Einstein is a Genius?

Everyone knows about it…. So common it is a verb.

However, isn’t it strange everyone is calling Einstein a genius when not many people truly understand his work? If you ever throw the question – what makes the Earth goes around the sun, a typical answer will be – The sun’s gravity pulls the Earth around it… which is not an accurate answer. If you ask what E=MC^2 is all about, most people will associate it with Nuclear Bomb. Haha!

Most people do not understand Einstein’s work yet everyone is calling him a genius. And that puzzled me. Why so?

From a psychological point of view, this scenario is known as the ‘Bandwagon Effect’. It basically explains that human fundamentally have strong tendency to believe and think in a herd behaviour. Hence, when the masses think that Einstein is a genius, it spreads like virus. People do not question the statement since the masses all agreed that Einstein is a genius.

Another instance will be Thomas Edison. Let me tell you what, he is nowhere near to be classified as a genius. Edison is just a very smart entrepreneur. Yet, everyone think he is a genius. Ok, perhaps this is just my subjective opinion. But have a read on the story of Edison vs Tesla, and perhaps you will get what i mean.