Nagging Question--was: Hot new Einstein quote

[Laurence Horn]

On Oct 31, 2012, at 3:51 PM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:

> You can call a really smart person "a regular Einstein," but not "a regular
> Mark Twain."

cf. today's story about public schools in NYC and their difficult entrance hurdles:

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Dozens of parents came to an information session in a Chelsea high school on Wednesday evening to hear what several Education Department  officials had to say about the process, which some parents called overwhelming and daunting. But many said the presentation did little to relieve their sense of confusion.

“It is insanity,” said Jennifer Perrine, who attended the meeting to explore all the schooling options for her 4-year-old daughter but left the presentation “pulling my hair out.”

She added, “The average parent is left with the impression that you can’t get in anywhere, even if you’re Albert Einstein.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/30/nyregion/new-york-ends-sibling-preference-for-gifted-program-admissions.html
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(let alone if you're an ordinary bright kid like [a regular] Mark Twain)


>
> I mean, you could, but everybody would blink at you repeatedly with set,
> unsmiling faces.
>
> Brainiac is smarter than Einstein, even though he's evil.

And remember those (inherently evil) Masterminds.  They tend to be very good at science (including blowing things up), rather than literature.

LH

> Einstein doubted
> the reality of quantum mechanics, but Brainiac uses even more advanced
> scientific concepts to create inventions that might destroy Superman.
>
> And you can call a really smart person "a regular Brainiac."
>
> But not "a regular Mark Twain."

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