Quote:
Originally Posted by CraigS
His 'word' is unimportant, perhaps more nostalgic than anything.
The insights and thinking he left behind, are important.
Words, (and maths), might be the means he used to communicate his message, but anyone who can read and undertake the logical steps encoded in the maths, will arrive at the same insights, and they can verify the results for themselves.
I feel it important to re-emphasise that Science is not some story, some funky-haired dude told some people, sometime. Einstein's work can be replicated by anyone today, who is interested enough to understand the logical steps ... and what results goes way beyond some cute 'story'.
Its amazing how few folk appreciate this distinction.
Cheers
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His words are his insights and his thoughts. You can have all the insights and thoughts in the world but if you can't communicate them in a legible form, you might as well talk to yourself.
I can tell you now, unequivocally, that not too many people can follow the maths or the logic needed to understand Einstein's work. Only those people who have studied the maths and have the logical thought processes necessary to work through that maths step by step can really understand it. The descriptive part of the theory is hard enough for most people...only those interested in the science can follow it. I know that from first hand experience in trying to explain it to people. At its best, it's nothing more than a nebulous concept to most. Put a wacky old man with messy hair up on stage and have him poke his tongue whilst reciting complex mathematical formulae and most people just nod their heads and agree with him...without a shred of understanding. Those that can and do follow it very rarely question whether Einstein might be wrong. His ideas are only a theory, much the same as Newton's ideas were. Yes, they work splendidly in most situations, but there are instances where they don't and it's becoming increasingly obvious the further we delve into the real nitty gritty of the way reality works.
Science is very much a story that some funky old dude (Einstein et.al.) told a few interested people, one day. Anything that people do is a story. It's the story of our attempts to try and understand what the hell is going on
. Some do a good job at it, others don't. Most are plodders but every now and then, someone comes up with the scientific equivalent of Star Wars and the old story is never the same again. It's usually better