Albert Einstien and our Popular Culture
There are very few things I understand about this photograph. The idea of mathmatics beyond addition, subtraction, multiplication and division makes me break into sweat. I do not care, either for the mentioning of "physics". Honestly, what are they talking about?! Regardless, I do happen to recognize that this is a photo of Albert Einstein, a man we know in our popular culture as a "genius". What makes someone a genius? I am always told that if someone has an IQ similar to that of this man, they are a genius. Do we even know if he had taken an IQ test? I suppose the fact that he was the mastermind in crafting the theory of relativity speaks for itself.
This brings me to my point, however. What do I, as general non-scientific population, understand about Albert Einstein? For one, he was a genius, and if you were to call someone an Einstein it generally is a good thing (unless you are teasing). For two, he had terrible hair. For three, I know he is famous for his equation E=MC2....whatever that means. Maybe it is sad that the majority of the world cannot comprehend his great mind. What he has written on the board might relate to something extremely important in the invention of the atom bomb, or some other really important invention, but can the rest of the world look at this and appreciate the amazing brain that produced such equations? I think not. Most people, including myself, do not even try to understand the lasting contributions he truly made to society. So Albert Einstein will probably always be known in popular culture as "that genious" with the "crazy hair" (as we usually imagine really smart scientific-like people to be) who writes E=MC2...or whatever he has on the board here. Maybe one day we can break that barrier, but like a lot of scientists and their work, he just becomes another stereotype for us to foolishly abuse.
