I think those sorts of claims are an insult to the hundreds of smart people who came after Einstein, including the many smart people who are still practicing physics today. In fact, I think the whole idea of "If X hadn't done it, it wouldn't be here today" is virtually useless beyond a 20-year timeline at most.
Have you seen those string theorists? I'm not a big fan of string theory, but anyone who can even remotely navigate those things could work out GR in a few afternoons, with all the advantages another 100 years of evidence and developments would bring. (Sort of a weird thing to say since it's already worked out, but still.)
You think all those smart people would just be diddling around, going, gosh, I sure wish I could reconcile this overwhelming data that points at a 100+ year-old mathematical formalism, but I guess we'll just have to dick around for a while longer!?
Have you seen those string theorists? I'm not a big fan of string theory, but anyone who can even remotely navigate those things could work out GR in a few afternoons, with all the advantages another 100 years of evidence and developments would bring. (Sort of a weird thing to say since it's already worked out, but still.)
You think all those smart people would just be diddling around, going, gosh, I sure wish I could reconcile this overwhelming data that points at a 100+ year-old mathematical formalism, but I guess we'll just have to dick around for a while longer!?