Scientific American

Albert Einstein once said that there are only two things
that might be infinite: the universe and human stupidity. And, he confessed,
he wasn’t sure about the universe.
When we hear that, we chuckle. Or at least we smile. We do not take offense.
The reason is that the name “Einstein” conjures an image of a warm-hearted,
avuncular sage of an earlier era. We see the good-natured, wild-haired scientific
genius whose iconic portraits—riding a bike, sticking out his tongue, staring at us
with those penetrating eyes—are emblazoned in our collective cultural memory.
Einstein has come to symbolize the purity and power of intellectual exploration.