Talk:Albert Einstein#RfC: date format in this article

{{Wikipedia:Good article reassessment/Albert Einstein/1}}

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{{edit semi-protected|Albert Einstein|answered=yes}}

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In July 1912, he returned

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From 30 October to 3 November 1911, he attended the first Solvay Conference on Physics.Paul Langevin and Maurice de Broglie, eds., [https://archive.org/details/lathoriedurayo00inst La théorie du rayonnement et les quanta. Rapports et discussions de la réunion tenue à Bruxelles, du 30 octobre au 3 novembre 1911, sous les auspices de M. E. Solvay]. Paris: {{ill|Gauthier-Villars|fr}}, 1912. See also: The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein, Vol. 3: Writings 1909–1911, Doc. 26, p. 402 (English translation supplement).

In July 1912, he returned

{{reftalk}} 2601:646:203:E7B0:A26B:8CD1:B6E4:B736 (talk) 18:47, 22 May 2025 (UTC)

: {{done}}. See [https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Albert_Einstein&diff=1291703587&oldid=1291465757]. - DVdm (talk) 21:42, 22 May 2025 (UTC)

I added that Einstein was named Time's Person of the Century to the lead.{{cite magazine| title=Albert Einstein| magazine=Time| last=Golden| first=Frederic| date=31 December 1999| url= https://time.com/archive/6598209/albert-einstein/}} I was asked if other figures who made the list had this mentioned in the lead. They do. On the page for Igor Stravinsky (no slouch) we find the following in the lead: "In 1998, Time magazine listed Stravinsky as one of the 100 most influential people of the century." Surely Einstein leading that same list is noteworthy? In the lead for Yo Yo Ma (also no slouch) we learn that: "He was named as one of Time's 100 Most Influential People of 2020." Being named Person of the Century is quite a bit more significant than being named one of the 100 most influential people of a particular year (no disrespect to Mr. Ma!)

I was told that the honor was "fluff" as Time is not a scientific publication. True, Time is not a scientific publication, but, as Walter Isaacson and others note, Einstein's influence extends beyond science; Eddington's measurement of the gravitational lensing of stalight by the sun made Einstein one of the first modern celebrities. His ideas and opinions on politics and philosophy carried weight. The accompanying Time piece reflects this. I was told that it was not on par with a Nobel. Einstein's Nobel Prize in Physics (for the discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect) is duly noted in the lead, but as of this writing 226 individuals have been awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics. Person of the Century is given to one person, once. That's not to say it's more significant than a Nobel, only that it's unique and, therefore, worth noting. (The runners-up for Person of the Century, Mahatma Gandhi and Franklin Delano Roosevelt, were not historical lightweights.)

As can be gathered from Igor Stravinsky (a Featured Article, per the robust standards of Wikipedia editors), making Time's list of the most influential people of the century is encyclopedically significant; leading the same list is also encyclopedically significant. Noting that Einstein topped the list is testament to his influence, an influence that extends beyond science. Time quotes Gerald Holton: “If Einstein’s ideas are really naive, the world is really in pretty bad shape.” The editors add: "Rather it seems to him that Einstein’s humane and democratic instincts are 'an ideal political model for the 21st century,' embodying the very best of this century as well as our highest hopes for the next. What more could we ask of a man to personify the past 100 years?" What more, indeed? Charlie Faust (talk) 04:38, 24 May 2025 (UTC)

:Wikipedia:Drop the stick and back slowly away from the horse carcass Moxy🍁 07:14, 24 May 2025 (UTC)

::Well, am I wrong? I was asked if any other figures from Time's list of the most influential people of the century have this mentioned in their leads. They do. That's on Igor Stravinsky, a Featured Article. Surely Einstein leading that same list is noteworthy? Charlie Faust (talk) 14:06, 24 May 2025 (UTC)

I added some quotes from Abraham Pais's biography Subtle is the Lord: The Science and the Life of Albert Einstein. This is a uniquely valuable source, as Pais knew Einstein personally, and does not shirk from mathematics in explaining Einstein's theories. (Both these virtues distinguish him from most Einstein biographers.)

One quote, which I added to "Religious and philosophical views", was: "A religious person is devout in the sense that he has no doubt of the significance of those superpersonal objects and goals which neither require nor are capable of rational foundation ... A legitimate conflict between science and religion cannot exist ... Science without science is lame, religion without science is blind."{{cite book| last=Pais| first=Abraham| title=Subtle is the Lord: The Science and the Life of Albert Einstein| year=1982| page=319}} That gets to the heart of the matter; it sums up Einstein's religious and philosophical views. Surely it's worth including under "Religious and philosophical views"?

I was asked "is there any indication that these quotes are somewhat famous?" Fame is a poor criterion for judging encyclopedic significance, since not all famous quotes are profound, and vice versa. But here you go: "[https://newrepublic.com/article/115821/einsteins-famous-quote-science-religion-didnt-mean-taught Einstein’s Famous Quote About Science and Religion Didn’t Mean What You Were Taught"], The New Republic. (That's an article by a militant atheist arguing that the quote had been misrepresented, but even so "Einstein's Famous Quote" is right there in the title.) It is, by any reasonable definition, a famous quote. Charlie Faust (talk) 23:29, 24 May 2025 (UTC)

I propose adding the following to the lead:

"Many things have been named in his honor, including, in 1955, the element Einsteinium."{{cite web |title=Einsteinium – Element |url=https://www.rsc.org/periodic-table/element/99/einsteinium |work=Royal Society of Chemistry |access-date=16 December 2022}}

Einstein having an element named for him is important enough to be in the lead. Only sixteen scientists (counting the Curies) have been so honored; many members of that group have this mentioned in their leads; see Lise Meitner, Niels Bohr and Enrico Fermi, Featured Articles all.

It would be entirely appropriate to note that other things are named for Einstein; the lead for Alan Turing (a Good Article) informs us: "Turing left an extensive legacy in mathematics and computing which has become widely recognised with statues and many things named after him, including an annual award for computing innovation. His portrait appears on the Bank of England £50 note, first released on 23 June 2021 to coincide with his birthday. The audience vote in a 2019 BBC series named Turing the greatest person of the 20th century." Charlie Faust (talk) 13:48, 5 June 2025 (UTC)