Sal Restivo - Einstein’s Brain: Genius, Culture, and Social Networks

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In the early years following the publication of Albert Einsteins 1905 papers, a lot of the buzz centered around the debate about the ether in physics. TheNew York Timesof September 8, 1913, reported a rift between Einstein and Max Planck on one side of the issue and Sir Oliver Lodge and his British colleagues on the other. Lodge believed in the ether, a medium eliminated in what was now known as Einsteins special relativity theory .

Ether theories have ancient roots. In the early modern and modern context a space filling transmission medium called theetherwas believed necessary for the propagation of electromagnetic or gravitational forces. Einsteins name next appeared in theTimeson June 10, 1918, with a story about an effort afoot to test Einsteins general relativity theory . This was a reference to predictions in Einsteins theory concerning the bending of light in gravitational fields. Evidence for the theory was already observed in the anomalous precession of the perihelion of the planet Mercury. The most dramatic and successful test of the theory came when scientists observed star light bending in the vicinity of the suns gravitational field in 1919, an observation made possible by a solar eclipse. The paper quoted W.W. Campbell of the Lick Observatory in California on the test. Campbell was cautious about whether the test would provide meaningful data. In both stories, there was little of substance concerning the contents of the special and general theories.

In the wake of the 1919 successful test of Einsteins theory, Einsteins name began to appear with some regularity in theNew York Timesand other newspapers. One recurring theme was that readers should not expect to understand Einsteins theories. Stories about Einsteins biography began to appear along with efforts to explain relativity theory to the lay public. ATimescorrespondent interviewed Einstein in December 1919. As Einstein tried to speak plainly about his theory, a clock chimed announcing the end of the interview. The clever reporter noted the irony of the absolute tyranny of time and space triumphing over Einsteins contemptuous denial of their existence.

Following an announcement by the Royal Astronomical Society endorsing Einsteins theory, an opinion piece in theTimescompared the growing accommodation to Einsteins theory with the embrace of Bolshevism in Russia. In November 1919, Charles Poor of Columbia University wrote in that paper that there was as much conflict at the center of science as there was in the realm of society and politics. In the following months and years, theTimespublished stories on the complexity of Einsteins theories. Notables from Warren G. Harding to Einsteins wife Elsa were reported to be unable to grasp the nature and meaning of Einsteins theories.

The making of an icon and the evolution of the genius of all geniuses were well under way in the early 1920s. TheTimescontinued to try to help readers understand relativity and Einsteins name started to show up in non-relativity stories. A story about French efforts in interplanetary communication included Einsteins ideas about life on other planets and how extra-terrestrial beings would communicate with us. In January 1921, Einsteins theory of the metrics of a finite universe appeared inconspicuously as a small item on the bottom of the front page of the