I just read my short story of Einstein again. Does it make you laugh? It is like a serious philosophical discussion in every paragraph and that discussion makes Einstein sound simple minded.

It reads like: “I am Einstein. I make bomb. Germans should not have bomb. It could blow up.”

It is like the 1960’s Batman tv series. Einstein spells out his every move, but in doing so looks like a blundering idiot. You are right it is silly.

But the more you read it you will find a science fiction philosophy in every paragraph.

I was rereading the Einstein short story and I kind of like it. I know that as the reader reads it and learns that in the story Einstein is not only discovered relativity, but can manipulate atoms makes some feel that Einstein has changed. But in less than 10 pages I think it has many little reflections or discussions or maybe symbolism. I am just saying it was more than just action. Like the arms race starting with Einstein sharing his knowledge with both the U.S. and Russia. Brinkmanship in game theory. The time traveler influencing history: should he kill Einstein to prevent his knowledge becoming known, or would killing Hitler stop evil only have it to be replaced by something else? Einstein was a pacifist, but he stands up to the Nazis. Plenty of stuff to create literary criticism.

But I revisit this story because I am may right other short stories. Not only for entertainment, but to create curriculum. I believe I wrote the Einstein short story like a comic book. There is still symbolism and meaning in comic stories. The Marvel Way to write comics is to create the drawings first and then write the story. It sounds backwards but it produces better stories. Like when I was a kid playing with He Man or Transformers, you design the story as you battle. The description of events and dialogue are very much comic like in the Einstein short story, sometimes even silly. But sometimes there is some pretty serious meaning behind the blunt silliness of the dialogue

But for now my question is: When you read the Einstein short story do you see many themes of literary criticism? Did it present deeper ideas than just Einstein fights the Nazis?

18 minutes ago, Trurl said:

I was rereading the Einstein short story and I kind of like it. I know that as the reader reads it and learns that in the story Einstein is not only discovered relativity, but can manipulate atoms makes some feel that Einstein has changed. But in less than 10 pages I think it has many little reflections or discussions or maybe symbolism. I am just saying it was more than just action. Like the arms race starting with Einstein sharing his knowledge with both the U.S. and Russia. Brinkmanship in game theory. The time traveler influencing history: should he kill Einstein to prevent his knowledge becoming known, or would killing Hitler stop evil only have it to be replaced by something else? Einstein was a pacifist, but he stands up to the Nazis. Plenty of stuff to create literary criticism.

But I revisit this story because I am may right other short stories. Not only for entertainment, but to create curriculum. I believe I wrote the Einstein short story like a comic book. There is still symbolism and meaning in comic stories. The Marvel Way to write comics is to create the drawings first and then write the story. It sounds backwards but it produces better stories. Like when I was a kid playing with He Man or Transformers, you design the story as you battle. The description of events and dialogue are very much comic like in the Einstein short story, sometimes even silly. But sometimes there is some pretty serious meaning behind the blunt silliness of the dialogue

But for now my question is: When you read the Einstein short story do you see many themes of literary criticism? Did it present deeper ideas than just Einstein fights the Nazis?

I explained to you almost a year ago that your story is historically completely wrong. Anything the reader "learns" from it will therefore be misinformation.

Einstein played no part in any arms race. He did not share information with any military use with both the USA and the USSR. So nobody will use this silly story in any "curriculum", thank God. It is not the dialogue that is silly. It is the false information about Einstein and WW2. If you think it presents "deeper ideas" you are deluding yourself. You have no chance of presenting deeper ideas if you make up rubbish.

Edited July 4Jul 4 by exchemist

Just now, exchemist said:

I explained to you almost a year ago that your story is historically completely wrong

Indeed so but it is presented as a work of fiction and like most, if not all fiction, there is good, bad and indifferent within the alternative histories category.

For instance I liked the Philip Pulman Dark Materials trilogy. I can't imagine anyone confusing the various 'histories' of Oxford portrayed.

On 9/10/2024 at 11:16 PM, Trurl said:

The mathematics of General Relativity is Max Planc’s.

Tensor calculus came from the likes of Gibbs, Ricci and Hamilton and Riemann not Planck.

As suggested, making up a completely new character and fitting him into the events of WW2 would be better. Rather than taking the most famous Scientist of the 20th century if not of all time and distorting his contribution.

As Richard Feynman said, the Manhattan project was more engineering than science.

In fact Feynman would have been a better candidate, he did play a part and he started out as fairly low in the ranks and moved up a rung or two.

16 hours ago, Trurl said:

story Einstein is not only discovered relativity,

The concept of Relativity was discussed as far back as Galileo. Poincaré and Lorentz discussed elements of modern Relativity also before 1905 as the latter was responsible for the "transform which bears his name.

44 minutes ago, pinball1970 said:

Tensor calculus came from the likes of Gibbs, Ricci and Hamilton and Riemann not Planck.

As suggested, making up a completely new character and fitting him into the events of WW2 would be better. Rather than taking the most famous Scientist of the 20th century if not of all time and distorting his contribution.

As Richard Feynman said, the Manhattan project was more engineering than science.

In fact Feynman would have been a better candidate, he did play a part and he started out as fairly low in the ranks and moved up a rung or two.

The concept of Relativity was discussed as far back as Galileo. Poincaré and Lorentz discussed elements of modern Relativity also before 1905 as the latter was responsible for the "transform which bears his name.

There’s a funny story in “American Prometheus” about Feynman, when he was at Los Alamos, discovering a gap under the wire of the security fence and puzzling the guards by repeatedly leaving the compound without apparently ever returning. He was a mischievous fellow.

5 hours ago, exchemist said:

There’s a funny story in “American Prometheus” about Feynman, when he was at Los Alamos, discovering a gap under the wire of the security fence and puzzling the guards by repeatedly leaving the compound without apparently ever returning. He was a mischievous fellow.

IIRC, it’s included in “Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman”

8 hours ago, exchemist said:

There’s a funny story in “American Prometheus” about Feynman, when he was at Los Alamos, discovering a gap under the wire of the security fence and puzzling the guards by repeatedly leaving the compound without apparently ever returning. He was a mischievous fellow.

Yes he was fond of safe cracking too.

Scientists like Dirac, Einstein and Feynman were just very special individuals, we were very lucky to have them when we did.

2 hours ago, swansont said:

IIRC, it’s included in “Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman”

I have still not read that, I need to. I have read parts of his biography.

I did not encounter him till the shuttle disaster.

1 hour ago, pinball1970 said:

Yes he was fond of safe cracking too.

After a fashion.

1 hour ago, pinball1970 said:

Scientists like Dirac, Einstein and Feynman were just very special individuals, we were very lucky to have them when we did.

I have still not read that, I need to. I have read parts of his biography.

It details his forays into opening safes at Los Alamos. What we would call social engineering, plus some technological insight

Yes, I understand why scientists don’t like the story: I changed the history of Einstein. I did that not to take away his good qualities but to separate him from pacifism.

I truly believe he has more to do with the nuclear program. He knew the dangers of the Nazis. He would understand why a weapon had to be built. What good would it do to be a genius and not work to save it?

My story is not historical fiction but hero scientist. I am not saying it isn’t pure fiction but I am trying to write an interesting story that reflects in decision making.

History is tough It is filled with misinformation. I is like when you what two different channels and the same news story is different.

I think the story reads better when you ignore the fact I changed Einstein. I did want to get rid of his pacifism. I made it the time of war because it is about decision making and war is when decisions mean the most.

But the theme is how to use science to improve the world and the decisions that have to be made. That is why the time traveler was debating whether to kill Einstein or Hitler. And in the end who wins when everyone has a nuclear weapon?

I probably would leave it a story and not curriculum, because it isn’t intended to be historical accurate. But it asks the question: is it possible to fix time as a time traveler? Who decides what is the correct events?

I think if is read knowing what I just described, you may understand why I chose Einstein. You still might not like it, but you will understand my writing process

2 hours ago, Trurl said:

Yes, I understand why scientists don’t like the story: I changed the history of Einstein. I did that not to take away his good qualities but to separate him from pacifism.

I truly believe he has more to do with the nuclear program. He knew the dangers of the Nazis. He would understand why a weapon had to be built. What good would it do to be a genius and not work to save it?

My story is not historical fiction but hero scientist. I am not saying it isn’t pure fiction but I am trying to write an interesting story that reflects in decision making.

History is tough It is filled with misinformation. I is like when you what two different channels and the same news story is different.

I think the story reads better when you ignore the fact I changed Einstein. I did want to get rid of his pacifism. I made it the time of war because it is about decision making and war is when decisions mean the most.

But the theme is how to use science to improve the world and the decisions that have to be made. That is why the time traveler was debating whether to kill Einstein or Hitler. And in the end who wins when everyone has a nuclear weapon?

I probably would leave it a story and not curriculum, because it isn’t intended to be historical accurate. But it asks the question: is it possible to fix time as a time traveler? Who decides what is the correct events?

I think if is read knowing what I just described, you may understand why I chose Einstein. You still might not like it, but you will understand my writing process

Einstein had nothing to do with any nuclear programme. That is what all the historical evidence shows. Your “belief” is unfounded.

If you persist with this story of yours it needs a prominent disclaimer at the start to make clear it describes an alternative, entirely fictional, history.

There are already far too many falsehoods attached to the name of Einstein. Your attitude,, preferring unfounded “belief” to fact, is symptomatic of one of the great curses of our new internet age. You are not entitled to make up your own version of events, just because that’s the way you prefer them to be.

Edited July 16Jul 16 by exchemist