Happy birthday Albert Einstein!
On this day, 135 years ago (jeez, has it been that long?!), one of the greatest thinkers to ever walk the earth was born. Raised in Switzerland, he initially prepared to become a physics teacher, but was denied a job and decided to eventually settle on a position as a patent clerk.
That's right folks. Einstein was not some sort of prodigy growing up. If his plans unravelled the way he expected, it is very likely that he would have lived his entire life as just another regular school teacher having to deal with little rascals throw spitballs at him all day. The school system may have said he was merely a "good student", but this just goes to show that no single number and no standardized test can measure true intelligence. Every kid out there has something special and the potential to do something; the hard part is harnessing that and getting it to show. Sadly, it's not something that everyone can achieve. This is something Einstein thought about a lot himself.
In just a single year in 1905, working as a swiss patent clerk, Einstein did some of his greatest work such as Special Relativity (time and space are not absolute) and the most famous equation of them all: E = mc^2. But asides from his incredible work that revolutionized physics as we know it (more on that stuff later on in the week), Einstein was known for being much more than a physicist.
He was a revolutionary thinker who's musings stretched from fields as diverse as religion and philosophy, to peace and government. He slowly emerged as a prominent world figure around World War II and took many strides in leading the charge for peace regarding nuclear weapons. He even laid this memorable quote on us to illustrate the direction humanity was headed:
And as we take a moment to remember Einstein today, keep in mind that it is not his work in physics that has left such an impact on us. The stuff he did scientifically was groundbreaking and laid the foundation for us to go after even more profound truths, but he was most definitely not just a physicist. He was a human being who cared about mankind and where we were headed and it is the philosopher, the humanitarian, and the thinker inside of Einstein that we marvel at today.
Perhaps somebody else would have come along and figured out Special Relativity or developed E=mc^2. Whether that's true or not, Einstein's lasting impact comes outside of the realm of physics and that is why we still remember him today as one of the greatest thinkers to ever live. Einstein has shown all of us that our impact on the human race is never defined in one thing. If you want to make a difference, it doesn't have to be through a revolutionary breakthrough. After all, Einstein was just a normal dude working a normal job. The difference between him and the millions of other people in the same situation? He wasn't afraid to think. And you shouldn't be either.
He sure was crazy alright. But here's the catch: All great men and women are as well.
On this day, 135 years ago (jeez, has it been that long?!), one of the greatest thinkers to ever walk the earth was born. Raised in Switzerland, he initially prepared to become a physics teacher, but was denied a job and decided to eventually settle on a position as a patent clerk.
That's right folks. Einstein was not some sort of prodigy growing up. If his plans unravelled the way he expected, it is very likely that he would have lived his entire life as just another regular school teacher having to deal with little rascals throw spitballs at him all day. The school system may have said he was merely a "good student", but this just goes to show that no single number and no standardized test can measure true intelligence. Every kid out there has something special and the potential to do something; the hard part is harnessing that and getting it to show. Sadly, it's not something that everyone can achieve. This is something Einstein thought about a lot himself.
In just a single year in 1905, working as a swiss patent clerk, Einstein did some of his greatest work such as Special Relativity (time and space are not absolute) and the most famous equation of them all: E = mc^2. But asides from his incredible work that revolutionized physics as we know it (more on that stuff later on in the week), Einstein was known for being much more than a physicist.
He was a revolutionary thinker who's musings stretched from fields as diverse as religion and philosophy, to peace and government. He slowly emerged as a prominent world figure around World War II and took many strides in leading the charge for peace regarding nuclear weapons. He even laid this memorable quote on us to illustrate the direction humanity was headed:
I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV (4) will be fought with sticks and stones.Einstein was always thinking, but not in any conventional way. His genius and amazing work came not through pure intellect or mathematical ability, but through hard work, determination, and an imagination that allowed him to think outside of the box.
And as we take a moment to remember Einstein today, keep in mind that it is not his work in physics that has left such an impact on us. The stuff he did scientifically was groundbreaking and laid the foundation for us to go after even more profound truths, but he was most definitely not just a physicist. He was a human being who cared about mankind and where we were headed and it is the philosopher, the humanitarian, and the thinker inside of Einstein that we marvel at today.
Perhaps somebody else would have come along and figured out Special Relativity or developed E=mc^2. Whether that's true or not, Einstein's lasting impact comes outside of the realm of physics and that is why we still remember him today as one of the greatest thinkers to ever live. Einstein has shown all of us that our impact on the human race is never defined in one thing. If you want to make a difference, it doesn't have to be through a revolutionary breakthrough. After all, Einstein was just a normal dude working a normal job. The difference between him and the millions of other people in the same situation? He wasn't afraid to think. And you shouldn't be either.
He sure was crazy alright. But here's the catch: All great men and women are as well.
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