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What Life Means to Einstein (1929) [pdf]
- amunozo 2y agoI use this post to ask a question I just had a bit before: can anyone recommend me an Einstein's biography?
- sturza 2y agoWalter Isaacson’s.
- prof-dr-ir 2y agoAnd Abraham Pais' if you know physics.
- guerrilla 2y agoHow much physics? Is undergrad enough or do you need to actually know GR?
- prof-dr-ir 2y agoThe more you know, the more fun the book is. At times the going is tough even if you are a physics professor, because Pais accurately captures the process of discovery which was often messy with unfamiliar equations, strange logical jumps, or subtle mistakes. I would not recommend the book unless you have taken courses in quantum mechanics, statistical physics and general relativity. (Historically quantum mechanics and statistical physics were developed together, even though now we see one as more fundamental than the other.)
- rs_rs_rs_rs_rs 2y agoI really thought you were joking, will buy this.
- gradschoolfail 2y agoI recommend the closest thing to an autobiography, The travel diaries of Albert Einstein https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691174419/the-travel-diaries-of-albert-einstein https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691174419/th...
- amunozo 2y agoThis looks like something I would really enjoy, thank you!
- alberto_ol 2y agoIf you want a scientific biography, "Subtle is the Lord" by Abraham Pais, but you need a degree in physics to understand many chapters (unfortunately for me a degree in engineering was not enough). Abraham Pais wrote also "Einstein Lived Here" a non-scientific biography, but I did not read it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subtle_is_the_Lord https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subtle_is_the_Lord
- amunozo 2y agoI actually have a degree in Physics but I am not sure it is what I want (I don't remember much :D). But I will take a look. Thanks a lot for both recommendations!
- udev4096 2y agoYou should watch season one of "Genius" (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5673782/ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5673782/) docuseries which is quite an accurate life events (professional as well as personal) of Einstein
- rottc0dd 2y agoNot a biography but I like Einstein's book "Evolution of physics". It is supposed to be popular scifi book, and covers same topics as high school physics for layman. But, it is still good to hear his perspective: https://www.amazon.com/Evolution-Physics-Albert-Einstein/dp/0671201565 https://www.amazon.com/Evolution-Physics-Albert-Einstein/dp/...
- vargr616 2y agowhenever people say that modern journalists are bad and nobody knows how to write anymore, i'll show them this article
- mewpmewp2 2y agoYou mean that it is just as bad if not more, right? Because it is making Einstein out to be some sort of rebel like who wants things to be "relative" as if it is a religion or philosophy of some sort. Relativity is just what he discovered, not some ideology he set out to prove or invented. Then the author goes on to try and apply this relativity to all aspects of the world, try to make puns on it despite Einstein specifically telling him that it is explicitly only about those physical and mechanical facts. It is like the whole article author tried to apply this idea in the exact way Einstein was annoyed about, perpetuating the same misunderstanding described.
- vargr616 2y agoexactly, plus the author's warped understanding, like einstein reinventing the wheel for every equation to make it "more" perfect, whatever that means; or in multiple instances, drawing up conclusions and asking them, or presenting these as facts in the article. or one article being split on 5 pages so I can see some ads in-between (not really the author's fault there though).
- mewpmewp2 2y agoI actually didn't realize the article went on after the ad.
- lou1306 2y agoChoice of appropriate notation can absolutely make one version of a formula "more perfect" than another. Maxwell's equations underwent a painstaking "evolutionary" process as vector notation improved. Ditto for proofs; it's not hard to believe that Albert Einstein could prove a theorem from scratch and end up with a better argument than one found in a previous textbooks. The fatal flaw in the article, rather, is exemplified by the quote > With the advent of Einstein, mathematics ceased to be an exact science in the fashion of Euclid. Which I am in complete disagreement with. Einstein exploited elegant, novel (at the time), anything but inexact mathematical tools for his theory. That the theory posits uncertainty and, well, relativity of real-world phenomena has no bearing on the exactitude of mathematics. If anyone ever put a dent in that, it should be Gödel :)
- laGrenouille 2y ago> His fame may outlive Foch and Ludendorff, Wilson and Clemenceau. Funny to think how this has aged since 1915. Over a century later Einstein is an almost universally known figure. The others on this list are, particularly outside of France, names that I would not expect the median person to be able to say something interesting about.
- keiferski 2y agoI wonder how much of this ultimately comes down to branding. Einstein has a memorable name, a memorable haircut/photograph, and also managed to have his name become a byword for “genius.”
- pierrefermat1 2y agoIf you purely value scientists with some sort of Value Over RePlacement metric on their scientific contribution alone, I would like to think Einstein is tier 1 along side another 20-50 people.
- ruthmarx 2y agoI'm not familiar with the other names in the parent comment, but do their accomplishments map to Einstein's as far as impact goes? I think they would have to before we consider branding as a main factor in longevity of...reputation?
- keiferski 2y agoDepends on what you mean by impact. Those other figures were quite influential on European (and thus global) politics during and after WW1. One could argue that the harsh policies toward Germany had a big impact on setting the stage for WW2, the largest war in history. So I wouldn’t be too dismissive of their impact on world history. Of course in the grand scheme of things Einstein was probably more influential, but I was more commenting on the fact that Einstein has become a kind of memetic symbol in himself, a bit like Ché, whereas the others haven’t. (Most people probably can’t even name more than a handful of people from WW1.) Maybe that only happened because his work was so impactful, but does the average person really know much about relativity? I was trying to find a paper that traced how Einstein became synonymous with genius but couldn’t come up with anything.
- countrymile 2y agoThe thing that jumps out to me is how well read Einstein is, some of the modern day scientists could do with a much broader education. CP Snow's two cultures argument seems more relevant now than ever.
- keiferski 2y agoIIRC Kant was a huge influence on Einstein and arguably had an effect on his physics work. https://philpapers.org/archive/PALTKG-5 https://philpapers.org/archive/PALTKG-5 Nowadays I doubt the average scientist has read the work of any single philosopher to that degree.
- pierrefermat1 2y agoSure not your average scientist, but could I find a few hundred who have but who are themselves of no particular fame? Quite easily yes.
- lqet 2y agoI think the philosopher who had the most influence on Einstein (and on other physicists of the early 20th century) was Arthur Schopenhauer: > Schopenhauer was well read by physicists, most notably Einstein, Schrödinger, Wolfgang Pauli, and Majorana. Einstein described Schopenhauer's thoughts as a "continual consolation" and called him a genius. In his Berlin study three figures hung on the wall: Faraday, Maxwell, Schopenhauer. Konrad Wachsmann recalled: "He often sat with one of the well-worn Schopenhauer volumes, and as he sat there, he seemed so pleased, as if he were engaged with a serene and cheerful work." > When Erwin Schrödinger discovered Schopenhauer ("the greatest savant of the West") he considered switching his study of physics to philosophy. He maintained the idealistic views during the rest of his life. Wolfgang Pauli accepted the main tenet of Schopenhauer's metaphysics, that the thing-in-itself is will. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Schopenhauer#Influence_and_legacy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Schopenhauer#Influence_...
- keiferski 2y agoFrom what I understand, Einstein’s education and cultural milieu was very influenced by Kant, but Einstein himself was personally more interested in Schopenhauer.
- PunchTornado 2y agoI am surprised to find out that Einstein was so convinced in the non-existence of free will. > I claim credit for nothing. Everything is determined, the beginning as well as the end, by forces over which we have no control. It is determined for the insect, as well as for the star. Human beings, vegetables or cosmic dust, we all dance to a mysterious tune, intoned in the distance by an invisible player. Meanwhile, I believe, that you can also be a determinist and believe in free will.
- layer8 2y agoIt probably depends on what you mean by free will. People who disagree about determinism and/or compatibilism usually can’t agree on a common definition of free will either. Your Einstein quote above doesn’t necessarily deny free will.
- lazystar 2y agoin the article, Einstein is firm regarding his belief that there is no free will. there are many other quotes in the article to choose from. anyway, my own view is that ones belief or disbeleif in free will is predetermined - if one could predict the path of every atom and molecule in the galaxy from the start of time until now, theyd be able to predict what choices a random person would make before the person had decided. for example, being able to predict if someone would read the linked article before commenting on it :-)
- The_Colonel 2y agoWhat you're describing is physical determinism which is related but not equivalent to the question of free will. Compatibilism is a belief that physical determinism and free will are compatible - e. g. it is predetermined that you will read this article, but it's still an act of free will.
- hirvi74 2y ago> determinist and believe in free will. Do you care to elaborate more? I am genuinely curious about your opinions. Have you read/listened to any of Dr. Robert Sapolsky's material on free will? I am curious what you think of his position on the matter.
- pkoird 2y agoIt's a shame that Einstein thought writing a book for popular consumption to be an endeavor tied solely to material ambitions. I, for one, would have loved to read "A brief history of time" esque compilation written by Einstein himself. It would have been a great way to peek into his mind and get to know him better (sans the obvious mathematical way).
- pzs 2y agoI read his book on relativity theory, which I would characterize as one written for popular consumption [1]. I recommend reading it if you have not done so yet. I found the explanation of the special theory in the book easily accessible and enlightening, less so the explanation of the general theory, although it did help me understand it better. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relativity:_The_Special_and_the_General_Theory https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relativity:_The_Special_and_th...
- ai4ever 2y agowhat caught my attention were the ads. specifically, the hanes ad.. and i wonder why the hanes brand is still around whereas the motor heater brand is not. and hotel rooms were $3 per night back then.
- lazystar 2y ago$3 in 1929 = $55.18 in 2024 sure, thats on the lowend for a hotel these days, but i doubt that hotel knickerbocker was giving their best rooms for $3.
- CamperBob2 2y ago"A motorcar heater? That's a feature, not a product." - Steve Jobs's grandpa
- WalterBright 2y agoThe thing about Einstein is he did not discover that gravity bent space and then produced a theory to explain it. He predicted it. The proof came decades later, and his prediction was dead on target. It changed everything.
- kaponko 2y ago[dead]
- mhh__ 2y agoDecades? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddington_experiment https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddington_experiment
- WalterBright 2y agoYou're right, I thought the confirmation wasn't till much later!
- joshlk 2y agoI found the advertisements the most interesting bit
- photon_lines 2y agoAlternative HTML version: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/vierecks-interview-einstein-1929-francesco-vissani-phd/ https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/vierecks-interview-einstein-1...
- thadk 2y agoIf you're curious about the point early in the article "Can there be any permanent value or any absolute truth in the world in which the three angles of the triangle have ceased to be equal to two right angles- in a world in which time itself has lost its meaning, in which infinity become so finite, and the finite is lost in the infinite?" there's more at: https://meaningness.com/collapse-of-rational-certainty https://meaningness.com/collapse-of-rational-certainty