Similarly, suppose Einstein had not looked like everyone's idea of the mega-brained, wild-haired professor, his head bursting with world-shattering ideas and profound insights? Suppose he had looked more like, say, Niels Bohr, who could have passed for a bank manager...
Or suppose Stephen Hawking, instead of being the very image of a mighty mind trapped in a useless body, had been able-bodied? Hard to believe he'd have been quite the world-conquering celeb he is today...
At least Richard Dawkins, for all his fame, is unlikely to become an Icon, blesses as he is with the bland, polished features of an Anglican bishop - albeit one who looks after himself and has a good barber.
Never in a million years did Jacob Bronowski look like a man who made eggs from coal dust, he was the epitome of the Jewish intellectual, not a bloke who rummaged around nutty slack.
ReplyDeleteThe philosophers walk behind Heidelburg Castle was populated by genius, all walking with their hands behind their back, muttering oh no, here comes another bloody genius. Is there, do we think, an appearance gene peculiar to clever clogs, or is there out there a budding nuclear physicist who looks like Ronnie Corbett.
One thing's for sure Malty - if Bronowski had looked like Ronnie Corbett he wouldn't have got that Ascent of Man gig. On the other hand, Prof Brian Cox gets a lot of work, and he looks like... Prof Brian Cox!
ReplyDeleteKen Dodd would have made a good mad scientist...