Albert Einstein Facts and Wisdom
I am a big fan of Albert Einstein and though I have several engineering degrees, the reason I am such a big fan is not why he was so famous. Albert Einstein facts and wisdom 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.
Einstein and wisdom. Check out our thoughts on team leverage.
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, effecting 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.
Related value: Never Give Up Your Dreams
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:
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 was that the true sign of intelligence was not knowledge but imagination and believed that the only source of knowledge was experience.
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 leaders had developed perfection of means yet had a significant confusion of ends.
His personality is shown well here: Albert Einstein’s Enormous Contribution to Science and How to Groom His Distinctive Mustache
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 … 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 were 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, it’s just that he had the skill of persistence to stay with problems longer than most people.
Maintained a strong belief in 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.
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 had learned in school. He also felt that it was a miracle that any curiosity was able to survive formal education.
Einstein facts and wisdom … laugh often
When you are courting a nice girl, an hour seems like a second. When you sit on a red-hot cinder, a second seems like an hour. That’s relativity.
Einstein had an excellent way to make people laugh. To him, it was a serious business, indeed. He made people think while making them smile with almost all of his work. My lesson learned is not to take myself so seriously. And laugh often.
Albert Einstein quotes about life … keep pushing
You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else.
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. But that did not mean he was without hope. He knew that the rules of the game as much as the next guy and an important rule was always to keep pushing.
My lesson learned is to keep going despite indifference, and even when I feel discouraged by my work.
Albert Einstein famous quotes … a simple life
If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.
A focus on simplicity was one of Einstein’s central 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.
My lesson learned is to always think and live as simply as possible with the balance in life.
His Sense of Humor
He often stated that his secret to creativity was knowing how to hide his sources. The difference between stupidity and genius he felt was that genius had its limits … and 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 he got, the more and more stupid he also became. That he said was a very common phenomenon.
Another great story: Great Stories and Storytelling Can Have a Very Healing Influence
The bottom line
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 today’s society than it was in his. He was always considered ahead of his time, wasn’t he?
