Mastodawn

Here is a better view of the blackboard in Einstein's office as he left it on April 18, 1955.

Image: Ralph Morse, Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images

Besides the famous chalkboard photo, Ralph Morse also took a close-up of Einstein's desk.

Covered with papers, his pipe laying on its side, a photo set down as if he’d just been looking at it. It is a very relatable desk.

Image: Ralph Morse, Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images

As any physicist will tell you: a clean desk is a sign of a sick mind.

(((Cindy Weinstein)))Apr 18, 2023

@mcnees. This applies to non-STEM fields, too! 🤓 #litstudies

@mcnees they don't have toddlers near their desks

@spacegeck Oh, tell me about it. (But did I save every single scribble and craft they left on my desk? Every long calculation they decided to draw on? Yes.)

@mcnees My kiddo is at the stage where everything gets destroyed and strewn about. If it can be climbed on, it will be climbed on. If it can be taken apart, it will be taken apart. No scribbles for me yet. Well, a few, but he's not very interested in such things yet.

@spacegeck

@mcnees omg 🥰

The Febrile Muse Apr 18, 2023

@mcnees What is the photo of? Looks like a statue of some sort.

Jfrench Apr 19, 2023

@CMDoran @mcnees I thought it was the flatiron building in new York but looking at streetview it doesn't quite match.
1 W 25th St
https://maps.app.goo.gl/2XGGsnEE3gjn13dV6

Bevor Sie zu Google Maps weitergehen

Jeff Zugale - Z Factory Apr 18, 2023

@mcnees me and ol’ Al, we’d have gotten along JUST fine, yep 😁

Roger Crew✅❌☑🗸❎✖✓✔Apr 18, 2023

@mcnees

now imagine being the person whose job it was to clean out that office...

@mcnees I'd argue that's damage to the paper, not the frame.

@spacegeck Oh, of course! It seems obvious now. When I first saw it I though they had removed it, and maybe damaged it. Thank you for pointing that out.

@mcnees Right? I only realized after looking the second time. I'm glad to think somewhere the blackboard is still safe and intact.

Stargeezer Smith Apr 18, 2023

@mcnees
Looks a lot like Tombaugh's office on the occasion I got to see it in about 1968.

Stargeezer Smith Apr 18, 2023

@mcnees
Tombaugh's office was mostly a desk nestled in between stacks of science journals and books. I don't recall if he had a chalkboard, but if so it was likely full of optical path sketches.

Interesting that Einstein seemed prepared to pass the baton, though survival was possible.