‘Genius’ Sneak Peek: See Einstein Reveal E=mc2 for the First Time
Does it matter that someone is brilliant if nobody cares to pay attention?
That’s the dilemma that Albert Einstein (Johnny Flynn) is facing on Nat Geo’s “Genius” on Tuesday. When last we saw our budding physicist, he had just married the love of his life, Mileva (Samantha Colley), after they lost their daughter.
Responsible life partner that he is (finally!), he also accepted a position as a patent office clerk that his friend had procured for me. It’s steady hours, steady income, and judging from his expression in the final moments last week, steady boredom. A mind is a terrible thing to waste, especially one like Einstein’s.
Ah, not so fast. As anyone with burning creativity may understand, sometimes well-paid drudgery is the ticket to inspiration. This job gives him freedom from financial worry but also intellectual freedom since it isn’t taxing on his brain or time.
When we see him next, job or no job, he’s going to pursue his scientific theories, publishing three papers and hoping to catch the eye of the scientific establishment. Surely they have to recognize his genius? While Albert is trying to make a name for himself though, Mileva is chafing under the demands of becoming a mother yet again and running a household. Because, ah yes, she also once had dreams of pursuing science and math.
Einstein has caught the attention of a noted German theoretical physicist Max Planck though, and may have something new to show him. Watch the exclusive clip below for the first glimpse of Einstein’s early work on the mass-energy equivalence formula, aka E=mc²:
“Genius” airs Tuesday at 9 p.m. on National Geographic Channel.
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