History Trivia Thread Reducks

[HisMajestyBOB]

They kissed and made up?

[Viking]

Pure guess: they killed each other on the first blow?

first pass yes, though the russians claim to this day that the mongol fell off his horse first

[Drakken]

Yippie.

Floor's open.

[Drakken]

Resurecting this beast, just 'cos:

For what reason was the prominent Soviet botanist and geneticist Nikolai Vlavilov arrested on Stalin's orders in 1940 and sent to the gulag, where he starved to death in 1943?

[Malthus]

Resurecting this beast, just 'cos:

For what reason was the prominent Soviet botanist and geneticist Nikolai Vlavilov arrested on Stalin's orders in 1940 and sent to the gulag to be starved to death there in 1943?

Opposed Lysenkenism in support of evolution?

[Drakken]

Opposed Lysenkenism in support of evolution?

Correct on the first part, he was a vociferous opponent of Lysenkism.

Vlavilov was supporting the Mendelian theory of genetics, which was VERY anathema to Trofim Lysenko's socialist, non-competitive vision of "genetics". Lysenko settled the debate by having Vlavilov arrested and sent to his death.

As an aside, even the Russian Front was accessory in advancing the science of plant genetics! 

According to Cohen, by 1940, Vavilov had accumulated a collection of 200,000 plant seeds from the Soviet Union and from abroad. The collection was seized by a German SS squad in 1943 and partially transferred to the SS Institute for Plant Genetics, which had been established at the Lannach Castle near Graz, Austria.[5] However, the Germans could only take samples stored within the territories occupied by the German armies, mainly in Ukraine and Crimea. The main gene bank in Leningrad was not affected. The leader of the German squad was Heinz Brücher, an SS officer who was also a plant genetics expert.

[Viking]

Opposed Lysenkenism in support of evolution?

Correct on the first part, he was a vociferous opponent of Lysenkism.

Vlavilov was supporting the Mendelian theory of genetics, which was VERY anathema to Trofim Lysenko's socialist, non-competitive vision of "genetics". Lysenko settled the debate by having Vlavilov arrested and sent to his death.

Commonly known as the "Argumentum ad Parabellum". As Max Planck said, "science progresses one funeral at a time".

It might just be me, but my gut reaction to the question was "opposing lysenko was just way too obvious, the real answer must be something else".

[Drakken]

It might just be me, but my gut reaction to the question was "opposing lysenko was just way too obvious, the real answer must be something else".

I threw around enough curveball questions in the past, so I elected to go for one that wasn't too difficult. 

[Malthus]

Opposed Lysenkenism in support of evolution?

Correct on the first part, he was a vociferous opponent of Lysenkism.

Vlavilov was supporting the Mendelian theory of genetics, which was VERY anathema to Trofim Lysenko's socialist, non-competitive vision of "genetics". Lysenko settled the debate by having Vlavilov arrested and sent to his death.

I'd say Lysenko got the better of that debate. 

How about this, an easy one - the intricately carved Lewis Chessmen are one of the most famous treasures from the early medieval period ever discovered. The "warders" (their version of castles) display what prominent and unmistakable feature that vividly demonstrates the particularly Scandinavian heritage of the carvers?   

[Razgovory]

I thought Lysenko's ideas were evolution.  Just not Darwinian evolution.

[Razgovory]

I am going to say "breasts".

[Drakken]

I thought Lysenko's ideas were evolution.  Just not Darwinian evolution.

Lysenko's ideas were that Mendelian's genetics, at least for plants and seeds, as competitive and "survival of the fittest" was a Capitalist propaganda idea. His beliefs were that genetic traits were acquired and could be passed (akind to Lamarckism), and that these genes would pass on because the agents would collaborate with one another to survive, a more Socialist-friendly idea.

Through hoaxes and false research he was able to convince the Soviet apparatchiks that he was a genuine Soviet expert on plant genetics and agriculture, and they decided to base their agricultural policies on Lysenko's ideas, like planting seeds very early in winter in barely frozen ground in high humidity and low temperature (a process Lysenko termed vernalization) so that they could acquire resistance to cold, or plant them in batches very close to one another so that they would support each other's growth. Unsurprisingly the results were disastrous for Soviet agriculture.

[Viking]

I'd say Lysenko got the better of that debate. 

How about this, an easy one - the intricately carved Lewis Chessmen are one of the most famous treasures from the early medieval period ever discovered. The "warders" (their version of castles) display what prominent and unmistakable feature that vividly demonstrates the particularly Scandinavian heritage of the carvers?

nom nom nom

[Malthus]

I am going to say "breasts".

Unsurprisingly, not. 

[Malthus]

I'd say Lysenko got the better of that debate. 

How about this, an easy one - the intricately carved Lewis Chessmen are one of the most famous treasures from the early medieval period ever discovered. The "warders" (their version of castles) display what prominent and unmistakable feature that vividly demonstrates the particularly Scandinavian heritage of the carvers?

nom nom nom

I'm giving it to you  - the warders are shown chewing on their shields (the sign of a berserker).