Interessante artigo de John Barrow sobre a idolatria da imagem de Einstein, publicado na Nature em 2005. Separo alguns trechos que julgo importantes para fomentar um pouco mais a discussão sobre os meandros das relações que governam o pensamento formal, bem como suas interferências pela inevitável natureza humana dos cientistas.
“Einstein restored faith in the unintelligibility of science. Everyone knew that Einstein had done something important in 1905 (and again in 1915) but almost nobody could tell you exactly what it was. When Einstein was interviewed for a Dutch  newspaper in 1921, he attributed his mass appeal to the mystery of his work for the ordinary person: “Does it make a silly impression on me, here and yonder, about my theories of which they cannot understand a word? I think it is funny and also interesting to observe. I am sure that it is the mystery of non-understanding that appeals to them…it impresses them, it has the colour and the appeal of the mysterious.”
“There are several things about Einstein’s delayed celebrity that are interesting. First, Einstein’s image in America contrasts sharply with that of the smart young man from Switzerland who made the acclaimed discoveries. The ubiquity of the older Einstein image meant that the concept of the scientific genius became associated with the image of an old fatherly figure.”
“Most amazing of all is that — despite the hullabaloo and the inevitable cynicism about celebrity in our age, especially in response to media-created icons — Einstein’s scientific legacy is greater than ever. His predictions about gravity have steadily been confirmed with just a few remaining beyond the reach of our experiments. His early scientific work was an unqualified success and his personal demeanour and response to fame an object lesson to all. This is why 2005 is the World Year of Physics — Einstein’s Year.”