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.
I see you've chosen an image from the "classic" genre of E pictures: with a chalkboard and equations! They all work together, don't they, to indicate genius, and to present an image of someone whose mind lives in a world apart from everyday ones. It's also interesting that E is paired with the famous e=mc2 equation in popular culture, knowledge which may play off of this image (how elaborate the math is on the board, compared to the elegant simplicity of e=mc2). Scientific genius = simple mathematical laws of nature? If so, does this prevent other scientists to being perceived as geniuses if they don't have a problem with a description described by mathematics? I like your question about how most people in society don't think to know what E's contributions actually were, despite the fact that he is nearly universally recognized. How can those two things be true?
ReplyDeleteTo be completely honest, I have tried to come up with an intelligent answer to that question and I cannot think of one. The only response I can come up with as a reason why I think the majority of the population's lack of knowledge about "E" is that it comes from lack of interest in pursuing details about his life and the barriers of common stereotypes. I never figured I needed to know anything about Einstein unless I was studying physics or something! All I ever knew was that he was a genious and since I dont understand or want to pursue physcics as a career, I would leave the headache to the brainiac scientists and so forth. Is that a terrible response or what?
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