Ravi Tiwari's Blog

Here are 25 of Einstein's most telling quotes; each will take you inside the mind of the legend. On authority "Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth." [The Curious History of Relativity] On scope "Nature shows us only the tail of the lion. But there is no doubt in my mind that the lion belongs with it even if he cannot reveal himself to the eye all at once because of his huge dimension." [Smithsonian, February 1979] On politics "I am by heritage a Jew, by citizenship a Swiss, and by makeup a human being, and only a human being, without any special attachment to any state or national entity whatsoever." [The Yale Book of Quotations] On certainty "As far as the laws of mathematics refer to reality, they are not certain; and as far as they are certain, they do not refer to reality." On humility "As a human being, one has been endowed with just enough intelligence to be able to see clearly how utterly inadequat...

Einstein sent 11-year-old Hans Albert the following letter, found in Posterity: Letters of Great Americans to Their Children (public library) — the same wonderful anthology that gave us some of history’s greatest motherly advice, Benjamin Rush’s wisdom on travel and life, and Sherwood Anderson’s counsel on the creative life. Einstein, who takes palpable pride in his intellectual accomplishments, speaks to the rhythms of creative absorption as the fuel for the internal engine of learning: My dear Albert, Yesterday I received your dear letter and was very happy with it. I was already afraid you wouldn’t write to me at all any more. You told me when I was in Zurich, that it is awkward for you when I come to Zurich. Therefore I think it is better if we get together in a different place, where nobody will interfere with our comfort. I will in any case urge that each year we spend a whole month together, so that you see that you have a father who is fond of you...