1905 At the age of 26, an unknown Swiss patent clerk who worked on physics in his spare time published four brilliant papers that revolutionized science and altered the way we view the world. He announced that E=mc2 (translation: matter can be converted to energy—more energy than anyone could dream of, because the speed of light [c] clocks out at a staggering 186,000+ miles per second). He proved that atoms exist. He said that Newton was wrong: Light is not a wave, but a stream of tiny bundles of energy and distances and durations are not independent and absolute. His discoveries shattered common-sense conceptions about the form and structure of the universe—sending shock waves through the cosmos of thought.
Time magazine named Albert Einstein the most influential person of the 20th century. And 2005 marks the 100th anniversary of his "miracle year." Einstein's paradigm-shaking insights into the mysterious matrix of time, space, and matter are being recognized by a year-long, worldwide celebration called the World Year of Physics 2005, or Year of Einstein, as it is known in Ireland, the United Kingdom, and Germany. The Journal joins the celebration by looking at the universe through a uniquely pragmatic, metaphysical/spiritual lens. And we ask the questions: What is reality? What is the true nature of the universe and our relationship to it? What is fact, and what is fiction?
