Elf Sternberg

Forgive me for rattling off examples. I'm not trying to come across as arogant or snarky; I'm just writing quickly because I have tons of other stuff to take care of today. ^_^

Einstein would be "famous because of" his intellect. Everyone knows the name Albert Einstein, and associates the name with, "Very Smart." However, the majority of people would have difficulty explaining why he's famous for being smart.

Carl Sagan is "famous because of" saying "Billions and billions," but is being slowly forgotten, as are all of the things he did, both for space exploration and science education.

Stephen Hawking is "famous because of" his intellect and, "His Achievements Despite His Handicap," but almost nobody outside of physics would be able to say what those achievements are, beyond that he overcame them even though he has ALS (if they even know that he has ALS). They may also know that he's "the Lucasian Chair at Cambridge, a position once held by Isaac Newton," but few will know why.

Anyone who majored in physics as an undergrad will know who Richard Feynman is because they admire him for his achievements, both within physics and outside of it. Few people outside of physics will even know who Richard Feynman is, let alone what his achievements were.

There are people who not only know who Hawking, Einstein, and Sagan are, but also admire them for their respective achievements. A subset of those people will even be critical of Einstein's or Hawking's work, and/or critical of Carl Sagan outside of his scientific achievements.


Sorry if I came across as preachy or harsh, there. But that's the distinction I'm making.