Life Affirmation

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Albert Einstein

I am a big fan of Albert Einstein. The reason I am such a big fan is not why he was so famous. Albert Einstein facts go way beyond his scientific achievements. Let’s start with why he is famous and then I’ll explain why I am such an admirer. Here is a short review of why he was so famous. He was a German-born theoretical physicist who developed the general theory of relativity, affecting a revolution in physics. For this achievement, he is often regarded as the father of modern physics and the most influential physicist of the 20th century. While best known for his mass-energy formula E = mc²(often dubbed “the world’s most famous equation”), he received the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics for his services to theoretical physics, and especially for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect. The latter was pivotal in establishing quantum theory within physics. Very impressive indeed, but not why I am such a big fan. To see his true wisdom and value, you must study the man. I group his wisdom and value into 6 interesting categories. I will use these 6 categories to highlight Einstein’s true wisdom:

Views on Life

A focus on simplicity was one of his main tenets and though his skill in physics was renown, he believed everything that can be counted did not necessarily count and that everything that counts cannot necessarily be counted. He believed in being a giver, only a life lived for others was a life worthwhile. Einstein was often frustrated with the state of his times and felt that the world would require a substantially new manner of thinking to survive. He felt that the world was dangerous not because evil people but because of people who recognize the evil, yet do nothing about it. His characterization of the age was that world leadership had developed a perfection of means yet had a significant confusion of ends.

His Personality

While having a strong will, Einstein was very humble and attributed his talent to his passionate curiosity and imagination. He felt both were more important than knowledge. His view of was that the true sign of intelligence was not knowledge but imagination and believed that the only source of knowledge was experience.

Views on Creativity

His thought was felt that imagination was more valuable than logic, logic could get you from A to B, but imagination could take you everywhere. He was an early believer in trying many new things and not fearing mistakes and felt that someone who never made a mistake never tried new things. His view was any intelligent fool could make things bigger and more complex, but the genius and courage was in heading in the opposite direction.

Problem Solving Thinking

Einstein believed that if he was given 20 hours to solve a problem, he would spend 18 hours on understanding the problem and 2 hours on the solution. That is one of my favorite lessons from this thinker. He didn’t think he was that smart, its just that he had the skill of persistence to stay with problems longer. Maintained a strong belief on the necessity of eliminating biases to be able to look for what is and not for what they should be. Always stated that problems required a new level of consciousness beyond the one that created the problem … he was a big proponent of change.

His Sense of Humor

He often stated that his secret to creativity was knowing how to hide his sources. He felt that the difference between stupidity and genius was that genius had its limits. Einstein liked to say that only 2 things were infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and he wasn’t sure about the former. Finally, he was a very observant person and noted that as he got more and more famous, the more and more stupid he also became. That, he said, was a very common phenomenon. So maybe you’ll agree with me about the wisdom of Albert Einstein, eh? What is most amazing to me is the fact that most of his wisdom is more applicable in todays society than it was in his. He was always considered ahead of his time wasn’t he? What people from our history are your favorite heroes? Any stories to share?

Education Views

Einstein was not a proponent of the education systems of his day. He used to say that one’s education was what was left after one had forgotten what one learned in school. He also felt that it was a miracle that any curiosity was able to survive formal education.