Einstein Ch. 25 & Epilogue

      The more Isaacson mentions Einstein's unrelenting pursuit of a unified field theory, the more I begin to believe that Einstein's stubbornness was a scientific vice in his later years.  Isaacson obviously emphasizes Einstein's commitment to this project that never come to fruition.  It seems that the mind of a genius was solely committed to the formation of complex sets of equations and ideas that ultimately could not challenge quantum theory.  I think a large problem with research in our age now reflects this dedication to an idea with no empirical basis.  Sometimes researchers have an idea of what results would be popular/profitable and instead of unbiased observation, the scientific method is ignored and particular results are pursued.  Michio Kaku's edition of The Best American Science Writing 2012 includes an article written on a study of red wine and the effect on aging.  The purpose of the article is to highlight when science falls victim to vice. Researchers thought they had found a reversing effect on aging in red wine, and despite the fact that the results could not be reproduced and verified by other researchers, the "sexy" idea of wine being good for human health hit the public sooner that it should have.  The problem here is that the public has an affinity to these types of ideas, and other research that discourages it never reaches a public sphere.  Even today, red wines effect on aging lingers in mainstream beauty magazines and websites.  This greed is in no way a virtuous quality of a scientist, as it is a prime example of Macintyre's external good.

Einstein Ch. 21-24

         Although Einstein's involvement with the Manhattan Project was limited (by choice and by the FBI's discouraging report), it still surprised me that Einstein was active in notifying the US government and setting the basis for the project.  I believe, for the most part, that this is surprising because we have been looking at strictly the virtues of a scientist in class.  Einstein's involvement here goes beyond the telos of a scientist, although the project was science related.  The letters written to President Roosevelt did not add to the existing knowledge about the world. They were not based on the scientific method.  Rather, his letters were the catalyst for one of the world's major events that had unpredictable consequences.  In addition, it seems uncomfortable to speak of those who led the Manhattan Project.  As a complicated situation, the project doesn't necessarily shed good light on it's creators.  I think it is an interesting concept in regard to the scientific telos, as well as the human telos.
     I also think it is important, especially in these chapters, to give credit to Isaacson for his style of writing.  Isaacson conveys the pure reverence that Einstein's colleagues had for him through great prose.  Without saying it directly, Isaacson gives us the message that Einstein has achieved the internal good of science.  In fact, the end of Einstein's life is not even celebrated in terms of his science, which has been affirmed countless times.  Rather, he is celebrated for his "sweetness and humanity"; qualities that put him beyond merely an exemplary scientist.  Regardless of his flaws, Einstein was an excellent scientist, and a great human being.

Einstein Ch. 17-20

      "...he dedicated himself honestly and sometimes courageously to actions that he felt transcended selfish desires in order to encourage human progress and preservation of individual freedoms." (p. 393)

      Isaacson ends chapter 17 with a comment that, in my opinion, seems to encompass how Einstein lived his life in general as a human being and, more specifically, as a scientist.  Using the scope of After Virtue, I interpret Isaacson's comment to mean that Einstein was dedicated to the advancement of the human race, a devotion he clearly showed through his work as a scientist.  Einstein thought beyond the allures of fame and recognition (external goods), and simply aimed to become an excellent scientist in adding knowledge to the world (internal good).  I think this quote is significant, as it shows that Einstein's virtues as a scientist extended to his life as a human being in general.

       Last week we discussed how Einstein matured and transformed as a scientist.  We posed questions regarding how his actions changed as he grew older, and how he embodied the scientific virtues during these times.  Yet, there are some things about Einstein that seem to never have changed.  His distraction, for example, usually defined by a devotion to another theory/though experiment/group of equations, never wavered throughout his life.  While we may question if Einstein maintained every scientific virtue we've seen up to this point, we cannot say that his devotion to science and his devotion to achieving the internal standards of excellence in science were ever lost.

Einstein: Ch. 13-16

      These chapters heavily described a set of transformations that Einstein went through both in his personal life and his scientific life as a middle-aged man.  The first transformation is Einstein's first time submitting to the command of an authority figure (Blumenfeld).  Einstein seems to no longer be restless in his scientific life after the completion of relativity.  The affirmation of his theory also seems to affect his personal life.  I believe one of Einstein's bigger failures as a scientist was his stubbornness in defending relativity.  As a young scientist, Einstein challenged many of the dominant theories in physics.  He was a constant, creative skeptic that continually searched for truths about the world.  Yet, Einstein failed to take the same critical approach with his own theory.  Instead, his lack of restlessness and commitment to finding a simple, unified theory prevented Einstein from making continual major contributions to the quickly growing quantum theory.
      However, it would be unfair to say that Einstein contributed nothing to science during this period.  Isaacson believes that Einstein was still valuable to science at this time.  I share this sentiment in relation to Einstein's debates with Niels Bohr.  Although Einstein does not apply criticism to relativity, he actively challenges Bohr and his peers to defend their theories with a series of thought experiments.  Although Einstein's intentions were to prove that quantum theory did not completely describe reality, he indirectly induced critical thinking from his colleagues.  For this reason, I believe the aforementioned vices (stubbornness and situational skepticism) can still be overshadowed by the consequences of Einstein's genius.

Einstein: Ch. 9-12

      Initially, I see no substance in Isaacson's chapter on Einstein's divorce with regard to the scientific virtues.  Science is mentioned very little, and the drama Einstein seemed to carry with him through his personal life seems, for the most part, separate from his scientific life.  While Einstein's personal life may be hectic at this point, I think it is starting to become apparent that Einstein is comfortable with his achievements in science at this point.  His reaction to possibly having cancer was alarming.  Where was the passion that we've talked about in class for so long? Earlier we labelled passion as a required scientific virtue, so Einstein may not be an exemplary scientist at this specific point in his life.  Yet, Isaacson immediately follows this chapter with Overbye's quote on Einstein's "sustained brilliance" (p. 255).  Isaacson shows that despite completing the theory of relativity (and its accompanying struggles), Einstein was able to perservere and contribute greatly to the scientific community.
      Einstein's fame brings us to the subject of communication within the scientific community as well as the public.  Where Barbara McClintock failed to comprehensibly communicate her findings to her peers, which ultimately prevented her ideas from promptly reaching the public, Einstein was able to explain his ideas to the public through easily understandable thought experiments.  This virtuous ability allowed Einstein to further pursue the scientific telos in terms of adding knowledge of the world.  In this instance, the theory of relativity had an international impact.

Einstein 5-8

      The concept of the advantages of youthful thinking strike me the most in these chapters.  An obvious dichotomy in the life of Albert Einstein is between his youthful stubbornness to accept conventional schools on thought and his veteran stubbornness to concede the pursuit for a unified theory.  Isaacson quotes, "He had the brashness needed to scrub away the layers of conventional wisdom that were obscuring the cracks in the foundation of physics, and his visual imagination allowed him to make conceptual leaps that eluded more traditional thinkers" (93).  As we spoke of in class, it is Einstein's passion and creative skepticism that allowed him to make great contributions to the filed of physics.  However, as we will later see, this creative imagination lends itself to a specific, unmoving idea later on in Einstein's life.  It is at that point where the scientific virtues are blurred.
      ANother interesting concept that arises from any discussion of quantum theory is the impact on the scientific telos.  As defined in class, the scientific telos is to add knowledge about the world to the existing group of facts through testable methods.  But does a theory that works in probabilities rather than causalities fit into this? Although Einstein struggled with the non-deterministic consequences of quantum theory, there seems to be no true reason to deny the theory outright (unless on the grounds of religious devotion).  While such a theory complicates knowledge about the world, it still allows for further discussion and experimentation in the field of physics.  The scientific telos can still be achieved.

Einstein: Chapter's 1-4

       The most obvious quality that impacted Einstein's scientific life, as noted by Isaacson, was his curiosity.   It can be stated in several ways.  It seems that once again the concept of the highly motivated investigator appears in the biography of a great scientist.  It is said in many ways.  The exemplary scientist is passionate, always skeptical, and does not conform to the dominant schools of thought.  Isaacson paints Einstein to be an "icon of our age" with regard to these qualities.  At the end of the opening chapter, Issacson offers a powerful quote from Einstein on the importance of individuality.  Einstein's belief that "only the individual can produce the new ideas" struck me the most.  I am not sure if we are doing enough in science today with younger students to foster individuality, creativity, and most importantly, true passion for science.  I was lucky enough in high school to be steered toward a one week program in St. Louis that gave an in depth look at different practices within medicine and science.  Without this program, I don't believe I would have formed such an interest in science, and yet opportunities like these do not seem prevalent for students in high school.  I believe fostering individuality requires the expansion of opportunities for young learners to explore, in real scenarios, what it means to be a scientist.  Textbooks and rote memorization, as Einstein would most likely agree, have a finite value.
       Another distinction I see in Einstein's autobiography is the description of personality.  Isaacson notes religious beliefs, musical preferences, and the general eccentricity of Einstein's personality.  We did not see this with McClintock, but both can be labelled as great scientists.  I believe, as scientists, the telos does not vary between individuals.  However, as humans, the experiences an individual has that shapes their personal characteristics can vary, while those characteristics can consequently allow them to achieve their scientific telos.  In other words, McClintock developed her dedication to science through her independence, while Einstein learned to love science through the exploration of his early passions.