Einstein Unveiled

John_Renne writes "One of the most well known scientists in the near history is Albert Einstein. Pictures of him can be found on allmost everything varying from lunchboxes to t-shirts and cartoons. On the other hand there's little knowledge of who Einstein really was and the human being behind the genius. This article tries to create a view of the inner Einstein. A nice read for everyone interested in the person inside the phenomenon."

Finally

[Xpilot]

The topic matches the topic icon!

Beautiful! This is truly a Slashdot moment to cherish.

"unknown"?

[cetan]

On the other hand there's little knowledge of who Einstein really was and the human being behind the genius

You mean, aside from all the biographys written about him, the published letters to his children, the secret FBI file kept about him, etc etc.

BN returns rather a lot on the man, and a number of these items are not lunchboxes.
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/result s.asp?WRD=Einstein [barnesandnoble.com]

Didn't he get his start...

[TechnoLust]

splitting beer atoms to make fizzy beer? You have to admire anyone who wants to make better beer. Oh, wait, that was just a movie. History, pop-culture, same difference. :-)

Re:Finally

[SkulkCU]

This is truly a Slashdot moment to cherish.

Well, don't worry -- it'll probably happen again.

Very soon. *ahem* Sorry.

LSD?

[giel]

"Einstein said that he thought in images and even muscular sensations," says John Stachel, a physicist and the founding editor of the Papers Project. "The hardest part for him was to translate his findings back into language that others could understand."

Sounds like the good man was addicted to drugs. And yes, I can image it is really hard to translate an LSD trip into language others can understand. However a real artist will be able to do so.

was optimism cheap in the 1950's?

[w1r3sp33d]

"His life projects high achievement and a hope for a sane future for humanity..." I really wonder what Einstein would say today about mankind and its future, Hey Taco, how about borrowing that time machine from Celebrity Death Match and bringing him here for an exclusive /. ten question interview?

Re:LSD?

[gowen]

I can image it is really hard to translate an LSD trip into language others can understand. However a real artist will be able to do so.

Or maybe not. Allow me to quote jambands.com [jambands.com]

As the story goes, the first time Paul McCartney got high, he discovered something very deep and mystic. He wrote it down on a piece of paper and folded it up, entrusting it to Mal Evans, the Beatles' road manager. The next day Mal asked Paul if he wanted to see what was written on the paper. Paul said "yes". He opened it up. Scrawled across it was the phrase "there are seven levels".

We're sorry Dr. Einstein

[xyote]

but your previous experience as a clerk at the Swiss Patent Office doesn't qualify you for a position of research physicist here at the Institute for Advanced Studies.

Is is any wonder the poor guy has been reduced to being an advertising shill for everything in sight?

Re:Finally

[einstein]

I wish it was a better picture. I look so grumpy.
--

Re:Little known about Einstein ??

[kin_korn_karn]

Darwin liked turtles
Newton liked apples
Bohr liked bees
Freud liked his mother

Much more better...

[JustJoking]

This book is far better than the lesser known "Einstien Undressed", although there's more words, fewer pictures.

Re:Little known about Einstein ??

[OldStash]

Freud liked his mother

Not really. He just liked the cigars she smoked.

Re:Favorite Einstein quotes??

[JofCoRe]

Personally, my favorite Einstein quote is:

Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.

ah... so true.

privacy?

[v(*_*)vvvv]

Where are all the privacy activists? I guess we all only care about our own privacy huh.

Re:Childrens Letters To Einstein

[Elwood P Dowd]

The genius of you Americans is that you never make clear-cut stupid moves, only complicated stupid moves...

I resent this remark. I did at least five incredibly stupid things just yesterday. All of them were readily apparent to the most casual observer.

Re:LSD?

[VikingBerserker]

"Einstein said that he thought in images and even muscular sensations," says John Stachel, a physicist and the founding editor of the Papers Project. "The hardest part for him was to translate his findings back into language that others could understand."

I've been watching a lot of footage of Joe Cocker on stage, and if I understand his body language correctly, he can expound volumes on Stephen Hawking's latest theories.

I've got a letter from Einstein.

[Elwood P Dowd]

My grandpa wrote Einstein a while back. Grandpa was leading a Great Books discussion on something of Einsteins, and he asked for a clarification of one of the problems in the book. Einstein wrote back. It's in English, which means he either dictated it, or someone translated it for him, since he didn't write in English.

Either way, we're pretty sure he was wrong... hehe. Makes me happy every time I think about it.

Re:Didn't he get his start...

[Peter Trepan]

Actually:

Ein = one

Stein = beer mug

Einstein = one beer mug?

Anyone here speak fluent enough German to tell me whether this has significance?

Re:Finally

[jahalme]

Do note this sentence from the article;

"Albert Einstein remains not just scientifically relevant but a multipurpose icon as well."

Yes indeed - he's used as the icon for all science stories on Slashdot. I'd definately call that multipurpose!

Re:What Einstein WASN'T a genius at...

[Idarubicin]

I remember reading a story about how he called the telephone operator from a pay phone to ask what his phone number and address were -- he couldn't remember them.

Einstein never bothered to remember his own phone number, reasoning that he seldom needed to call himself. On rare occasions when he did, it was something he could look up.

As a student in a co-op education program, I move every four months, so I can't remember my phone number either. It's nice to know I have something in common with Einstein. (Yes, I study physics too, but I'm not going to flatter myself.)

With regard to famous mathematicians and physicists forgetting where they live, this joke has been told about many scientists.

Scientist X is moving today. Since he knows how absent-minded he is, he takes care to jot down his new address on a slip of paper. He has an important lecture to deliver, so his family moves while he is in class during the day. When Scientist X prepares to go to his new home, he realizes that he cannot find the piece of paper. Distraught, he returns to his old house, and sees a young girl sitting on the front step. He asks her, "Excuse me, little girl. Can you tell me to where the family who used to live here has moved?"

She immediately replies, "Of course, Daddy. Mom knew you'd forget, so she left me to remind you."

A quick survey of the web shows that Scientist X is usually mathematician Norbert Weiner, though a number of others are cited less frequently.

Apparently

[pommiekiwifruit]

Einstein: God does not play dice.

Bohr: Don't tell God what to do!

Re:Apparently

[Wolfrider]

--After reading the book of Genesis...

Dammit, snake-eyes again!!

they don't make Patent Clerks like they used to

[Tablizer]

Einstein was a patent clerk when he published many of his greatest papers

No wonder the current patent clerks are such idiots: God accidentally assigned all the brains to a *single* clerk. Probably forgot to increment an index pointer or something when dolling out the smarts to future patent clerks.

Re:Finally

[Tablizer]

The topic matches the topic icon!

I don't see an icon. Why, it must be relative to the viewer.

Re:Repeat Nobel Winners

[BollocksToThis]

However, the noble prize is not awarded posthumorously.

Scientific aspirants beware! Telling a joke can cost you your Nobel prize!

Re:Favorite Einstein quotes??

[Tablizer]

"Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute, and it seems like an hour. Sit next to a pretty girl for an hour and it seems like a minute. Now that's relativity!"

For many geeks these two experiences are nearly indistinquishable.