Devin's+Week+9

Albert Einstein is by far one of, if not the most, famous scientists the world has ever known. Heralded for his scientific achievements and high I. Q., his image and person have not only become and important part of the academic community, but he has become the source of numerous pop culture references and has permeated everyday conversation. When young kids make fun of each other for being brainy you never hear them say’ “way to go Niels Bohr.” However, Einstein may have an incredible celebrity status, but he is one of few scientists that do. Certainly there are others, Hawking, Newton, Galileo and maybe even Hubble, but the list ends there. And even though Einstein may have such fame and notoriety, very few people know of his non-scientific contributions to society. Yes, he worked on the Manhattan project, and yes he worked on relativity, and yes his equations help us look at the geometry of the universe, but hw many people now of his influence in the creation of the German Democratic Society, or of his condemnation of the Nazi anti-Semitism? Few. That part of the legend of Einstein is lost on most. This is proof that no matter how famous a scientist you are, you will never be as famous as, actors or athletes. Ask the average American what Einstein’s position on the war was and then ask them how Bono feels about the war in Iraq. You’ll get a lot more answers to the second question than you will the first.