I’m not supposed to be blogging, since I’ve got to go and set up and introduce the visiting speaker, but I thought I’d point you to an LA Times (front page!) article by John Johnson, talking about some new material about Einstein and his more “human” side, as opposed to the standard image that is portrayed*. The letters (from about 1915, before the completion of his General Theory of Relativity – see a post I did about that work here) speak of more humanity, more vulnerability, insecurity, doubt… Yes, all those things that the rest of us have. No surprise to some of us that Einstein shared them too, but definitely good to have more “out there” to paint a better picture of him, for those who are less familiar with scientists in general, and that scientist in particular. I’ve not read the article in its entirety (just skimmed it so far), but it certainly looks interesting, and will point you to more material. The article is here.
-cvj
*Thanks Michelle!
