A GOOD DAY, FOR ME, is spent at the blackboard and at my desk, smoking my pipe, and pondering the harmonies of the spheres, the origin of black holes, gravitational waves, and the mysteries of the Universe. I’ve often thought that the hurly-burly of everyday life is so unpredictable and changeable, but what is important in life is what does not change – the eternal verities: love, justice, truth, and beauty.

WHAT IS MORE IMPORTANT IN THE LONG RUN? What is visible or what is invisible?  Buckminster Fuller said the greatest discovery of the twentieth century is that the invisible is more important than the visible.  I agree.

AT THE END OF THE DAY, I love playing my violin, either alone, or with some of my scientist colleagues.

HAVE I BEEN TALKING TOO LONG? That’s what happens when you get to be my age. Or when you get to be immortal.

FAME IS OVERRATED

“I NEVER UNDERSTOOD why the theory of relativity, with its concepts and problems so far removed from practical life, should have met with such a lively, indeed passionate, reception among a broad segment of the public.” October 1942, published in Frank, “Einstein…” 1978

Take it from me, Albert Einstein. Fame is vastly over-rated!

I’VE BEEN EXTREMELY FAMOUS: I got the Nobel Prize, folks say I’m a world-beater, I changed physics and history forever, journalists want to interview me for my opinions on anything, presidents and professors and captains of industry all want a piece of me; and so on. You wouldn’t believe the undeserved invitations, the toasts, the introductions, and the honors that I get. Why should I be honored for merely doing what comes naturally to me? I’m not a genius; I just stay with a problem longer than others.

HERE’S A PICTURE OF ME wearing a Hopi Indian headdress!  I’m not an Indian Chief, but according to Hopi folk-lore and culture, I am. I did nothing to earn this honor.

BUT IN THE END, I put on my Hopi Head-dress just like Indians do. And I put on my trousers one leg at a time. Just like journalists do. But they are always hungry for a story. And if their story isn’t interesting enough, they will bend or twist the truth to make it sell newspapers.

ANYONE WHO IS AS SUFFICIENTLY POPULAR or notorious as I am can become victimized by deceptive zealous interviewers. Here’s an example…

ONE DAY, A GENTLEMAN OF THE PRESS comes to me and asks me to give him a few details concerning my best friend, a Mr. X.  Amazed, and maybe a bit annoyed by the intrusion on my privacy, I say:

“My dear friend Mr. X is a cheerful straightforward man, much liked by all his friends. He can find a bright side to any situation.  His enterprise and industry know no bounds; his job takes up his entire energy. He is devoted to his family, and lays everything he possesses at his wife’s feet.”

HERE’S WHAT THIS EXCITABLE SENSATIONALIST reporter writes for his newspaper (in bold type, yet):

“Mr. X takes nothing seriously. He has the knack of making people like him, chiefly because he flatters everyone.  He is such a slave to his profession that he has no time – doubtless no inclination – for intellectual pursuits.  He is weakly indulgent to his wife; in fact, he is entirely under her thumb, mere putty in her hands.”

HOW DO YOU THINK I FEEL about this sad outcome? I took the reporter seriously, and I end up looking like a buffoon. I can assure you I’m not a buffoon. I’m a seeker of cosmic beauty, an appreciator of the orderly laws of the Universe.

LOOK AT THIS CARTOON from a century ago. It shows newspaper reporters peddling fake news and cheap sensation!  That’s what they’re really like! Prevaricators! Maybe they flatter you to get your attention, but watch out! They’re slimy phonies. And all because of the fame game.

A GOOD DAY, FOR ME, is spent at the blackboard and at my desk, smoking my pipe, and pondering the harmonies of the spheres, the origin of black holes, gravitational waves, and the mysteries of the Universe. I’ve often thought that the hurly-burly of everyday life is so unpredictable and changeable, but what is important in life is what does not change – the eternal verities: love, justice, truth, and beauty.

WHAT IS MORE IMPORTANT IN THE LONG RUN? What is visible or what is invisible?  Buckminster Fuller said the greatest discovery of the twentieth century is that the invisible is more important than the visible.  I agree.

AT THE END OF THE DAY, I love playing my violin, either alone, or with some of my scientist colleagues.

HAVE I BEEN TALKING TOO LONG? That’s what happens when you get to be my age. Or when you get to be immortal.