Einstein: The Standard
of Greatness
Einstein’s
seven-month performance in 1905 has no equal in the history of physics. Beginning with his revolutionary paper,
completed on March 17, and continuing to September 26, Einstein wrote a total
of five papers that changed the infrastructure of physics and today, a century
later, these papers remain part of the tectonic bedrock of the discipline. How Einstein approached his physics and what
he accomplished certainly provided the basis for his world fame. But while the What? and the How?
were, and remain, of primary importance, can they explain Einstein’s celebrity
standing after 1922 and his iconic status today, fifty years after his
death? The question remains: Why is
Einstein the standard of greatness?