Truth Exists, Einstein Wasn’t a Genius, and Trump May Not Be the Devil with Dr. Alberto Martínez

In this episode, Dr. Alberto Martínez, a distinguished professor of history at The University of Texas at Austin, joins Dr. Orlandi to discuss myths in the history of science and the distortion of truth in modern media. In particular, they focus on the myth of Einstein's genius and the media’s distortion of President Trump’s words. Throughout, they touch on topics such as: the existence of objective truth, our culture’s obsession with words rather than reality, the history of mistakes as a pedagogical tool, and the proper place of primary sources. Alberto Martinez has been a professor of history at UT Austin since 2005. He is originally from San Juan, Puerto Rico. He investigates the history of science, especially Einstein and relativity theory, history of math, historical myths, and Giordano Bruno and Galileo. He also researches myths in political news media and episodes in the history of money and corruption. Presently, he's finishing writing a historical novel about Albert Einstein. Martinez is the author of seven books, including: Science Secrets: The Truth about Darwin’s Finches, Einstein’s Wife, and Other Myths (2011), https://www.amazon.com/Science-Secrets-Darwins-Finches-Einsteins/dp/0822962306/ Burned Alive: Giordano Bruno, Galileo and the Inquisition (2018), https://www.amazon.com/Burned-Alive-Bruno-Galileo-Inquisition/dp/1780238967 The Media Versus the Apprentice (2019), https://www.amazon.com/Media-versus-Apprentice-Devil-Trump/dp/1731489242/ He has been a research fellow at M.I.T., Caltech, Harvard, Boston University, and The Smithsonian. He also writes articles for newspapers and online magazines such as The Hill, Scientific American, Austin American-Statesman, SALON, the USA Today newspapers, and The Daily Texan. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society.