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David Bodanis: Einstein’s Greatest Mistake

David Bodanis, the author of E=mc2 and Einstein’s Greatest Mistake, discusses imagination, hubris, and genius at the frontiers of scientific thought with David Auburn, playwright of Proof, which won the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Play.

Widely considered the greatest genius of all time, Albert Einstein revolutionized our understanding of the cosmos with his general theory of relativity and helped to lead us into the atomic age. Yet in the final decades of his life he was also ignored by most working scientists, his ideas opposed by even his closest friends.

As David Bodanis explains in Einstein’s Greatest Mistake, this stunning downfall can be traced to Einstein’s earliest successes and to personal qualities that were at first his best assets. Einstein’s imagination and self-confidence served him well as he sought to reveal the universe’s structure, but when it came to newer revelations in the field of quantum mechanics, these same traits undermined his quest for the ultimate truth.

A book signing will follow the talk.











When: Wed., Oct. 19, 2016 at 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Where: Rubin Museum of Art
150 W. 17th St.
212-620-5000
Price: $25
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David Bodanis, the author of E=mc2 and Einstein’s Greatest Mistake, discusses imagination, hubris, and genius at the frontiers of scientific thought with David Auburn, playwright of Proof, which won the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Play.

Widely considered the greatest genius of all time, Albert Einstein revolutionized our understanding of the cosmos with his general theory of relativity and helped to lead us into the atomic age. Yet in the final decades of his life he was also ignored by most working scientists, his ideas opposed by even his closest friends.

As David Bodanis explains in Einstein’s Greatest Mistake, this stunning downfall can be traced to Einstein’s earliest successes and to personal qualities that were at first his best assets. Einstein’s imagination and self-confidence served him well as he sought to reveal the universe’s structure, but when it came to newer revelations in the field of quantum mechanics, these same traits undermined his quest for the ultimate truth.

A book signing will follow the talk.

Buy tickets/get more info now