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Getting Inside Einstein's Head

Posted by Hemos on from the looking-through-them-all dept.

su-geek writes "'The most incomprehensible thing about the world is that it is comprehensible,' Albert Einstein once remarked. Today many scientific documents and personal papers detailing the thoughts and emotions of our favorite physicist will be available at 3PM EST you can access the Einstein Archives Online. Also, Wired is running an article"

7 of 290 comments (clear)

  1. A More Dignified Einstein? by __aagmrb7289 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The Wired article mentions that the site attempts to redirect the "mad scientist" image of poor Mr. Einstein. But geesh, look at the picture on the first page! Seems to me like a exuberant kid trying to "pose for the camera", but is ready to break out laughing at any moment...

  2. Re:I disagree. by Cali+Thalen · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Self-awareness is a mechanism that developed through our brain's ability to rationalize. There is a strong biological tendancy for our brain to attempt (usually quite successfully) to make is 'believe' that whatever we're seeing (feeling, etc.) makes perfect sense and can be explained rationally. It's widely believed that this lead to self-awareness through the simple rationalization that...

    Oh, I'm sorry, was that rhetorical?

    --
    Chaos, panic, disorder...my work here is done.
  3. Re:Inevitable Theist Onslaught by limekiller4 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    An AC (aren't they all?) writes:
    "its much easier to whine about being modded down then to post an intelligent comment!!"

    If you understood my sig, you would understand it to mean that I prefer dialogue over death-by-disagreement. Karma is just a number. You are not your karma score. Get over it.

    When you can post your thoughts without considering how it will affect your karma score you will become a benefit to the Slashdot community.

    --
    My .02,
    Limekiller
  4. On Physics by Mtn_Dewd · · Score: 5, Insightful

    As I continue to inflict masochistic physics damage against myself in my conquest of knowledge, I can't help but pull myself away from my studies and wonder: If this is this difficult for me to even comprehend/grasp (and I'm certain that I'm probably only learning it at a base level), how the hell does one create and come up with this stuff? I'm truly amazed by men like Einstein, and I have such a humbled respect for physicists, who though I can't understand why they do it to themselves, live and think in a different plane than so many people even realize exists.

    --



    My little sad piece of the internet: www.mtndewd
    1. Re:On Physics by Mr.+McGibby · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Or, why don't they?

      The universe is full of strange, wonderful and complex things. But the only way that human knowledge is going to progress is if the "difficult to learn" stuff is made "easy to learn" through innovative explanations, or teaching.

      I personally believe that the reason that innovation in science comes is spurts is because older scientist's heads are filled with complex understanding of ideas. When these ideas are explained to a new generation, simpler and simpler ways of looking at things are created to explain the idea. The students thus gain a "simple understanding" of the same ideas. And are thus better able to go beyond those ideas.

      I don't think there is very much that is "inherently" difficult to learn. Relativity is becoming easier and easier for people to understand, not because it has become simpler, but because millions of teachers have come up with easy ways to explain it.

      --
      Mad Software: Rantings on Developing So
  5. Re:Handwriting by Idarubicin · · Score: 4, Insightful
    Einstien's handwriting is very interesting. Notice how he dots his i's and how small his writing is. This means that he has an exceptional eye for detail, and he has an unreal imgination.

    Hm. Look at his small handwriting and dotted i's, I conclude that he had better than average eyesight, and a primary school teacher who rapped his knuckles with a ruler every time he forgot to dot an i or cross a t.

    I conclude that he had an eye for detail and a healthy imagination based on what's in his writing, not how the letters are formed.

    --
    ~Idarubicin
  6. Re:Handwriting by jpkunst · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Einstien's handwriting is very interesting. Notice how he dots his i's and how small his writing is. This means that he has an exceptional eye for detail, and he has an unreal imgination.

    I don't think anyone would draw this sort of conclusions from his handwriting if they didn't know beforehand that it was Einstein's. Handwriting analysis is about as scientific as astrology if you ask me. See also this article in the Skeptic's Dictionary.

    JP