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.
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