[RightWingAtheist]

Something for your ping lists

[coconutt2000]

I think Einstein had a sick sense of humor.

[Lunatic Fringe]

He was great in that movie with Meg Ryan!

[djf]

I had heard that near the end of his life, near his 70's, he lamented that everything he had done was wrong.

The implication being he had stumbled on something that outmoded his theory, or simply showed it to be a specialized subset of something bigger.

And no matter, Einstein has been flat out proved wrong on at least one occasion, by J. S. Bell et al.

[Physicist]

I love that Einstein viewed physics in terms of geometry, and let the algebra follow from that, rather than vice-versa.

I hate that Einstein seemed to buy into the misconception that his scientific brilliance conferred upon him some special political insight, and that therefore his opinions on such matters should carry extra weight.

[Old Professer]

He will always be remembered as the guy who invented "bad hair."

[RightWhale]

Relativity is near its centennial. Physics geeks around the world are preparing to celebrate. New pocket protectors with E=mc² printed on them or Einstein on a bicycle or something.

[battlecry]

I like his bicycle poster.

[tang-soo]

I just finished reading a book titled "How the Laser Happened" by Charles H. Townes. Townes was the inventor of the Maser (Microwave Amplified Stimulated Emission Radiation) in 1954 and along with his brother-in-law Art Schawlow was awarded the first patent for the Laser (or optical Maser aka Light Amplified ...) in 1959. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1961 for this work. By the way, Townes is still alive at 89 years old.

In his book, Townes mentions that Einstein was the first to conceive of Stimulated Emissions in 1917 and in retrospect was very curious that it took so long (1954 and 1959) for his theory to be realized.

[mikegi]

What still drives me crazy about Einstein is that he did not participate in the scientific revolution he helped launch. His successful theory of the photoelectric effect was a key step in establishing the correctness of quantum mechanics.

That's because he knew that QM was/is a hack.

[microgood]

I find myself frustrated at Einstein’s constant and inappropriate use of the term “God,” when he really meant something else. As a result, he opened the door for generations of individuals to misrepresent his ideas.

A few of his quotes related to religion (not God, although he has many of those as well)

"I have found no better expression than 'religious' for confidence in the rational nature of reality, insofar as it is accessible to human reason. Whenever this feeling is absent, science degenerates into uninspired empiricism."

"Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind."

"I have never imputed to Nature a purpose or a goal, or anything that could be understood as anthropomorphic. What I see in Nature is a magnificent structure that we can comprehend only very imperfectly, and that must fill a thinking person with a feeling of humility. This is a genuinely religious feeling that has nothing to do with mysticism."

"I am a deeply religious nonbeliever.... This is a somewhat new kind of religion."

[dread78645]

HATE: I find myself frustrated at Einstein’s constant and inappropriate use of the term “God,” when he really meant something else.

Einstein: "God does not play dice."
Einstein: "God is not malicious."
Bohr: "Einstein, stop telling God what to do."
Hawkings: "God not only plays dice, but sometimes throws them where they cannot be seen."