Do you think Einstein is little over rated?

Question

When there have been so many great scientists such as Maxwell, Bohr, Ampere, Rutherford not to mention the greatest in my opinion Newton and Edison, why is Einstein given so much prominence.

Doesn't the fact that only half the people ,who say einstein is the greatest scientist ever, actually know the names of his theories and that even smaller number of them know actually what they mean, show the sheepish nature of human beings?

Answer 1

He was afforded prominence owing to his hairdo which was a brave departure from the scientific norm and I believe deserves congratulating.

Answer 2

He was popular, not only as a scientist but also as a person. He's above all an icon.

It could be argued that his theory of relativity shows an extreme talent for original thinking, while many other scientists were mainly hard workers, handy experimentalists and had the luck needed. Einstein revolutionized our understanding of the structure of time and space, maybe the most fundamental of scientific issues.

On the other hand, his theories are difficult to understand, and how time and space behaves at the scale of near-light speed is not really important for the layman's perception of the world.

I think I can mention some scientists whose impact on ordinary people's understanding of the World was far greater:
- Copernicus tought us the structure of the solar system.
- Darwin and Mendel showed us how complex life has evolved.
- Newton developed a substantial part of what is taught in high school science classes.

Answer 3

Einstein's work is fundamental to our current understanding of the Universe, as was that of Newton before him. Maxwell did produced work that was basic to the development not only of our understanding of electricity, but also the use of mathematics to explain natural phenomena.
Newton said: "I can see far because I stand on the shoulders of Giants."
Science develops and evolves, and occasionally there is a complete breakthrough. There could have been no Einstein if there had been no Newton, if his predecessors had not done their work.
Edison was an ingenious inventor, and a fantastic business man, but he was not a theoretical scientist.
There is probably little point in comparing the different scientists and saying who is greatest, science is not boxing,it is a co-operative endeavour.
Yes, people are often sheep-like, but no one can be an all round expert on everything, so they tend to accept the judgements of those who are eminent in their fields. This is probably not a good thing, but it is not hugely harmful either.

Answer 4

Einstein had a lot of very good theories
such as, the absence of light is darkness, proves my point so dark the con of man fictional evil to make you feel better about killing the land,
if you think you have no control over these things because really you just cant live true to life a be happy to be alive, science explains what the True God is all about and there is nothing that can change that people thought the world was flat in the time of Jesus but sceince today has proven the many thing inclucing energy is what makes the world work the way it does.

Answer 5

Absolutely not, no.

You're right - there have been a great number of very brilliant people, all of whom have made highly significant advances in science. But what Einstein achieved was above and beyond anything else.

His first significant discovery (or theory, rather) was Special Theory of Relativity. This was brilliant, but sooner or later someone else would have come up with it - science was already moving in that direction.

But General Theory of Relativity was something else altogether. It is probable that, had Einstein not come up with it, we'd still be waiting even now.

Fellow physicists consider General Theory of Relativity to be the single greatest thought process in human history.

He was quite a guy.

Answer 6

That's because the media has given so much attention to him and people tend to accept whatever is fed to them. As an example, many people believe everything they see in chain mails giving all kinds of warnings without checking for their validity.

There is a reason why Einstein is populated by the media all the time. Einstein's theories are only fully validated in recent times, which means after his demise. Einstein was a theoretical physicist and many of his theories are based on mathematics. In order for them to be true, it has to be physically tested. This makes Einstein to be considered as a person who live ahead of his time. For other great scientists like Newton etc, they proved their theories right physically and mathematically at the same time. Therefore, they are famous but not as famous as Einstein.
Also, Einstein's theories let us understand things light years away in the Universe and things that we can't see in the Universe (like space-time curve). Other great scientists deal with stuff we can see and detect on Earth.

There are now plenty of theoretical physicists out there working on string theory etc. If someday these theories are validated after the contributing physicist is no longer around, he will become common household name too, just like Einstein.

In addition, those who successfully debunk Einstein theory, will definitely get as famous as Einstein himself.

Answer 7

I agree but Ampere was most famous for defining what an amp is. Maxwell has it for me it's a pity someone hasn't developed his theories.
There have been so many people trying to demonstrate Einstein's hypothesis that I get to wonder like you.
I have a neighbour who has a range of poses and facial expressions that leaves one feeling ignorant.
What would I know I am a dummy squared to the nth degree compaired to Einstein.
All of them to be factual.

Answer 8

Perhaps the "sheepish" following comes from their inability to understand his theories. Newton was a genius, but in hindsight Gravity seems a bit obvious! As with electricity, radio, or whatever you want to mention, it's all mastered to a high level.
With relativity and special relativity most people just can't grasp what it means, ACTUALLY means. For him to turn around and say, with conviction, that nothing can go faster than light, that in certain circumstances space and time itself must bend to fit this absolute, was genius.
Even now, we are still testing as to whether he was right or not. his theories and formulas haven't been expanded on, haven't been corrected, or be seen as "good for their time" - they are just right.
How, with no way of experimenting and proving his points, did anyone come up with what he did?

Answer 9

Every competent scientist adds to the total of human knowledge. Einstein had the benefits of being around in the era of mass commmunications, being perceived as understanding the universe, looking like a mad professor and having a funny German accent.

Those with a detailed knowledge of physics regard Einstein as important - but not uniquely important.

Answer 10

one of the things about einstein that made him so popular was his humility when people was suckin up to him. he once said he wasnt a brilliant mathmetician, just persistant.
and he had values and stuck to them, even when he proved them wrong. he dismissed one of his theories cuz it went against his christian beliefs, and refused to believe in it even though it turned out to be right. now that is a man of principle, whats there to not love about the guy?
and most people agree that he's the best scientist of the 20th century, and some think he was the best ever. personally i think stephen hawking has done more for modern physics than einstein did, but that might be because i dont know much about einstein

Answer 11

Einstein never claimed to be greater than anyone. Once when asked to compare himself to Newton, Einstein replied," Newton is a giant looking at the horizon of the sea of Physics, I am but a small dwarf, perched on his head looking a little further.