

"I'll eat my hat if that isn't Einstein" (Einstein as seen by another scientist, Norbert Wiener) - hhm
http://libraries.mit.edu/archives/exhibits/wiener-letter/index.html

======
ivankirigin
'Renewed war in Europe, he predicted, would pass the "leadership of
civilization...to America and ultimately to Asia ."'

That is an astoundingly accurate prediction for 1925.

~~~
portLAN
I know, he's a regular Einstein.

------
mynameishere
_Personally he is simple, direct, unaffected and rather winning. His enormous
intellectual energy, his clear vision and sense of physical reality, and his
enthusiasm strike the most casual observer. He is aware of his great position,
but not in the least conceited. He does not expect relativity in its present
form to last many decades, and hopes that further work will soon go beyond
it._

A good example of how received opinions can effect our assessments of people.
Had Einstein been an important but un-famous scientist, no one would ever
write shmaltz like that about him on a casual meeting.

~~~
portLAN
Actually that's fairly indicative of personal letters of the well-educated of
that era. People often used such terms when writing about those they had met
who they were on friendly terms with or admired. The world was smaller then,
and every person you met took on more significance.

It is not at all surprising that a prodigy and professor of mathematics would
have a high opinion of another professor or scientist who impressed him with
his intelligence or character, whether famous or not.

