Who will be the next Einstein?
June 21st 2008 08:10
If I were to say “Name a famous scientist”, what would you say? Most probably Einstein or Newton. Or maybe Galileo, Darwin or Copernicus. This makes me wonder, in a few hundred years, will anyone remember the scientists of today? I’m not so sure.
Take Aristotle for instance. He managed to write books on physics, poetry, zoology, logic, government and biology. Crikey, if anyone did that today I suspect they would be remembered for a long time too! Today however, there are so many scientists, each working in a very specific and focussed field, that the window for world-wide recognition is very small. Within each field there are of course famous scientists that are highly honoured and respected by their colleagues and peers. And there is the Nobel Prize – the highest honour in science – which is an opportunity for a scientist to gain fame, if only for a day or two. But do we all remember who they are now? Even the most recent ones? Don't think so.
A notebook of Copernicus’ was auctioned a couple of days ago for $2.2 million. I can’t see any of our lab books being auctioned for millions of dollars in the future. A new scientist-related reality TV show could maybe change all that though. Not that it matters. Scientists don’t work for the fame, and certainly not for the money. Times have just changed now, and so sadly, there is unlikely to be another Einstein or Newton, and not because of a lack of genius. Having said that, the significance of a discovery is normally not recognised until much later in time, so who knows?
This change is not confined to science either. It's similar for today's artists, composers and authors. So I wonder, alongside figures of the past like Einstein, Shakespeare and Mozart, who will be the important figures of our generation that will be remembered? Madonna, Tiger Woods and Brad Pitt? Maybe.
Take Aristotle for instance. He managed to write books on physics, poetry, zoology, logic, government and biology. Crikey, if anyone did that today I suspect they would be remembered for a long time too! Today however, there are so many scientists, each working in a very specific and focussed field, that the window for world-wide recognition is very small. Within each field there are of course famous scientists that are highly honoured and respected by their colleagues and peers. And there is the Nobel Prize – the highest honour in science – which is an opportunity for a scientist to gain fame, if only for a day or two. But do we all remember who they are now? Even the most recent ones? Don't think so.
A notebook of Copernicus’ was auctioned a couple of days ago for $2.2 million. I can’t see any of our lab books being auctioned for millions of dollars in the future. A new scientist-related reality TV show could maybe change all that though. Not that it matters. Scientists don’t work for the fame, and certainly not for the money. Times have just changed now, and so sadly, there is unlikely to be another Einstein or Newton, and not because of a lack of genius. Having said that, the significance of a discovery is normally not recognised until much later in time, so who knows?
This change is not confined to science either. It's similar for today's artists, composers and authors. So I wonder, alongside figures of the past like Einstein, Shakespeare and Mozart, who will be the important figures of our generation that will be remembered? Madonna, Tiger Woods and Brad Pitt? Maybe.
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-Chrisy