4 ms·

whenever people say that modern journalists are bad and nobody knows how to write anymore, i'll show them this article

mewpmewp2 2y ago
You mean that it is just as bad if not more, right? Because it is making Einstein out to be some sort of rebel like who wants things to be "relative" as if it is a religion or philosophy of some sort. Relativity is just what he discovered, not some ideology he set out to prove or invented. Then the author goes on to try and apply this relativity to all aspects of the world, try to make puns on it despite Einstein specifically telling him that it is explicitly only about those physical and mechanical facts. It is like the whole article author tried to apply this idea in the exact way Einstein was annoyed about, perpetuating the same misunderstanding described.
- vargr616 2y ago
  exactly, plus the author's warped understanding, like einstein reinventing the wheel for every equation to make it "more" perfect, whatever that means; or in multiple instances, drawing up conclusions and asking them, or presenting these as facts in the article. or one article being split on 5 pages so I can see some ads in-between (not really the author's fault there though).
  - mewpmewp2 2y ago
    I actually didn't realize the article went on after the ad.
  - lou1306 2y ago
    Choice of appropriate notation can absolutely make one version of a formula "more perfect" than another. Maxwell's equations underwent a painstaking "evolutionary" process as vector notation improved. Ditto for proofs; it's not hard to believe that Albert Einstein could prove a theorem from scratch and end up with a better argument than one found in a previous textbooks. The fatal flaw in the article, rather, is exemplified by the quote > With the advent of Einstein, mathematics ceased to be an exact science in the fashion of Euclid. Which I am in complete disagreement with. Einstein exploited elegant, novel (at the time), anything but inexact mathematical tools for his theory. That the theory posits uncertainty and, well, relativity of real-world phenomena has no bearing on the exactitude of mathematics. If anyone ever put a dent in that, it should be Gödel :)
  - PandaRider 2y ago
    I'm curious what you would think is "good modern journalism". Could you give examples? The discussion's article writes more like The Atlantic or NYMag interview style than AP News or Reuters. Both styles are suitable in my opinion.
- begueradj 2y ago
  There are serious allegations that Einstein stole the work of Henri Poincaré and Hermann Minkowski because he had access and the right to review their work before anyone else did.
  - GuB-42 2y ago
    It is well known and absolutely not a secret that Einstein "stole" from fellow scientists and mathematicians. That's the whole "shoulders of giants" thing and how science typically works. If you study relativity, you will stumble upon the names of Poincaré (Poincaré group) and Minkowski (Minkowski metric) as well as others, like Lorenz (Lorenz transformation). What Einstein is credited for is applying all these maths to the real world, coming up with a theory that is based on observations and testable.
- tengbretson 2y ago
  I think describing Einstein as having a love affair with things being relative is accurate.
- ahazred8ta 2y ago
  Einstein initially wanted to emphasize the 'invariance' aspect, used Invarianz-Theorie in correspondence, and said about the proliferation of 'relativity': "I admit that it is unfortunate and has given rise to philosophical misunderstandings."
raincole 2y ago
Clearly modern journalists learned from their old masters.
- FerretFred 2y ago
  "look at the mark in your underwear".. oh dear, how times have changed
photon_lines 2y ago
The last paragraphs really are beautifully written: "When he ascends to his attic, she does not cling to his coat tails. When he wishes to be alone, she completely eliminates herself from his life. She spares him disharmonious contacts and protects the serenity of his mind with the devotion of a vestal virgin guarding the sacred fire. It is by no means impossible that with a less-sacrificing mate, Einstein would not have made the discoveries which link his name with the immortals. Thus love, that moves the sun and all the stars, sustains in its lonely path the genius of Albert Einstein."

You mean that it is just as bad if not more, right? Because it is making Einstein out to be some sort of rebel like who wants things to be "relative" as if it is a religion or philosophy of some sort. Relativity is just what he discovered, not some ideology he set out to prove or invented. Then the author goes on to try and apply this relativity to all aspects of the world, try to make puns on it despite Einstein specifically telling him that it is explicitly only about those physical and mechanical facts. It is like the whole article author tried to apply this idea in the exact way Einstein was annoyed about, perpetuating the same misunderstanding described.

vargr616 2y ago
exactly, plus the author's warped understanding, like einstein reinventing the wheel for every equation to make it "more" perfect, whatever that means; or in multiple instances, drawing up conclusions and asking them, or presenting these as facts in the article. or one article being split on 5 pages so I can see some ads in-between (not really the author's fault there though).
- mewpmewp2 2y ago
  I actually didn't realize the article went on after the ad.
- lou1306 2y ago
  Choice of appropriate notation can absolutely make one version of a formula "more perfect" than another. Maxwell's equations underwent a painstaking "evolutionary" process as vector notation improved. Ditto for proofs; it's not hard to believe that Albert Einstein could prove a theorem from scratch and end up with a better argument than one found in a previous textbooks. The fatal flaw in the article, rather, is exemplified by the quote > With the advent of Einstein, mathematics ceased to be an exact science in the fashion of Euclid. Which I am in complete disagreement with. Einstein exploited elegant, novel (at the time), anything but inexact mathematical tools for his theory. That the theory posits uncertainty and, well, relativity of real-world phenomena has no bearing on the exactitude of mathematics. If anyone ever put a dent in that, it should be Gödel :)
- PandaRider 2y ago
  I'm curious what you would think is "good modern journalism". Could you give examples? The discussion's article writes more like The Atlantic or NYMag interview style than AP News or Reuters. Both styles are suitable in my opinion.
begueradj 2y ago
There are serious allegations that Einstein stole the work of Henri Poincaré and Hermann Minkowski because he had access and the right to review their work before anyone else did.
- GuB-42 2y ago
  It is well known and absolutely not a secret that Einstein "stole" from fellow scientists and mathematicians. That's the whole "shoulders of giants" thing and how science typically works. If you study relativity, you will stumble upon the names of Poincaré (Poincaré group) and Minkowski (Minkowski metric) as well as others, like Lorenz (Lorenz transformation). What Einstein is credited for is applying all these maths to the real world, coming up with a theory that is based on observations and testable.
tengbretson 2y ago
I think describing Einstein as having a love affair with things being relative is accurate.
ahazred8ta 2y ago
Einstein initially wanted to emphasize the 'invariance' aspect, used Invarianz-Theorie in correspondence, and said about the proliferation of 'relativity': "I admit that it is unfortunate and has given rise to philosophical misunderstandings."

raincole 2y ago

Clearly modern journalists learned from their old masters.

FerretFred 2y ago
"look at the mark in your underwear".. oh dear, how times have changed

photon_lines 2y ago

The last paragraphs really are beautifully written: "When he ascends to his attic, she does not cling to his coat tails. When he wishes to be alone, she completely eliminates herself from his life. She spares him disharmonious contacts and protects the serenity of his mind with the devotion of a vestal virgin guarding the sacred fire. It is by no means impossible that with a less-sacrificing mate, Einstein would not have made the discoveries which link his name with the immortals. Thus love, that moves the sun and all the stars, sustains in its lonely path the genius of Albert Einstein."