Can you trace Einstein’s thoughts?
My take?!
“Why did I get the Nobel for the discovery of Photoelectric effect and not for the Theory of Relativity?”
Why? I wonder.
Albert Einstein is probably the most caricatured scientist. His appearance has helped artists create the stereotype of the absent-minded genius yet somewhat crazy scientist of our science-fiction stories and movies.
Biographical Information – Albert Einstein
Einstein was born on March 14, 1879 in Ulm, in the German Empire. His father was an engineer and a salesman, who started his own electrical goods company in 1880. This company manufactured equipment that used direct current, and it went out of business 14 years later, when alternating current became the order of the day. Einstein was born in an affluent family (check out his childhood pictures – photographs don’t lie,) and so he received home-tutoring from Max Talmud, who ate with the Einsteins every Thursday, and in exchange (apparently,) he tutored Einstein in Science, Math, and Philosophy.
In his early years, Einstein had speech difficulties (really?), but otherwise he was a bright student, and so he obviously was also a rebel. Though Einstein lived and worked in Berlin for a long time, in 1933, the persecution of Jews led to Einstein moving out of Berlin and emigrating to the US. (This tells us that Einstein wasn’t just an average nerdy genius, he was a smart genius!)
Read Albert Einstein’s biography here.
Einstein’s Head & Brain:
- Einstein’s head, according to his mother, was extremely large and angular at the back.
- Einstein’s brain was removed without his family’s permission (stolen?) when he died. His brain was then sliced into pieces by Mr. Harvey, the pathologist who had removed the brain from his body, “in the interest of science.” He concluded that his brain had developed differently from that of others. (How else could he justify his nefarious deed?)
Einstein’s Love Life:
There were at least three serious relationships in Einstein’s life. The first happened when he was a mere lad of seventeen – he fell in love with his landlord’s daughter. Next, he fell in love with Milveca Maric at the University and married her. Finally, he divorced Milveca after 11 years of marriage, and married Elsa Lowenthal – who he had been romantically involved with, even while he was married to Milveca. (Being the genius he was, I guess problematic relationships are expected of him – if nothing else, they enhance his aura.)
Facts:
- 1905 has been called Einstein’s Miracle Year or Annus Mirabilis. In 1905, he published his papers on Relativity, Brownian Motion, Photoelectric Effect, and Equivalence of Matter & Energy. These papers changed his life.
- Between 1908 and 1914, he taught at University of Berne, University of Zurich, Karl-Ferdinand University, and also University of Berlin! How he managed it all is a mystery to me – guess the answer lies in his unique brain.
- In 1921, Albert Einstein was awarded the Nobel Prize for his work on the Photoelectric effect.
- The 99th element is named Einsteinium after him.
Einstein’s Thoughts / Quotes:
Upon Death: “I want to go when I want. It is tasteless to prolong life artificially. I have done my share, it is time to go. I will do it elegantly.”
Upon Religion: “The word God is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weakness, the Bible a collection of honorable, but still purely primitive, legends which are nevertheless pretty childish.”
Upon being Recognized on the Streets: “Pardon me, sorry! Always I am mistaken for Professor Einstein.”
Here are some more interesting quotes from Einstein:
- Gravitation is not responsible for people falling in love. (It’s only responsible for people falling – people are themselves responsible for selecting the location of the fall.)
- The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax. (Yes, of course…and the equations of the Brownian Motion are the easiest!)
- The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources. (Ah well! Dear Mr. Da Vinci, please reveal your sources.)
- Do not worry about your difficulties in Mathematics. I can assure you mine are still greater. (I guess this is what you called Relativity?)
- Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the the universe. (The fact that we quote this, proves something about human stupidity – doesn’t it?)
- I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones. (Thanks for the prophecy, Dr. Einstein! We’ll march straight into World War IV!)
Source: (http://rescomp.stanford.edu/~cheshire/EinsteinQuotes.html)
Read more about Einstein at: http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/einstein/life/index.php
Shafali's Caricatures, Portraits, and Cartoons 