As a Zoology major I thought I had seen enough of science
for a lifetime. I have studied the nitty gritty details of the inner workings
of the cell, charted the evolution of our species from their humble beginnings,
and written out those impossible organic chemistry reactions over a hundred
times. I thought I was just about done with science and had no desire to see it
imparted in everything I see. However, an image of Einstein seems to be an unequivocal
image of science. I like this image particularly because it is almost as if we
catch Einstein in the middle of a scientific discovery – Einstein looks over
his shoulder almost unexpectedly. It’s refreshing to see a genius like Einstein
so surprised at being intruded on – we see the scientific processing happening in
the moment. This is the image of scientists and science I like to see: the
process of developing the breakthroughs that change our world.
This is an interesting photo because it has some very traditional elements common to pictures of E (blackboard, equations, the hair, he's old) such as he's working alone...but you're right this one has the air of there being someone else with him, either surprising him in the middle of discovery as you note (what a lovely way to imagine this), or perhaps explaining what he's doing to someone, and he's turning around to see if you are following along. (You don't often see pictures of scientists "sharing" -- ideas, the work of doing experiments, etc....usually just the endpoint). But this idea of peering in at discovery as it happens -- this might indeed be one aspect of why pictures of E still seem to capture the "essence" of science today -- the idea that at any moment he might say "aha!" here is a key breakthrough! So the pictures not only evoke what he HAS done, but what he MIGHT do...an interesting possibility!
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