Mr. Barger: well put, and well-crafted lede.

At least as far as films are concerned, I think that the greats do get their shot at "greatness" on the silver screen, though it often takes a while (especially for the good ones).

Take, for example:

- Shakespeare in Love
- A Beautiful Mind
- The Aviator

Pretty good films about some pretty good and innovative minds. I'm sure there are a few more...

Though I suppose "IQ," which peripherally involves Einstein in a romantic comedy starring Tim Robbins and Meg Ryan, wouldn't qualify, eh?

Eric Berlin
Dumpster Bust: Miracles from Mind Trash
http://dumpsterbust.blogspot.com

Let's not forget Neal Stephenson, who has published an entire trilogy about Newton and Leibnitz, with fact and fiction carefully woven together.

I might want to debate you, Al, about the authorship of the enlightenment. Newton certainly saw further and with more depth on some topics, but he was by no means first in the development of science. He lived in an era when quite ordinary and common men were excited over "natural philosophy", the discipline which would develop into scientific inquiry.

Newton was still a college student when the Royal Society was formed in London to pursue these inquiries. (Although he would surely be its most illustrious member when he did join.)

Incidentally, the third book of Stephenson's Baroque Cycle is titled The System of the World, an obvious nod to Newton's work.