On this day, April 18, in 1955, Albert Einstein died. Einstein--the physicist pioneer who radically changed humanity's perception of the relationship between time, space and motion, and who won the Nobel Prize in 1921.Like everyone, I admire Einstein's ability to think in a different way and to allow that thinking to lead him to discovery. What I admire the most, however, when I read his writings or things written about him, is his attitude toward the many mysteries of life, which is one of wonder. Einstein loved the endless possibilities posed by the universe, and because of this even death did not frighten him, since perhaps for him another cosmic mystery was being solved.
On the subject of life's mystery, Einstein said:
"The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery every day. Never lose a holy curiosity."
and
" The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science."
There are many interesting books about Einstein, but the most recent one I've read is called "Driving Mr. Albert: Traveling Across America with Einstein's Brain." It's an interesting read, and yes, Einstein's brain was in the trunk of the car.
Talk about interesting mysteries . . .
4 comments:
Oh my goodness. Your blog showed up in a search while I was blogging about Clea Simon, Jellicle Cats and the Lattice of Coincidence. Well, serendipity, what a wonderful accident. I hope you don't mind that I linked to your Clea Simon interview in my blog. It was the best link I could find for her. I like your interviews, but was shocked to read that Jill McGown has died. One of my favorite authors and I, too, was hoping for another book in the series. Your post about Einstein reminds me of one of my favorite quotes from him,"Wisdom is not a result of schooling, but of the life-long attempt to acquire it." I'll be looking for your books.
Peace,
Lill
Lill,
Thank you so much! That is indeed serendipity. Yes, Einstein does perpetually inspire me, but not, I think, for the reasons he might inspire others. I'm not a scientist, but there was a whole other side to Einstein that was equally amazing--his humanity and spirituality.
Funny. Didn't they actually weigh his brain after he died, as if weight had some impact on capacity?
My favorite Einstein quote has always been: "Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind."
Just popping by, by the way--have a great weekend.
HI, Jamie!
They did weigh it; they also noted that it was larger than average brains, but I think we all could have guessed that one. There's actually a lot of fascinating detail in the book, not just about the brain, but about Einstein's life and legacy.
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