International Women’s Day

Shining a spotlight on brilliant thinkers.

Author

1984.design
March 08, 2024

Your mind is your most essential tool as a knowledge worker. You can improve your use of this tool by studying how brilliant thinkers conduct research, connect ideas, solve problems, and make decisions.

Using the knowledge gained by previous thinkers is also one of the fastest ways to make intellectual progress. To “stand on the shoulders of giants” is to upload these brilliant thinkers’ understanding to your mind, build on top of it, share your new insights, and keep on fostering our collective intelligence.

This series of portraits from Ness Labs explores the thought processes, working habits, and decision-making principles applied by brilliant thinkers who profoundly impacted the world with their discoveries and how they challenged the status quo.

Marie Curie: the power of sharing radical ideas with the world

Marie Curie became the first woman to win a Nobel Prize in 1903. Then, in 1911, she became the first person to win two Nobel Prizes, and still holds the record as the only woman who has earned two Nobel Prizes in two different fields.

nesslabs.com/marie-curie

Ada Lovelace: the power of imagination and poetical science

Ada Lovelace is considered the world’s first computer programmer. In 1842, Lovelace translated an Italian publication about Charles Babbage’s Analytical Engine into English. However, this was no ordinary translation.

nesslabs.com/ada-lovelace

Jane Goodall: the power of experimentation and conviction

Scientist Jane Goodall always watched the world around her. As a child, she would spend hours watching jumping spiders and keep all kinds of pets.

nesslabs.com/jane-goodall

Katherine Johnson: the power of questioning the rules

Katherine Johnson was known for precision and was never afraid to ask questions. However, no one knew who she was for decades until Margot Lee Shetterly documented Johnson’s extraordinary career in the book Hidden Figures.

nesslabs.com/katherine-johnson

Aspasia: the power of debate and collective learning

Aspasia, a little-known female philosopher with the gift of persuasion, is rarely mentioned in history books. However, she was one of the most influential philosophical figures in Athens.

nesslabs.com/aspasia

Simone de Beauvoir: the power of intellectual advocacy

Simone de Beauvoir was an influential writer, feminist, social theorist, and philosopher. She is best known for her book "The Second Sex" which upended traditional notions of the role of women in society.

nesslabs.com/simone-de-beauvoir

Elizabeth Blackwell: the power of applied education

Elizabeth Blackwell overcame many challenges to become the first woman to qualify as a doctor in the United States, be included in the British General Medical Council’s medical register, and publish in a medical journal in the US.

nesslabs.com/elizabeth-blackwell

Vera Rubin: The power of evidence-based visual thinking

Vera Rubin was a powerhouse in astrophysics, though she rarely gets the credit she deserves. Rubin is responsible for discovering dark matter, which makes up 84% of the material that exists in the universe.

nesslabs.com/vera-rubin

Rosalind Franklin: the power of unbounded curiosity

Rosalind Franklin was a groundbreaking scientist whose story is tied to the discovery of the double-helix structure of DNA. Franklin and her Ph.D. student used X-ray technology to photograph DNA that showed the molecule’s structure.

nesslabs.com/rosalind-franklin

Mae Jemison: the power of developing multifaceted skills

Mae Jemison is the first African American woman to orbit the earth. She had known that she had wanted to be a scientist since kindergarten. Not only did she grow up reading books about space, but she also loved science fiction books where black women were the story's heroes.

nesslabs.com/mae-jemison

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