Page 21 - COM Outlook - Winter 2013

21 COM Outlook . Winter 2013
In 1999, nearly 80 years after winning that
prestigious prize, Einstein was feted as TIME
magazine’s Person of the Century.
These world-altering achievements
launched him to international superstardom,
allowing his name to become a household
word synonymous with genius across the
globe. Today, the practical applications of Ein-
stein’s theories include the development of the
television, remote-control devices, automatic
door openers, lasers, and DVD-players.
Bravery Leads to
Memorable Meeting
In 1946, Dr. Cohen was a talented and
industrious 18-year-old freshman at Rutgers
University in New Jersey who was looking
to become rich and famous as a researcher
and creator of lifesaving antibiotics. Howev-
er, because the library at nearby Princeton
University housed a more-comprehensive
set of resource materials than could be
found at Rutgers, Dr. Cohen frequented the
Princeton library on a continuum.
It was during one of these visits to
Princeton where Dr. Cohen unexpectedly
laid eyes on the inimitable Einstein, who had
immigrated to the United States in the autumn
of 1933 and later accepted a professorship at
Princeton’s prestigious Institute for Advanced
Study. According to Dr. Cohen, the momen-
tous meeting of the minds was a totally spon-
taneous occurrence—a rare cosmic opportu-
nity that demanded an immediate response.
“I am an extrovert by nature, so I simply
walked over and introduced myself by saying,
‘Hello, you must be Albert Einstein. I am just
a poor Jewish student from Rutgers,’” said
Dr. Cohen of his fearless self-introduction.
“He then asked me to sit down, which
shocked me because I couldn’t believe he
would even talk to me.”
Clearly impressed by Dr. Cohen’s youthful
bravado, Einstein quickly tendered an intrigu-
ing offer: to serve as his driver for the princely
sum of $14 a month. Although he was 67
years old at the time, Einstein had yet to
master the art of driving—a circumstance that
turned out to be personally, financially, and in-
tellectually rewarding for Dr. Cohen. “I drove
him around on the weekends and sometimes
on Thursdays depending on my classes,”
said Dr. Cohen of their Driving Miss Daisy
relationship, which eventually blossomed into
a full-fledged friendship.
“I knew, of course, that he was a famous
scientist, but what truly amazed me was his
knowledge of cultural anthropology, psychol-
ogy, sociology, philosophy, and even politics.
I really think I learned more from him in
these areas than I did from my classes,” said
Dr. Cohen, who recently published a book
documenting his time with the mental master
entitled My Time with Einstein.
Probing a Genius’ Brain
For an 18-year-old, having the opportunity
to spend abundant quality time with a living
legend such as Einstein was indeed a heady
experience for Dr. Cohen, who was able to
witness firsthand his mentor’s brilliance as
well as his eccentricities and vulnerabilities.
Because Einstein frequently invited
him over for dinner, Dr. Cohen was able to
witness the genial genius in a more casual
milieu that allowed Einstein to reveal his
intrinsic personality quirks. “He never wore
socks, which used to amaze me because I
was a microbiology major who knew all about
cleanliness,” Dr. Cohen recalled. “I used
to tell him, ‘You really should wear socks
because your feet perspire and produce
fungi.’ He responded by saying ‘Socks and
shoes do the same thing, so why have both?’
Similarly, his bed was never made, but when
I asked him about it, he replied, ‘Why make it
when you have to unmake it again later that
same day?’”
The fascinating reasoning process that
defined Einstein was also on display the
day he asked Dr. Cohen to drive him to the
Philadelphia Zoo—a day indelibly etched in
his memory. According to Dr. Cohen, Einstein
seemed to enjoy the zoo adventure im-
mensely. But once they reached the monkey
cages, his happy demeanor suddenly shifted
when he noticed several of the primates
copulating in full view of the intrigued visitors.
“He became extremely upset about this and
said they needed their privacy,” Dr. Cohen re-
called. “He thought it was terrible that people
were watching, so he actually offered to buy
some sort of screen to shield the monkeys
from public view. I tried explaining that it was
okay, that people knew this was a natural
part of the zoo experience, but he was visibly
upset to see that people would gawk at the
monkeys while they were making love.”
During their time together, they would
frequently stroll through the nearby woods,
with Einstein easily rattling off the names of
the birds they saw as well as the types of
fungi adorning the numerous trees. One day,
however, he watched Einstein do something
he had never witnessed anyone do before.
While walking through the woodlands,
Einstein suddenly reached out, grabbed what
looked to be a grasshopper, and popped it in
his mouth. When Dr. Cohen asked Einstein
“I was surprised that his self-image was so low,” stated Dr. Cohen of his intimate
chats with Einstein. “I had thought a man as exalted as Einstein would have a strong
sense of pride and very high self-esteem. But that simply wasn’t the case.”