses/116689326513613892Thu, 04 Jun 2026 01:50:19 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Do you know a young person? on Wed, 03 Jun 2026 21:13:15 GMT]]>@ColinTheMathmo @robjmills Not good on Ireland, haveta say

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.ie/users/sinabhfuil/statuses/116688237071862328https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.ie/users/sinabhfuil/statuses/116688237071862328Wed, 03 Jun 2026 21:13:15 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Do you know a young person? on Wed, 03 Jun 2026 18:47:42 GMT]]>@ColinTheMathmo In pursuit of that question you may be donning the garb of Diogenes - you will need a bathtub and lantern.

I bet that few people, whether young or not young, know Diogenes.

Link Preview Image
Diogenes - Wikipedia

favicon

(en.wikipedia.org)

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://sfba.social/users/karlauerbach/statuses/116687664769751077https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://sfba.social/users/karlauerbach/statuses/116687664769751077Wed, 03 Jun 2026 18:47:42 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Do you know a young person? on Wed, 03 Jun 2026 14:29:55 GMT]]>@ColinTheMathmo when I was a teen, we'd play a game of naming a band for every letter of the alphabet.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mstdn.social/users/bit101/statuses/116686651071241864https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mstdn.social/users/bit101/statuses/116686651071241864Wed, 03 Jun 2026 14:29:55 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Do you know a young person? on Wed, 03 Jun 2026 12:52:22 GMT]]>@jonathan859 Both are intended to be fuzzy, interpreted by the person answering.

Anything in the 1900s is still relatively recent history and I was thinking about pre-1900, but all answers are useful.

And 17 is certainly young enough

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mathstodon.xyz/users/ColinTheMathmo/statuses/116686267524474779https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mathstodon.xyz/users/ColinTheMathmo/statuses/116686267524474779Wed, 03 Jun 2026 12:52:22 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Do you know a young person? on Wed, 03 Jun 2026 12:44:29 GMT]]>@ColinTheMathmo Define young? And define famous, I'm a 17 yo german, Hitler comes to mind here first...

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://someplace.social/users/jonathan859/statuses/116686236527270103https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://someplace.social/users/jonathan859/statuses/116686236527270103Wed, 03 Jun 2026 12:44:29 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Do you know a young person? on Wed, 03 Jun 2026 12:24:45 GMT]]>@ColinTheMathmo
I was reading the lists (usually know the name, sometimes not what they were famous for oh hello Wikipedia), and saw a list of which I knew little. Ah! famous somewhere other than western Europe. My life is narrow.

My list would be heavy on musicians before 1900.

Do some people know of Old Masters because of turtles?
I suspect my sons think Donatello and Raphael were, though they'd know Leonardo and Michelangelo.

I'd heard of Babe Ruth, thought it was a chewy sweet.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.online/users/sunflowerinrain/statuses/116686158913861618https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.online/users/sunflowerinrain/statuses/116686158913861618Wed, 03 Jun 2026 12:24:45 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Do you know a young person? on Wed, 03 Jun 2026 12:20:48 GMT]]>@wynke Totally fair.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mathstodon.xyz/users/ColinTheMathmo/statuses/116686143396574760https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mathstodon.xyz/users/ColinTheMathmo/statuses/116686143396574760Wed, 03 Jun 2026 12:20:48 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Do you know a young person? on Wed, 03 Jun 2026 12:20:26 GMT]]>@ColinTheMathmo She was not very interested in the question. She did ask how old her grandparents are/were and if they count (the oldest of them was born in 1940 and none of them are particularly famous, so no). Then she turned back to the more pressing matter of getting ready for her three-day school trip, which I guess is fair.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mendeddrum.org/users/wynke/statuses/116686141922193985https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mendeddrum.org/users/wynke/statuses/116686141922193985Wed, 03 Jun 2026 12:20:26 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Do you know a young person? on Wed, 03 Jun 2026 12:13:03 GMT]]>@robjmills It would be interesting to know if they know who comes before whom.

But the knowing of them is impressive ... HH has much to be proud of!

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mathstodon.xyz/users/ColinTheMathmo/statuses/116686112898083555https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mathstodon.xyz/users/ColinTheMathmo/statuses/116686112898083555Wed, 03 Jun 2026 12:13:03 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Do you know a young person? on Wed, 03 Jun 2026 12:10:35 GMT]]>@ColinTheMathmo define young… my 9 year old could name every single one of those. Largely this is from being obsessed with watching Horrible Histories though!

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://indieweb.social/users/robjmills/statuses/116686103218529990https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://indieweb.social/users/robjmills/statuses/116686103218529990Wed, 03 Jun 2026 12:10:35 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Do you know a young person? on Wed, 03 Jun 2026 12:08:51 GMT]]>@robinadams

👍

CC: @Scmbradley

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mathstodon.xyz/users/ColinTheMathmo/statuses/116686096417684307https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mathstodon.xyz/users/ColinTheMathmo/statuses/116686096417684307Wed, 03 Jun 2026 12:08:51 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Do you know a young person? on Wed, 03 Jun 2026 12:05:02 GMT]]>@ColinTheMathmo @Scmbradley Oh, and Dr Seuss and A A Milne

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mathstodon.xyz/users/robinadams/statuses/116686081398009236https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mathstodon.xyz/users/robinadams/statuses/116686081398009236Wed, 03 Jun 2026 12:05:02 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Do you know a young person? on Wed, 03 Jun 2026 11:55:44 GMT]]>@robinadams Super ... thank you!

CC: @Scmbradley

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mathstodon.xyz/users/ColinTheMathmo/statuses/116686044843296275https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mathstodon.xyz/users/ColinTheMathmo/statuses/116686044843296275Wed, 03 Jun 2026 11:55:44 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Do you know a young person? on Wed, 03 Jun 2026 11:54:26 GMT]]>@ColinTheMathmo @Scmbradley My 6-year-old son knows Albert Einstein and Jesus. I will keep you posted on developments.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mathstodon.xyz/users/robinadams/statuses/116686039688932400https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mathstodon.xyz/users/robinadams/statuses/116686039688932400Wed, 03 Jun 2026 11:54:26 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Do you know a young person? on Wed, 03 Jun 2026 09:03:58 GMT]]>@avtpiavva Fabulous collection ... thank you!

And thank him!

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mathstodon.xyz/users/ColinTheMathmo/statuses/116685369402989978https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mathstodon.xyz/users/ColinTheMathmo/statuses/116685369402989978Wed, 03 Jun 2026 09:03:58 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Do you know a young person? on Wed, 03 Jun 2026 08:32:40 GMT]]>@ColinTheMathmo asked my 12 year old. He said George Washington and a lot of the presidents, Jesus, lots of Kings and Queens of England, Pharaos, Leonardo Davinci, Mona Lisa (probably a celebrity since she was painted) Queen Elizabeth who was an adult before 1950, not sure about celebrities, the scientist who discovered uranium, a guy who discovered a bunch of bugs in the 50s, Shakespeare.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/avtpiavva/statuses/116685246299978037https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/avtpiavva/statuses/116685246299978037Wed, 03 Jun 2026 08:32:40 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Do you know a young person? on Wed, 03 Jun 2026 08:12:23 GMT]]>@ColinTheMathmo asked a child

answer: ozzy osborne

*deep sigh*

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://metalhead.club/users/lkundrak/statuses/116685166587146600https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://metalhead.club/users/lkundrak/statuses/116685166587146600Wed, 03 Jun 2026 08:12:23 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Do you know a young person? on Wed, 03 Jun 2026 07:23:47 GMT]]>@Twotired Bit of both. It's hard for some to come up with names spontaneously, but prompting runs the risk of them vaguely thinking they may have heard the name.

I'm just interested to see what names come up ... it's not a challenge, it's data so I can mention names when I do talks and hope that a sizeable proportion of my audience will have a clue about who I'm referencing.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mathstodon.xyz/users/ColinTheMathmo/statuses/116684975474466473https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mathstodon.xyz/users/ColinTheMathmo/statuses/116684975474466473Wed, 03 Jun 2026 07:23:47 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Do you know a young person? on Wed, 03 Jun 2026 07:21:59 GMT]]>@ColinTheMathmo Fred (11yo): (I asked for five or else he'd miss school): "Anne Frank, Charles Dickens, Jesus, John Snow, Ada Lovelace and Charles Babbage (it feels wrong to have one without the other.)"

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mathstodon.xyz/users/icecolbeveridge/statuses/116684968404725849https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mathstodon.xyz/users/icecolbeveridge/statuses/116684968404725849Wed, 03 Jun 2026 07:21:59 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Do you know a young person? on Wed, 03 Jun 2026 07:20:12 GMT]]>@pauamma It was somewhat tongue-in-cheek ... there isn't really, and can't be, a hard cut-off. I know people in their early 20s who were therefore born in the naughties ... "young" is a completely subjective term.

I was thinking of under 18, but really, anyone.

CC: @shapr

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mathstodon.xyz/users/ColinTheMathmo/statuses/116684961368094921https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mathstodon.xyz/users/ColinTheMathmo/statuses/116684961368094921Wed, 03 Jun 2026 07:20:12 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Do you know a young person? on Wed, 03 Jun 2026 07:18:59 GMT]]>@ColinTheMathmo I'm trying to remember where in my archives I put this puzzle, currently to no avail.

I can remember a few things on my list. It was basically Wikipedia bait. There was stuff like

  • Euclid shows how to compute greatest common divisor
  • Al-Khwarizmi shows how to solve quadratic equations by completing the square

but also sneaky things like

  • Ada Lovelace writes programs for Babbage's Analytical Engine
  • Babbage's Analytical Engine gets constructed
  • Women in the UK get the right to vote

I'm fairly sure I had

  • Alan Turing commits suicide
  • Lethal quantities of toxic gas are released from Union Carbide factory in Bhopal
  • King Charles I executed

I definitely had

  • Potatoes arrive in Europe

because I would routinely demonstrate Euclid's algorithm with two piles of salad potatoes, claiming the while that Euclid had actually used potatoes, and never once getting called on the anachronism.

If I remember rightly, I served up a list of 25 things (selected from a slightly larger pool, but with some compulsories) in random order, each keyed by a letter of the alphabet, and I asked for the sequence of the key letters arranged in chronological order, with the one which hasn't happened yet at the end.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://types.pl/users/pigworker/statuses/116684956601369038https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://types.pl/users/pigworker/statuses/116684956601369038Wed, 03 Jun 2026 07:18:59 GMT