While he was in Arizona, John Cole put me in touch with a work connection of his, Benyamin Cohen. Benyamin is Einstein on social media, and he also wrote this book. Benymin is interested in coming to talk with BJ peeps on a zoom (for sure) and is also up for doing an Ask Me Anything post (if there’s interest).
For now, let’s plan the zoom.
If you think you might be interested in joining the zoom, let me know if April 17 at 7:30 would work for you. We’re thinking a 45-minute presentation and then questions.
This will be a fun, light-hearted, not particularly science-y talk about Einstein.
Benyamin gave me a .pdf copy of the book, and I enlisted kalakal to take a look at it, too, and help choose the topics we would like Ben to cover. kalakal was kind enough to supply a casual summary of some of the three areas we’ve asked Ben if he will share with us in his presentation.
War and Peace… and Einstein.
Covers Einsteins humanitarian work and legacy, how his experiences in, and as a refugee from, Nazi Germany led him to be deeply committed to humanitarian aid work throughout the rest of his life beginning with helping fellow Jews from the Nazis the organization he founded, the International Rescue Committee, still exists, helping millions suffering from conflict and crise. Also his support for the civil rights movement. **Special bonus Mandy Patinkin story!
Einstein and pop culture. Einstein 70 years after his death is the world’s most famous dead celebrity, he has a bigger social media following than, say, Tom Hanks. He’s the universal embodiment for science in popular culture, like say Beethoven for classical music or Sherlock Holmes for detectives. How did this come about and why, some entertaining & informative examples eg Yoda’s face and hair was based on him.
Einstein in the age of Fake News.
Einstein himself was a major target of fake news, both from the Nazis and later in the US. Both he and his work were attacked and lied about and he was under surveillance by the FBI up to his death. Discusses the phenomenon and poisonous effects of fake news generally and compares Einstein’s experiences with those of Lenny Pozner, father of one of the children murdered at Sandy Hook. How both men fought back, Einstein taught physics at black colleges to counteract the lower IQ myth, Pozner sued and won against Alex Jones.
Let us know what you think in the comments!
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