
Wikipedia Summary for Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein ( EYEN-styne; German: [ˈalbɛʁt ˈʔaɪnʃtaɪn]; 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest physicists of all time. Einstein is known for developing the theory of relativity, but he also made important contributions to the development of the theory of quantum mechanics. Relativity and quantum mechanics are together the two pillars of modern physics. His mass–energy equivalence formula E = mc2, which arises from relativity theory, has been dubbed "the world's most famous equation".
His work is also known for its influence on the philosophy of science. 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", a pivotal step in the development of quantum theory. His intellectual achievements and originality resulted in "Einstein" becoming synonymous with "genius". In 1905, a year sometimes described as his annus mirabilis ('miracle year'), Einstein published four groundbreaking papers. These outlined the theory of the photoelectric effect, explained Brownian motion, introduced special relativity, and demonstrated mass-energy equivalence.
Einstein thought that the laws of classical mechanics could no longer be reconciled with those of the electromagnetic field, which led him to develop his special theory of relativity. He then extended the theory to gravitational fields; he published a paper on general relativity in 1916, introducing his theory of gravitation. In 1917, he applied the general theory of relativity to model the structure of the universe.
He continued to deal with problems of statistical mechanics and quantum theory, which led to his explanations of particle theory and the motion of molecules. He also investigated the thermal properties of light and the quantum theory of radiation, which laid the foundation of the photon theory of light. However, for much of the later part of his career, he worked on two ultimately unsuccessful endeavors. First, despite his great contributions to quantum mechanics, he opposed what it evolved into, objecting that nature "does not play dice". Second, he attempted to devise a unified field theory by generalizing his geometric theory of gravitation to include electromagnetism. As a result, he became increasingly isolated from the mainstream of modern physics.
Einstein was born in the German Empire, but moved to Switzerland in 1895, forsaking his German citizenship (as a subject of the Kingdom of Württemberg) the following year. In 1897, at the age of 17, he enrolled in the mathematics and physics teaching diploma program at the Swiss Federal polytechnic school (later renamed as ETH Zurich) in Zürich, graduating in 1900. In 1901 he acquired Swiss citizenship, which he kept for the rest of his life, and in 1903 he secured a permanent position at the Swiss Patent Office in Bern. In 1905, he was awarded a PhD by the University of Zurich. In 1914, Einstein moved to Berlin in order to join the Prussian Academy of Sciences and the Humboldt University of Berlin. In 1917, Einstein became director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Physics; he also became a German citizen again – Prussian this time.
In 1933, while Einstein was visiting the United States, Adolf Hitler came to power. Einstein did not return to Germany because he objected to the policies of the newly elected Nazi-led government. He settled in the United States and became an American citizen in 1940. On the eve of World War II, he endorsed a letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt alerting him to the potential German nuclear weapons program and recommending that the US begin similar research. Einstein supported the Allies, but generally denounced the idea of nuclear weapons.

Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler.

The framing of a problem is often far more essential than its solution.

Each possession I own is but a stone around my neck.

One definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

The only way to escape the personal corruption of praise is to go on working.

He who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe is as good as dead; his eyes are closed.

Out of complexity, find simplicity.

The most important tool of the theoretical physicist is his wastebasket.

The payment of the worker is not determined by the value of his product.

Failing isn't bad when you learn what not to do.

That man is here for the sake of other men -- above all for those upon whose smiles and well-being our own happiness depends.

Only a life lived for others is a life worth living.
Longer Version:
Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile . I have no special gift. I am only passionately curious . I want to know God's thoughts... all the rest are details. Joy in looking and comprehending is nature's most beautiful gift. It's not that I'm so smart , it's just that I stay with problems longer.

Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results.

A model should be as simple as it can be but no simpler.

The really valuable method of thought to arrive at a logically coherent system is intuition.

The principal art of the teacher is to awaken the joy in creation and knowledge.

The man who regards his own life and that of his fellow creatures as meaningless, is not merely unfortunate, but almost disqualified for life.

I like to think that the moon is there even if I am not looking at it.

There are two things that are infinite, the universe and man's stupidity and I am not sure about the universe.

The person who follows the crowd will usually go no further than the crowd.
Longer Version:
The person who follows the crowd will usually go no further than the crowd. The person who walks alone is likely to find himself in places no one has ever seen before.

Learn from Yesterday, live for Today, hope for Tomorrow.

The real problem is in the hearts and minds of men. It is not a problem of physics but of ethics. It is easier to denature plutonium than to denature the evil from the spirit of man.

For us physicists believe the separation between past, present, and future is only an illusion, although a convincing one.

The future is not a gift, it is an achievement.

Try not to become a person of success, but rather try to become a person of value.

The leaves and the light are one.

This disgrace to civilization should be done away with at once. Heroism on command, senseless violence and all the loathsome nonsense that goes by the name of patriotism.

Your imagination is your preview of life's coming attractions.

If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind. What then is an empty desk a sign of?

The higher the buildings, the lower the morals.

Cosmic religiousness is the strongest and most noble driving force of scientific research.

The level of intelligence are 'Smart, Intelligent, Brilliant, Genius, Simple.'

E=mc2

It may affront the military-minded person to suggest a regime that does not maintain any military secrets.

Artificial intellegance is no match for natural stupidity.

Don't be too hard on me. Everyone has to sacrifice at the altar of stupidity from time to time.

Anonymity is no excuse for stupidity.

For scientific endeavor is a natural whole the parts of which mutually support one another in a way which, to be sure, no one can anticipate.

In the shadow of the atomic bomb it has become even more apparent that all men are, indeed, brothers.

Do things sound better in your head before you say them, or do you even run them through there first?

The health of society thus depends quite as much on the independence of the individuals composing it as on their close political cohesion.

That's my mathematician who examines problems which I put before him and checks their validity. You see, I am not myself a good mathematician.

The last thing to collapse is the surface.

The chicken did not cross the road. The road passed beneath the chicken.

Any society which does not insist upon respect for all life must necessarily decay.

What you can count, doesn't count for much. What you cannot count, counts for everything.

While it is true that an inherently free and scrupulous person may be destroyed, such an individual can never be enslaved or used as a blind tool.

If I had known they were going to do this, I would have become a shoemaker.

I often think in music. I live my daydreams in music.

I get the most joy in life out of music.

People will not disarm step by step; they will disarm at one blow or not at all.

The world is so full of possibilities that dogmatism is simply indecent.

Without ethical culture, there is no salvation for humanity.

All of us who are concerned for peace and triumph of reason and justice must be keenly aware how small an influence reason and honest good will exert upon events in the political field.

The golden proportion is a scale of proportions which makes the bad difficult to produce and the good easy.

Gravity is a response to geometry.

Even if you have to go through hell -- go without hesitation.

For an idea that does not first seem insane, there is no hope.

It would seem that men always need some idiotic fiction in the name of which they can hate one another. Once it was religion. Now it is the State.

I simply imagine it so, then go about to prove it.

I have no extraordinary ability. I'm simply an inquisitive individual.

My life is a simple thing that would interest no one. It is a known fact that I was born, and that is all that is necessary.

If I am right the Germans will say I was a German, and the French will say I was a Jew; If I am wrong the Germans will say I was a Jew and the French will say I was a German.

Had I known that the Germans would not succeed in producing an atomic bomb, I would not have lifted a finger.

The only justification for our concepts and systems of concepts is that they serve to represent the complex of our experiences; beyond this they have not legitimacy.

It is true that my parents were worried because I began to speak fairly late, so that they even consulted a doctor. I can't say how old I was -- but surely not less than three.

I wish to do something Great and Wonderful, but I must start by doing the little things like they were Great and Wonderful.

Organized people are just too lazy to go looking for what they want.

Innovation is not the product of logical thought, even though the final product is tied to a logical structure.

But then, after all, we are all alike, for we are all derived from the monkey.

You have to color outside the lines once in a while if you want to make your life a masterpiece.

It is a magnificent feeling to recognize the unity of complex phenomena which appear to be things quite apart from the direct visible truth.

There is an atmosphere of well-sounding oratory that likes to attach itself to dress clothes. Away with it!

Order is needed by the ignorant but it takes a genius to master chaos.

Mysticism is in fact the only criticism people cannot level against my theory.

If I can't picture it, I can't understand it.

He who cherishes the value of cultures cannot fail to be a pacifist.

I am an absolute pacifist...It is an instinctive feeling. It is a feeling that possesses me, because the murder of men is disgusting.

I have also considered many scientific plans during my pushing you around in your pram!

Those who have the privilege to know have the duty to act.

If I were not a Jew I would be a Quaker.

A conviction akin to religious feeling of the rationality or intelligibility of the world lies behind all scientific work of a high order.

Now to the term 'relativity theory.' I admit that it is unfortunate, and has given occasion to philosophical misunderstandings.

Out yonder there was this huge world...which stands before us like a great eternal riddle.
Longer Version:
Out yonder there is this huge world, which exists independently of us human beings and which stands before us like a great, eternal riddle, at least partially accessible to our inspection and thinking.

Don't become a seeker of success. Become a person of value.

God is a scientist, not a magician.

I would not think that philosophy and reason themselves will be man's guide in the foreseeable future; however, they will remain the most beautiful sanctuary they have always been for the select few.

The next world war will be fought with stones.

We Jews have no other means of self-defense than our solidarity.

When I have one week to solve a seemingly impossible problem, I spend six days defining the problem. Then, the solution becomes obvious.

It takes a different kind of thinking to solve a problem than the kind of thinking which produced the problem.

As long as I have any choice in the matter, I shall live only in a country where civil liberty, tolerance and equality of all citizens before the law prevail.

At present every coachman and every waiter argues about whether or not the relativity theory is correct.
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