Much more frighteningly, I think crackpots and Einstein share the trait of narcissism. You need that trait to think "I can solve the mysteries of the universe".

Much more frighteningly, I think crackpots and Einstein share the trait of narcissism. You need that trait to think "I can solve the mysteries of the universe". What great physicists have that crackpots lack is intelligence and/or diligence. I think it's mostly the latter, plenty of crackpots are smart. They just don't take the time to learn the math or study the centuries of prior art.