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This infographic reveals the world's most influential people, born before 1950, using data from all language editions of Wikipedia. "It shows you how the world perceives your own national culture," says César Hidalgo, head of the Media Lab's Macro Connections group, who researched the data. "It's a socio-cultural mirror."

Rankings are based on parameters such as the number of language editions in which that person has a page, and the number of people known to speak those languages (L/BN). "We use historical characters as proxies for culture," says Hidalgo. "It's easier to track knowledge about Shakespeare than about each of the characters he created in his writing."


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Using this quantitative approach, Hidalgo is now testing hypotheses such as whether cultural development is structured or random. "Can you have a Steve Jobs in a country that has not generated enough science or technology?" he wonders. "Ultimately we want to know how culture assembles itself."