I'm paraphrasing Weinstein [insensitive!] from his answer to the Edge 2013 question. The wording of Weinstein's original requires more cognitive load (to associate the individual with the adjective he assigns) than necessary. My paraphrase closely follows Weinstein and attempts to reduce the reader's cognitive load, without endorsing Weinstein's choice of adjectives--which I do not endorse.
"In the past, many scientists lived on or even over the edge of respectability with reputations as .... " is what I wrote on Edge.
Actually I don't think von Neumann or Curie had anything wrong with them in chasing the embrace of another. And yes, there is a major double standard in reputations. Curie after all chased love while von Neumann, it appears, chased sexual opportunity. Thanks for pointing it out. But the post was not insensitive. Most of these people are my heroes and I'm proud of all their accomplishments.
Pierre was killed in an accident in 1906. In 1910-11 she had an affair with one of Pierre's former students, Paul Langevin, who was estranged from his wife but still technically married. The Wikipedia entry links to this page:
