Einstein Gone 50 Years

by Ralph Dumain

Today marks a poignant moment for me. Albert Einstein and I were alive at the same time for under two years. This World Year of Physics marks the centennial of Einstein's miracle year in which he made several revolutionary contributions to physics. A half century later he died, and as of today it is a half century we have lived without Einstein. And since I have been alive this entire half century, I am reminded of how much time has passed for me. I will forgo the customary folkloric metaphorical extensions of the concept of relativistic time dilation. In a social world that now seems fictional and from which I am happily distanced, Einstein was my boyhood hero, a part of my limited mental universe still worth preserving. And yet the mental and cultural distance travelled in this half century . . . who can believe it? I don't know why, I am sad today. Perhaps missing the great man reminds me of so many other things and people I've missed and do miss. Take a moment to remember Einstein today, and perhaps also, if you have been distracted, you may remember where you came from, how far you have come, and who you are, as well.

18 April 2005

1955: Albert Einstein dies
BBC obituary