3 ms·

FWIW, Einstein was also an avid musician. In Walter Isaacson's biography, "His Life and Universe", Einstein was caught in the middle of a meal when he began to

FWIW, Einstein was also an avid musician. In Walter Isaacson's biography, "His Life and Universe", Einstein was caught in the middle of a meal when he began to ruminate on the Theory of Special Relativity. His wife described the next two weeks as a solitary exchange between meditation in his office and fiddling on the piano. He credited music to being a source of inspiration and creativity.

6stringmerc 12y ago
Thanks for sharing; music is a common theme that crosses cultural boundaries yet exists in all cultures. Some of the most interesting research, to me, is how musicians can 'turn off' part of the conscious mind to fully engage in soloing. Harmony is to the beholder, and music is a way to achieve an outward exuberence of that sensation...which is probably why the "Pachebel's Canon" joke about so many pop songs using the same structure and notes keeps holding up year after year haha.
MaysonL 12y ago
And also a music teacher. See "The Night I Met Einstein" http://www.rd.com/true-stories/inspiring/the-night-i-met-einstein/ http://www.rd.com/true-stories/inspiring/the-night-i-met-ein... See also previous HN commentary at: https://hn.algolia.com/?query=the%20night%20i%20met%20einstein%2F&sort=byPopularity&prefix&page=0&dateRange=all&type=story https://hn.algolia.com/?query=the%20night%20i%20met%20einste...
agumonkey 12y ago
Many big names are so it seems. Here's Minsky and a piano https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnOcjCLTjGc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnOcjCLTjGc . Feynman was also said to enjoy percussion (even though what I saw wasn't paying a great enough tribute to his understanding of physics ;)
- jobposter1234 12y ago
  Feynman also had a semi-successful career as a local artist in California. He used a pseudonym so as to not let his Nobel fame affect his sales (physicists were big celebrities back then -- many people would have known his name).
  - agumonkey 12y ago
    Maybe he faked noobness when being Feynman to avoid attracting to much attention.

6stringmerc 12y ago

Thanks for sharing; music is a common theme that crosses cultural boundaries yet exists in all cultures. Some of the most interesting research, to me, is how musicians can 'turn off' part of the conscious mind to fully engage in soloing. Harmony is to the beholder, and music is a way to achieve an outward exuberence of that sensation...which is probably why the "Pachebel's Canon" joke about so many pop songs using the same structure and notes keeps holding up year after year haha.

MaysonL 12y ago

And also a music teacher. See "The Night I Met Einstein" http://www.rd.com/true-stories/inspiring/the-night-i-met-einstein/ http://www.rd.com/true-stories/inspiring/the-night-i-met-ein... See also previous HN commentary at: https://hn.algolia.com/?query=the%20night%20i%20met%20einstein%2F&sort=byPopularity&prefix&page=0&dateRange=all&type=story https://hn.algolia.com/?query=the%20night%20i%20met%20einste...

agumonkey 12y ago

Many big names are so it seems. Here's Minsky and a piano https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnOcjCLTjGc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnOcjCLTjGc . Feynman was also said to enjoy percussion (even though what I saw wasn't paying a great enough tribute to his understanding of physics ;)

jobposter1234 12y ago
Feynman also had a semi-successful career as a local artist in California. He used a pseudonym so as to not let his Nobel fame affect his sales (physicists were big celebrities back then -- many people would have known his name).
- agumonkey 12y ago
  Maybe he faked noobness when being Feynman to avoid attracting to much attention.