Exhibit displays Einstein’s genius

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Exhibit displays Einstein’s genius

On President Roh Moo-hyun’s weeklong summer vacation, which began yesterday, he will absorb himself in reading, according to a spokesman. His reading list includes a book about Albert Einstein (1879-1955), which Mr. Roh chose because he wants to know how a natural scientist became involved in the social sciences. Mr. Roh could also use part of his precious summer break to attend the exhibition “Person of the Century ― Albert Einstein.”
The exhibition, opening today at LG Science Hall and co-sponsored by the hall and the Israeli Embassy, is the first in Korea focusing on the entire life of the famed scientist.
Uzi Manor, the Israeli Ambassador to Korea, said in a statement, “Einstein is truly the iconic figure of the 20th century, especially in that his pursuit was not limited to natural science but extended to an interest in humanity and society.”
The exhibition draws together Einstein’s personal notes, photographs and manuscripts, divided among 22 themes. In a section dealing with the scientist’s private life, spectators can view copies of his personal letters. In one of them, addressed to Sigmund Freud (1856-1939), the father of psychoanalysis, Einstein wrote, “We pacifists cannot stand wars. How long should we wait to see all of humanity become pacifist?”
The exhibition also features the scientist’s numerous manuscripts, including one on his groundbreaking theory of relativity. In another section titled “Curiosity File,” Einstein’s notes from everyday life, which he wrote whenever he became curious about something, are on display.
One thing not to be missed is the photograph of Einstein’s brain; he specified in his will that he wanted scientific research to be conducted on it after his death. Thomas Harvey, the pathologist who conducted the autopsy, kept the brain stored in two large jars in a box labeled “Costa Cider” in his Wichita, Kansas home. The brain, now kept in a hospital in Princeton, New Jersey, did not make it to the Seoul exhibition.


by Chun Su-jin

LG Science Hall is in Yeouido, southwestern Seoul, reachable by the No. 5 subway line. Get off at Yeouinaru Station and use exit No. 1. The exhibition is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and continues until Aug. 30. Admission is free. For more information, call (02) 3773-1053.
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