He WAS an Einstein

I guess it's a good thing when people use your name in a negative fashion to indicate someone's lack of intelligence. "He's no Einstein", they say. Well we all know what he did, but no one except maybe Hawking really understands it. E=MC² and the whole universe thing. You know, things that we like to pretend we get but really don't.

I have always been interested in science. I just kind of dig learning how things work. Well so did Albert. The difference is, he was about a katrillion times smarter than me and he didn't just figure out how things worked, he figured out WHY they worked. The advances for which we can thank him are too numerous to list.

He couldn't get into college because he couldn't pass the entrance exams. He went to a prep school and eventually got accepted. Did you know that his theory of relativity had its beginnings in a paper he wrote when he was sixteen??? The only theory of relativity I could conceive of at sixteen was who my third cousin was.

In doing a little research for this article, I discovered that Einstein, as brilliant as he was, was devout in his spiritual beliefs. Some of his best lines concerned God and His place in the universe. I found some good quotes on a web page by Kevin Harris and I thought I would let Big Al (not to be confused with Big Gay Al of South Park fame) speak for himself:

• "Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe."
• "Gravitation is not responsible for people falling in love."
• "Science without religion is lame. Religion without science is blind."
• "Do not worry about your difficulties in Mathematics. I can assure you mine are still greater."
• "No, this trick won't work...How on earth are you ever going to explain in terms of chemistry and physics so important a biological phenomenon as first love?"
• "The release of atom power has changed everything except our way of thinking...the solution to this problem lies in the heart of mankind. If only I had known, I should have become a watchmaker."

Thomas Edison gave us so many things it is unbelievable. They should call a "patent" an "Edison" in honor of his genius. See FlatCat's commentary on Greatest President for Reagan commentary. Ditto FDR. I voted for Martin Luther King Jr. because of his indomitable spirit and his will to find a better way for all people. If I can be 1/100th of the person Dr. King was, I will consider myself very lucky.

Someone sent me an email nominating Winston Churchill and included some great quotes from him as well. Scoop has already told you his opinion on Winston's words, so I thought I would share some very funny ones. Thanks to the contributor, who shall remain anonymous.

• Nancy Mitford: "Sir, if you were my husband, I'd poison your coffee"; Churchill: "If you were my wife, madam, I'd drink it."
• About or to Clement Atlee ("Bill" to his friends and Churchill was one) :
• 1.  "He is a modest man - and has much to be modest about".
• 2. " [He] is a sheep in sheep's clothing".
• 3.  Atlee at urinal, Churchill approaches but does not use adjacent pisser. Atlee: "Feeling a bit standoffish today, Winnie?";  Churchill: "No Bill, but everytime you see something big, you want to nationalize it!"

Maybe I should have voted for him.

Comments and suggestions to lawdogusc@hotmail.com.

Poll Topic: Man of the 20th Century
Albert Einstein	26.4% - (144 Votes)
Thomas Edison	10.8% - (59 Votes)
Ronald Reagan	10.2% - (56 Votes)
Franklin D. Roosevelt	9.3% - (51 Votes)
Winston Churchill	8.8% - (48 Votes)
Martin Luther King Jr.	4.7% - (26 Votes)
Henry Ford	4.5% - (25 Votes)
Orville and Wilbur Wright	4.2% - (23 Votes)
Mahatma Gandhi	4.2% - (23 Votes)
Bill Gates	3.6% - (20 Votes)
Alexander Fleming (Penicillin)	3.1% - (17 Votes)
Nelson Mandela	1.8% - (10 Votes)
Mikhail Gorbachev	1.6% - (9 Votes)
John F. Kennedy	1.6% - (9 Votes)
Robert Oppenheimer	1.6% - (9 Votes)
Watson and Crick (DNA Guys)	1.4% - (8 Votes)
Jonas Salk	1.2% - (7 Votes)
Total Votes: 544