Einstein for the 21st century : his legacy in science, art, and modern culture

This exceptional book about the legacy of Albert Einstein is a must for anyone who seriously wants to understand the great man's profound and varied gifts to our world. It is a collection of 20 highly diverse and brilliantly written essays by world-class scholars from six countries, based on the lectures they gave during a gathering in Berlin in 2005 to celebrate the centenary of Albert Einstein's Annus Mirabilis. Tomorrow I will be giving my 16th public lecture on Albert Einstein's legacy -- a labor of love since 2004 -- and am exceptionally grateful that I discovered this book last year in the world-class science library at the California Institute of Technology. I previously believed that I was an "Einstein expert," but this unique book proved otherwise. More Than Fifty Years After His Death, Albert Einstein's Vital Engagement With The World Continues To Inspire Others, Spurring Conversations, Projects, And Research, In The Sciences As Well As The Humanities. Einstein For The 21st Century Shows Us Why He Remains A Figure Of Fascination. In This Wide-ranging Collection, Eminent Artists, Historians, Scientists, And Social Scientists Describe Einstein's Influence On Their Work, And Consider His Relevance For The Future. Scientists Discuss How Einstein's Vision Continues To Motivate Them, Whether In Their Quest For A Fundamental Description Of Nature Or In Their Investigations In Chaos Theory; Art Scholars And Artists Explore His Ties To Modern Aesthetics; A Music Historian Probes Einstein's Musical Tastes And Relates Them To His Outlook In Science; Historians Explore The Interconnections Between Einstein's Politics, Physics, And Philosophy; And Other Contributors Examine His Impact On The Innovations Of Our Time. Uniquely Cross-disciplinary, Einstein For The 21st Century Serves As A Testament To His Legacy And Speaks To Everyone With An Interest In His Work.--jacket. Who Was Einstein? Why Is He Still So Alive? / Gerald Holton -- A Short History Of Einstein's Paradise Beyond The Personal / Lorraine Daston -- Einstein's Jewish Identity / Hanoch Gutfreund -- Einstein And God / Yehuda Elkana -- Einstein's Unintended Legacy : The Critique Of Common-sense Realism And Post-modern Politics / Yaron Ezrahi -- Subversive Einstein / Susan Neiman -- Einstein And Nuclear Weapons / Silvan S. Schweber -- Einstein And 20th-century Art : A Romance Of Many Dimensions / Linda Dalrymple Henderson -- Rendering Time / Caroline A. Jones -- Into The Bleed : Einstein And 21st-century Art / Matthew Ritchie -- Einstein And Music / Leon Botstein -- Seeing The Unseen / E.l. Doctorow -- The Assassin Of Relativity / Peter L. Galison -- Space, Time, And Geometry : Einstein And Logical Empiricism / Michael L. Friedman -- Einstein As A Student / Dudley Herschbach -- Learning From Einstein : Innovation In Science / Jürgen Renn -- Einstein And [h With Crossbar, Lowercase] : Advances In Quantum Mechanics / Jürg Fröhlich -- Einstein's Unknown Contribution To Quantum Theory / A. Douglas Stone -- Einstein And The Quest For A Unified Theory / David Gross -- Energy In Einstein's Universe / Lisa Randall. Peter L. Galison, Gerald Holton, And Silvan S. Schweber, Editors. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 311-340) And Index. Content: Introduction ix PART 1: Solitude and World Chapter 1: Who Was Einstein? Why Is He Still So Alive? by Gerald Holton 3 Chapter 2: A Short History of Einstein's Paradise beyond the Personal by Lorraine Daston 15 Chapter 3: Einstein's Jewish Identity by Hanoch Gutfreund 27 Chapter 4: Einstein and God by Yehuda Elkana 35 Chapter 5: Einstein's Unintended Legacy: The Critique of Common-Sense Realism and Post-Modern Politics by Yaron Ezrahi 48 Chapter 6: Subversive Einstein by Susan Neiman 59 Chapter 7: Einstein and Nuclear Weapons by Silvan S. Schweber 72 PART 2: Art and World Chapter 8: Einstein and 20th-Century Art: A Romance of Many Dimensions by Linda Dalrymple Henderson 101 Chapter 9: Rendering Time by Caroline A. Jones 130 Chapter 10: Into the Bleed: Einstein and 21st-Century Art by Matthew Ritchie 150 Chapter 11: Einstein and Music by Leon Botstein 161 Chapter 12: Seeing the Unseen by E. L. Doctorow 176 PART 3: Science and World Chapter 13: The Assassin of Relativity by Peter L. Galison 185 Chapter 14: Space, Time, and Geometry: Einstein and Logical Empiricism by Michael L. Friedman 205 Chapter 15: Einstein as a Student by Dudley Herschbach 217 Chapter 16: Learning from Einstein: Innovation in Science by Jurgen Renn 239 Chapter 17: Einstein and 'h: Advances in Quantum Mechanics by Jurg Frohlich 257 Chapter 18: Einstein's Unknown Contribution to Quantum Theory by A. Douglas Stone 270 Chapter 19: Einstein and the Quest for a Unified Theory by David Gross 287 Chapter 20: Energy in Einstein's Universe by Lisa Randall 299 Notes 311 Contributors 341 Index 349 More than fifty years after his death, Albert Einstein's vital engagement with the world continues to inspire others, spurring conversations, projects, and research, in the sciences as well as the humanities. Einstein for the 21st Century shows us why he remains a figure of fascination. In this wide-ranging collection, eminent artists, historians, scientists, and social scientists describe Einstein's influence on their work, and consider his relevance for the future. Scientists discuss how Einstein's vision continues to motivate them, whether in their quest for a fundamental description of nature or in their investigations in chaos theory; art scholars and artists explore his ties to modern aesthetics; a music historian probes Einstein's musical tastes and relates them to his outlook in science; historians explore the interconnections between Einstein's politics, physics, and philosophy; and other contributors examine his impact on the innovations of our time. Uniquely cross-disciplinary, Einstein for the 21st Century serves as a testament to his legacy and speaks to everyone with an interest in his work. The contributors are Leon Botstein, Lorraine Daston, E. L. Doctorow, Yehuda Elkana, Yaron Ezrahi, Michael L. Friedman, Jrg Frhlich, Peter L. Galison, David Gross, Hanoch Gutfreund, Linda D. Henderson, Dudley Herschbach, Gerald Holton, Caroline Jones, Susan Neiman, Lisa Randall, Jrgen Renn, Matthew Ritchie, Silvan S. Schweber, and A. Douglas Stone. Title 3 Copyright 4 Contents 5 Introduction 9 PART 1. Solitude and World 21 Who Was Einstein? Why Is He Still So Alive? / Gerald Holton 23 2. A Short History of Einstein’s Paradise beyond the Personal / Lorraine Daston 35 3. Einstein’s Jewish Identity / Hanoch Gutfreund 47 4. Einstein and God / Yehuda Elkana 55 5. Einstein’s Unintended Legacy: The Critique of Common-Sense Realism and Post-Modern Politics / Yaron Ezrahi 68 6. Subversive Einstein / Susan Neiman 79 7. Einstein and Nuclear Weapons / Silvan S. Schweber 92 PART 2. Art and World 119 8. Einstein and 20th-Century Art: A Romance of Many Dimensions / Linda Dalrymple Henderson 121 9. Rendering Time / Caroline A. Jones 150 10. Into the Bleed: Einstein and 21st-Century Art / Matthew Ritchie 170 11. Einstein and Music / Leon Botstein 181 12. Seeing the Unseen / E. L. Doctorow 196 PART 3. Science and World 203 13. The Assassin of Relativity / Peter L. Galison 205 14. Space, Time, and Geometry: Einstein and Logical Empiricism / Michael L. Friedman 225 15. Einstein as a Student / Dudley Herschbach 237 16. Learning from Einstein: Innovation in Science / Jürgen Renn 259 17. Einstein and h: Advances in Quantum Mechanics / Jürg Fröhlich 277 18. Einstein’s Unknown Contribution to Quantum Theory / A. Douglas Stone 290 19. Einstein and the Quest for a Unified Theory / David Gross 307 20. Energy in Einstein’s Universe / Lisa Randall 319 Notes 331 Contributors 361 Index 369