Alan W. Dowd is a freelance writer in Indianapolis. As we begin a new century, it's altogether appropriate to consider the person who had the most profound impact on the last hundred years. Too often, similar deliberations for "Man of the Year" or "Man of the Decade" have become glorified popularity contests, as decisionmakers consider only heroic figures or familiar ones. Time's selection of Albert Einstein as Person of the Century is a case in point. "Time's Person of the Century," according to the magazine, "is that person who, for better or worse, most influenced the course of history ov...
