Albert Einstein was no boob
Damn.
The rotten news for parents was put
succinctly In a New York Times headline:
"Einstein Revealed as Brilliant in Youth."
That may not strike ycu as any sort of
news, but it is, and it blasts a hope that
has sustained some of us.
. It has long been said that Einstein
was a slow starter. The legend, to
which many parents have clung for
comfort, was that Einstein was dim in
George Will
primary and secondary school and
even failed his college-entrance exami
nations. He did fail those examinations,
but primarily because he had trouble
learning French, trouble I consider a
sign of superior spirit.
The rest of the legend turns out to
derive from a misreading of the grading
system at his Swiss school. It now has
been learned, as a result of the pre
paration of his papers for publication,
that the kid was something of a prodigy.
He excelled at college physics before
he was 11, was gifted at Latin and
Greek, and was a "brilliant" violinist.
The science (or so .we are invited to
regard it) of "parenting" incites the
hope that we can learn practical lessons
from conspicuous successes. So I have
been looking into the rearing of little Al
Einstein. My findings are not entirely
encouraging.
At age five he was tutored at home,
but only briefly until he had a
tantrum and threw a chair at the
unfortunate woman doing the tutoring.
So far, so good: The Will children cer
tainly have had that Einsteinian phase.
Now for the bad news.
It is said that when at age four or five
he received a compass from his father,
he trembled and became cold from the
thrill of thinking: Because the needle
always points in the same direction,
something unseen in space must be
compelling it; therefore space is not
empty.
He was stirred to the depths of his
soul (it had more depth than I usually
see in children's souls) by a book of
euclidean geometry which, he thought,
gave his a glimpse of perfection.
Now, admit it: If you gave your child
a book of geometry, he or she would
not take his or her nose out of the
Michael Jackson biography he or she is
reading. If you give him or ,her a
compass at 9 a.m., and it has not been
lost by 10 a.m., by 11 a.m. it will have
been traded for a Moosehead beer can.
Little Einstein was perhaps slow to
speak, but once he got the hang of it he
said attention-getting things. As the
Will children fill the dinner hour with
ad homincm remarks about one another,
spiced with digressions concerning the
enveloped subject of Michael Jackson,
my mind turns to this fact: Young
Einstein was given to wondering aloud,
"What would the world look like if I
were riding on a beam of light?"
(Don't say: "Blurry." Einstein was
being serious, and the correct answer
is: "Frozen." Jacob Bronowski explains
it: Suppose you are riding away from a
clock tower on the beam of light with
which you were seeing that the clock
reads "noon." You will travel 186,000
miles away from the clock in a second.
But the clock, as you will see it over
your shoulder will not change at all,
not even a second. Why not? By keeping
up with the beam of light, you have
escaped from the passage of time.)
When asked on his 74th birthday
whether the compass and the geometry
book really influenced his growth, Ein
stein said he thought so: "But a man
has little insight into what goes on
within him. When a young puppy sees
a compass for the first time, it may
have no similar influence, nor on many
a child." I love the equation of puppies
and children. And I wonder: What
about the second time the puppy sees
the compass?
You can, Einstein said, postulate
theories, but you will never find the
answer to the riddle of what determines
the reaction of individuals to particular
influences. So, parents, the science of
parenting is, it seems, severely circum
scribed. Thank God. How intolerable would
be the burden of responsibility, and
how sad would be the death of mystery,
were we able to control the maturation
of creatures we let loose on the world.
So it is cheerfully that I, with a
flourish that puts me on a par with
Einstein at, oh, age four, offer this
sunburst: Parenting is a science of
single instances.
1S34, Washington Post Writers Group
Letter
Policy
The Daily Nebras
kan welcomes brief
letters to the editor
from all readers and
interested others.
Letters will be sel
ected for publication
on the basis of clar
ity, originality, time
liness and space
available.
Submit material
to the Daily Nebras
kan, 34 Nebraska
Union, 1400 R St.,
Lincoln, Neb. 68583-0448.
Editorial
Policy
Unsigned editor
ials represent official
policy of the summer
1984 Daily Nebras
kan. Other staff mem
bers will write edi
torials throughout
the summer. They
will carry the auth
or's name after the
final sentence.
1'
lit' J '
So the lowest price may not prove to be a
bargain. At Family Contact Lens Center, trie
health of your eyes comes first That s why
we provide thorough, professional care, to
assure healthy eyes while wearing contact
lenses. And we do It at a price you can afford.
in addition to a wide selection of lens de
signs and materials we offer free consultation
and an exclusive 60-day trial period.
For more information call: 483-4000433-5757
Contact lrn. Center 4f
Where the health of your eyes cqmes first.
6911 East'O"
Financing Available
EDITOR
GENERAL MANAGER
PRODUCTION MANAGER
ADVERTISING MANAGER
Hurl Hopple, 472-1768
Daniel Sr.llll
Kitty Policky
Tom Byrna
The Daily Nebraska (USPS 144-080) is published by the
UNI Publications Board Monday through Friday in the tall
and spring semesters and Tuesdays and Fridays in the
summer sessions. exciapl during vacations
Readers are encouraged to submit story ideas and com
ments to the Daily Nebreskan by phoning 472-2588 between
9 a m and 5pm Monday through Friday. The public also
has access to the Publications Beard For information, call
Caria Johnson. 475-0375
Postmaster: Send address cnanges to the Daily Nebra
skan. 34 Nebraska Union. 1400 R St . Lincoln. Neb 68588
0448 ALL MATERIAL COPYRIGHT 194 DAILY NE8RASKAN
ft B00HSI 1
Shop the
I Atrium 1
I for Fashion i
Food and Fun
.'.V 4 .
L
BRING COUPONS
o
CL
D
O
o
z
FIM1 II LILE
The Centrum, 111 "O" Street
475-1655
Gateway
466-44S3
v
From Basic Shades, to today's wildest.
If you want fun, we've got it.
If you just need to darken the view,
we've got those too.
III U,flkJ
OrJLY 03.00
Our selection includes:
e Cateyes Poor Boys
e .Glaciers . Much More
o Diamond Wide Range
Cuts of Prices
"orJLY 03.89 .
BRING COUPON
n
if
11 U U .t-ut U ' ii itL if W fit If iHt (. flii. II
iu if "if 'nil nan a u a tm i j uf i tii n it iHMtup
?f is
ft it
it;- s,f tj if ! ihfi1-- tni H
'it it, .. Tf li s ;Ss'U Itt ' r .f t ?f '
'IS '.'. '.'
:";!':l;l::l:ii!;;::T;r;:!:i:"';
fiSIl i!inn
II UMZJU II i
Lincoln
r:;;:S;'::!:;;:
O.
::::::::::::::,
Food
(0,i
Lower Level
L smmsmssmmsxKsssss:
Tuesday, June 1Z 1984
Dally Nebraska?)
Pago 5
F
m
to
p
p
ICI
I-o
o
'A