{"id":3763,"date":"2005-04-18T00:49:21","date_gmt":"2005-04-18T04:49:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/formerlyknownas\/2005\/04\/18\/its-all-relative-squared\/"},"modified":"2011-08-05T14:57:47","modified_gmt":"2011-08-05T18:57:47","slug":"its-all-relative-squared","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/2005\/04\/18\/its-all-relative-squared\/","title":{"rendered":"it’s all relative, squared"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

Today is the fiftieth anniversary of Albert Einstein’s death (April 18, 1955).          \"eMC2\"<\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
I was five years old when he died, and have had no professional nor dilettante interest in physics <\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
or mathematics.  Nonetheless, I’ve always been very fond of Old Albert and have never quite <\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
known why.   Perhaps this quote from Sunday’s newspaper  (Associated Press, April 15, 2005,<\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
“<\/FONT>100 Years Ago, Einstein Changed Everything<\/FONT><\/A>,”) helps explain it:<\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n

\n
“Once you can accept the universe as matter expanding into nothing that is <\/EM><\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
something, wearing stripes with plaid comes easy<\/EM>.”<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV><\/BLOCKQUOTE>
\n
“einsteinTime”  I can picture it now:  Little Tyke David proudly dresses himself one morning in <\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
a color-and-design combination that provokes from his mother (and<\/EM> big sister) <\/FONT>that phrase every <\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
male in the universe hears, from every significant woman in his life (and quite a <\/FONT>few insignificant <\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
ones):<\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n

\n
“That doesn’t go<\/A><\/EM>!”  You can’t wear stripes with plaids!  And, never mix green <\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
with orange!”<\/FONT><\/DIV><\/BLOCKQUOTE>
\n
Then, Mama Giacalone probaby added: “Do you want to look as silly as Albert Einstein?”  Thus, <\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
the <\/FONT>bond <\/FONT>was <\/FONT>formed across the ages and the cosmos — like time, taste is relative.<\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
\n
That certainly explains my wearing stripes to visit the <\/FONT>Einstein Monument<\/FONT><\/A> in D.C. (1980)   “Einstein head small”  <\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
                                                                                                                                          orig photo by A.J. Giacalone<\/FONT> <\/FONT>here<\/FONT><\/A><\/DIV>
\n
 <\/DIV>
\n
 <\/DIV>
\n

\n
Of course, there is much more to know, respect and like about the complex man chosen by <\/EM><\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
Time Magazine<\/EM> as <\/FONT>Person of the Century<\/FONT><\/A> <\/EM>(by Eric Golden, Jan. 3, 2005) — famous for his <\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
genius and profundity, his charm and humor.  Over the decades, as I have come to know some<\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
very smart people who take themselves far too seriously, I’ve come to appreciate greatly Einstein’s <\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
playfulness in public and his willingness to let the world see him being silly.  His biographer <\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
Juergen Neffe recently said,  “He was the first global pop star of science at a time when world <\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
stars were first emerging.”   And:<\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n

\n
 “He was always fun to be with, always joking. Sometimes when he was supposed <\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
to give a speech he would just play his violin instead.” (<\/FONT>keralanext.com<\/FONT><\/A>, April 14, 2005)<\/FONT><\/DIV><\/BLOCKQUOTE>
\n
\"eMC2g\"  I think Albert would shake his shaggy head at Rolf Sinclair, the stuffy physicist who is <\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
quoted in an <\/FONT>AP article<\/FONT><\/A> saying he despises the Einstein <\/FONT>monument<\/FONT><\/A> in D.C., because “It makes him <\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
look like one of the Three Stooges reading his horoscope.”   The 12-foot bronze depicts Einstein <\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
gazing at his famous energy formula.  Like myself, tourists of all ages <\/FONT>climb on his lap<\/FONT><\/A> for snapshots <\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
and to peer at the map of the universe that is at his feet.  <\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
\n

\n

\n

\n

\n

\n

\n

\n

\n

\n

\n
a cool breeze–
the katydid brims
with energy<\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
                      <\/FONT><\/FONT>Kobayshi Issa<\/EM><\/FONT><\/A><\/DIV>
\n

 <\/DIV><\/DIV><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE>
\n
Lately, as more and more “believers” assert that only “peope of faith” can have a strong moral<\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
code and sense of social responsibility (see <\/FONT>my post<\/FONT><\/A>, e.g<\/EM>., on religious law schools), Einstein the <\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
humanist has been an inspiration for me.   As <\/FONT>Rabbi Sherwin Wine explains<\/FONT><\/A>:<\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n

\n
    <\/EM>“Albert Einstein was an ardent humanist who believed that human power <\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
and human responsibility were the foundations of the moral life.  Einstein
maintained that ethical rules flowed from human experience and from the
requirements of human survival.  While he stood in awe of the wonders of the
universe, he refused to worship them.  He firmly believed that reality was no
more than the natural universe and that neither chance nor supernatural
intervention governed its events.” <\/FONT><\/DIV><\/BLOCKQUOTE>
\n
<\/FONT><\/EM><\/FONT><\/DIV><\/FONT><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n
Michael Dobkowski,  professor of religious studies, Hobart and William Smith Colleges in <\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
Geneva, NY.<\/EM> captured the feelings of myself and millions of others in America and around <\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
the world (“<\/FONT>Still today Albert Einstein models power of human spirit<\/FONT><\/A>,” Rochester [NY] <\/EM><\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
Democrat & Chronicle<\/EM>, April 15, 2005): <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n

\n
“Einstein carried an unprecedented moral weight, and he took carefully <\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
considered, courageous and even original stands on a host of issues. Great <\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
social ideas and great science come from the ability to question the obvious, <\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
and Einstein had an abiding incapacity for self-deception and evasion. So he <\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
was willing to modify his positions to meet new realities. <\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
 <\/DIV>
\n
                                                                                             – see Time<\/EM> for <\/FONT>orig.<\/FONT><\/A>   \"EinsteinTime\" <\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
<\/FONT><\/FONT> <\/DIV>
\n
“His face, with its unruly, white hair and soft dreamy eyes has become, in many    <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
ways, the human face of humanity and a reminder of the limitless potential of the <\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
human spirit and intellect to overcome ignorance, prejudice, parochialism and the <\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
dogma of uncontested assumptions.” <\/FONT><\/DIV><\/BLOCKQUOTE>
\n
Let’s close with a few <\/FONT>Einstein qutotations<\/FONT><\/A> (from dailycelebrations.com):<\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n