“I couldn’t believe it,” recalls Peggy Udden, an executive secretary at MIT. “Not only because she was so young, but a girl.”<p>Hah, this comes across as <i>incredibly</i> patronizing.<p>Seriously though, whenever someone in a position of authority makes a prediction of "the next Uber", "the next Einstein", or "the next Silicon Valley", I am instantly extremely skeptical.
At the age of 23 Einstein had just found a boring job, out of the public eye, that left him plenty of time to dream and think big thoughts [1]. Untimely attention from Harvard might well have ruined all gifts he was about to give to physics.<p>[1] <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annus_Mirabilis_papers#Background" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annus_Mirabilis_papers#Backgro...</a>
"That’s nice, but what have you done lately?"<p>Awesome mantra! How about she's the first Sabrina Gonzalez Pasterski instead? These comparisons are super weird, I'd love to hear more about what she's actually invented, rather than lazy Einstein comparisons.
Hmmm. The marketing machine needs more fodder to cull the rich for money. Isnt Harvard's endowment big enough that they are capitalizing on her? What better use of young talent than to prostitute it?<p>Let her be. Look at her web site. Two pages of real science and the past two years it looks like she is a pop music superstar or athlete. I get it that they are trying to say "yeah for women!" and encourage the scores of despondent, underachieving women who have been squashed by the white male machine. But really, instead of having her talk everywhere, why not simply have her tutor young women students to excellence.? I'd rather see her as a consultant to the young women's center for STEM
My first reaction is to think - I hope my girls can take inspiration from Sabrina.<p>But taking a second to think about it, she's an inspiration to _everyone_. She just got on with it and built a plane. Starting something, finishing something - and at that age - is impressive. Never mind all the talents she appears to have.
The article is predictably light on details. Other than being young, building a plane, and having a great GPA at MIT, what leads them to believe she's the "Next Einstein"?
For her to be next Einstein, she would have to revolutionize physics somehow. Even then, it would be questionable, because she already seems to be acknowledged by the physics world, whereas Einstein was relegated to working in a patent office rather than academia when he made his discoveries.<p>She sounds super-cool and smart, but the Einstein comparison is just weird. Also there are probably many other smart kids in physics, too.
This is a ridiculous article.<p>Pasterski looks like a smart student who is good at personal branding, and is ultimately being exploited to be some sort of PR coup for the university.<p>Regardless of her genitalia, it's better to actually do something before seeking affiliation with luminary figures like Einstein. The "next Steve Jobs" Elizabeth Holmes comes to mind when I read bullshit PR like this.
This headline is going to generate a lot of negativity because a comparison to Einstein invokes an image of someone that fundamentally revolutionized bedrock scientific theory for an entire discipline, not "just" off the charts intellectual prowess.
she hasn't finished her phd yet, lets see what sort of research she can do before we sing her accolades. She may go work in finance yet (and there is nothing wrong with that).
Just a heads up, there's a page 2 to the article that mentions her research papers. I missed it until I saw a comment. Guess my mind thought the continue button was an ad.