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Coursera: Instructor Profile: Larry Randles Lagerstrom, getting creative with Einstein!
Editor’s note: Dr. Larry Randles Lagerstrom from Stanford University will be teaching a new course on “Understanding Einstein: The Special Theory of Relativity,” starting on April 8. We caught up with him and asked him a few questions about his background and his course. “Nearly everyone has heard of Einstein—he is the most recognizable scientist of all time, he was chosen as ‘Person of the Century’ by Time magazine and, if nothing else, his quotations seem to be all over the Internet (some of which are not actually by him, but that’s another story). They also may have heard that he came up with some of his revolutionary ideas, such as the special theory of relativity, while working as a lowly patent clerk. And they vaguely know that there’s some esoteric and mind-bending stuff involved. But they may not realize that the real story of his early troubles and triumphs is more interesting (and relevant) than the myths, and that it…