[lit-ideas] Re: Einstein


****A.A. I think they are the same, except that Einstein had something every other luminary has; PR, right place/right time, nice simple equation that (I think Paul hit it) the clueless can remember if not understand, so they know there's something really important there. All of the above probably. Why isn't Newton considered a genius?

HE IS!!! He's just not a household name -- anymore. I would hazard a guess that MOST physicists and mathematicians and a good deal of philosophers would most definitely hold out Isaac as a genious.

His work is arguably the most important in the history of physics and math. But the sound bite about him is, he got hit in the head with an apple and discovered gravity. Piece of cake, anybody can do it.

Well, everything is a soundbite nowadays. But "Einstein" [as a noun synonymous with "genius"] was PROBABLY, ironically enough, if not coined, popularized in the 40s and 50s by none other than Warner Bros.' Bugs Bunny. Incidentally, they did the same thing with a whole lot of 'genius' music, getting everyone to remember Rossini's "Barbhare of Seville".

It's just that Einstein came along and was a giant among giants. There were many people involved in the whole thing, but he was number 1. He DID IT. Like I said, his name has a cool ring to it as well. It works as a pejorative too "way to go EIN_STEIN!"

But I still don't know how you can say that someone who actually THOUGHT of space-time as a concept before he did the math, THEN adopted existing mathematics and developed some special stuff to make his 'quaint' formula ISN'T a genius. He was at LEAST a savant. Christ, Michael JORDAN and Eminem are considered a genius in today's world. Isn't it at least good that a couple of scientists get a word in there too?


Anyway, have a good day and keep your dick under control,

****A.A. I'm on it. 

Andy, you finally succeeded in making me laugh... seriously, no seriously.

p


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Paul Stone
pas@xxxxxxxx
Kingsville, ON, Canada

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