Albert Einstein
Special and general theories of relativity of German-born American theoretical physicist Albert Einstein revolutionized modern thought on the nature of space and time and formed a base for the exploitation of atomic energy; he won a Nobel Prize of 1921 for his explanation of the photoelectric effect.
His paper of 1905 formed the basis of electronics. His first paper, also published in 1905, changed the world.
He completed his Philosophiae Doctor at the University of Zurich before 1909.
Einstein, a pacifist during World War I, stayed a firm proponent of social justice and responsibility.
Einstein thought that Newtonion mechanics no longer enough reconciled the laws of classical mechanics with those of the electromagnetic field. This thought led to the development. He recognized, however, that he ably also extended the principle to gravitational fields and with his subsequent theory of gravitation in 1916 published a paper. 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, which laid the foundation of the photon.
Best known for his mass–energy equivalence formula E = mc2, dubbed "the world's most famous equation," he received "for his services to theoretical physics, and especially for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect". The latter was pivotal in establishing quantum theory.
He visited the United States when Adolf Hitler came to power in 1933 and went not back to Germany. On the eve of World War II, he endorsed a letter, alerting Franklin Delano Roosevelt, president, to the potential development of "extremely powerful bombs of a new type" and recommending that the United States begin similar research. This recommendation eventually led to the Manhattan project. Einstein supported defending the Allied forces but largely denounced the idea of using the newly discovered nuclear fission as a weapon. Later, with Bertrand Russell–Einstein manifesto highlighted the danger of nuclear weapons.
After the rise of the Nazi party, Einstein made Princeton his permanent home as a citizen of United States in 1940. He chaired the emergency committee of atomic scientists, which organized to alert the public to the dangers of warfare.
At a symposium, he advised:
"In their struggle for the ethical good, teachers of religion must have the stature to give up the doctrine of a personal God, that is, give up that source of fear and hope which in the past placed such vast power in the hands of priests. In their labors they will have to avail themselves of those forces which are capable of cultivating the Good, the True, and the Beautiful in humanity itself. This is, to be sure a more difficult but an incomparably more worthy task... "
("Science, Philosophy and Religion, A Symposium," published by the Conference on Science, Philosophy and Religion in their Relation to the Democratic Way of Life, Inc., New York, 1941).
In a letter to philosopher Eric Gutkind, dated 3 January 1954, Einstein stated:
"The word god is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of honorable, but still primitive legends which are nevertheless pretty childish. No interpretation no matter how subtle can (for me) change this."
(The Guardian, "Childish superstition: Einstein's letter makes view of religion relatively clear," by James Randerson, May 13, 2008)
Great intellectual achievements and originality made the word "Einstein" synonymous with genius.
The institute for advanced study in Princeton, New Jersey, affiliated Einstein until his death in 1955.
More: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_E...
http://www.nobelprize.org/nobe
“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 piper.”
“Your question is the most difficult in the world. It is not a question I can answer simply with yes or no. I am not an Atheist. I do not know if I can define myself as a Pantheist. The problem involved is too vast for our limited minds. May I not reply with a parable? The human mind, no matter how highly trained, cannot grasp the universe. We are in the position of a little child, entering a huge library whose walls are covered to the ceiling with books in many different tongues. The child knows that someone must have written those books. It does not know who or how. It does not understand the languages in which they are written. The child notes a definite plan in the arrangement of the books, a mysterious order, which it does not comprehend, but only dimly suspects. That, it seems to me, is the attitude of the human mind, even the greatest and most cultured, toward God. We see a universe marvelously arranged, obeying certain laws, but we understand the laws only dimly. Our limited minds cannot grasp the mysterious force that sways the constellations. I am fascinated by Spinoza's Pantheism. I admire even more his contributions to modern thought. Spinoza is the greatest of modern philosophers, because he is the first philosopher who deals with the soul and the body as one, not as two separate things.”
“The person who reads too much and uses his brain too little will fall into lazy habits of thinking..”
“Three great forces rule the world: stupidity, fear and greed.”
“The woman who follows the crowd will usually go no further than the crowd. The woman who walks alone is likely to find herself in places no one has ever been before.”
“It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education.”
“Brief is this existence, as a visit in a strange house. The path to be pursued is poorly lit by a flickering consciousness.”
“Subtle is the Lord. Malicious, He is not.”
“People like you and me never grow old. We never cease to stand like curious children before the great mystery into which we were born.”
“The man with the greatest soul will always face the greatest war with the low minded person.”
“In the view of such harmony in the cosmos which I, with my limited human mind, am able to recognize, there are yet people who says there is no God. But what makes me really angry is that they quote me for support of such views. (The Expanded Quotable Einstein, Princeton University, page 214)”
“Necessity is the mother of all invention.”
“Your imagination is your preview of life’s coming attractions.”
“Hanya ada dua cara menjalani kehidupan kita.Pertama adalah seolah tidak ada keajaiban.Kedua adalah seolah segala sesuatu adalah keajaiban.”
“Hal yang paling sukar dipahami di dunia ini adalah pajak penghasilan.”
“Barangsiapa yang tidak pernah melakukan kesalahan,maka dia tidak pernah mencoba sesuatu yang baru”
“Belajarlah dari masa lalu, hiduplah untuk masa depan. Yang terpenting adalah tidak berhenti bertanya.”
“Tidak ada yang lebih merusak martabat pemerintah dan hukum negeri dibanding meloloskan undang-undang yang tidak bisa ditegakkan.”
“Dunia ini adalah sebuah tempat yang berbahaya untuk didiami, bukan karena orang-orangnya jahat, tapi karena orang-orangnya tak perduli.”
“Tidak ada eksperimen yang bisa membuktikn aku benar, namun sebaliknya sebuah eksperimen saja bisa membuktikan aku salah.”
“Tanda kecerdasan sejati bukanlah pengetahuan tapi imajinasi.”
“Kebanyakan orang mengatakan bahwa kecerdasanlah yang melahirkan seorang ilmuwan besar. Mereka salah, karakterlah yang melahirkannya.”
“Kalau mereka ingin menemuiku, aku ada disini. Kalau mereka ingin bertemu dengan pakaianku, bukalah lemariku dan tunjukkan pada mereka.”
“Aku Berpikir terus menerus berbulan bulan dan bertahun tahun, sembilan puluh sembilan kali dan kesimpulannya salah. Untuk yang keseratus aku benar.”
“Hakikatku adalah yang aku pikirkan, bukan apa yang aku rasakan”
“Every one who is seriously involved in the pursuit of science becomes convinced that a spirit is manifest in the laws of the Universe-a spirit vastly superior to that of man, and one in the face of which we with our modest powers must feel humble.”
“At least once a day, allow yourself the freedom to think and dream for yourself.”
“The fairest thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and science. He who knows it not and can no longer wonder, no longer feel amazement, is as good as dead, a snuffed-out candle.”
“La scienza, contrariamente ad un'opinione diffusa, non elimina Dio. La fisica deve addirittura perseguire finalità teologiche, poiché deve proporsi non solo di sapere com'è la natura, ma anche di sapere perché la natura è così e non in un'altra maniera, con l'intento di arrivare a capire se Dio avesse davanti a sé altre scelte quando creò il mondo.”
“Come si può mettere la Nona di Beethoven in un diagramma cartesiano? Ci sono delle realtà che non sono quantificabili. L'universo non è i miei numeri: è pervaso tutto dal mistero. Chi non ha il senso del mistero è un uomo mezzo morto.”
“I never teach my pupils, I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn.”
“A society's competitive advantage will come not from how well its schools teach the multiplication and periodic tables, but from how well they stimulate imagination and creativity.”
“One had to cram all this stuff into one's mind for the examinations, whether one liked it or not. This coercion had such a deterring effect on me that, after I had passed the final examination, I found the consideration of any scientific problems distasteful to me for an entire year.”
“I know quite certainly that I myself have no special talent; curiosity, obsession and dogged endurance, combined with self-criticism, have brought me to my ideas.”
“This topic brings me to that worst outcrop of herd life, the military system, which I abhor... This plague-spot of civilization ought to be abolished with all possible speed. Heroism on command, senseless violence, and all the loathsome nonsense that goes by the name of patriotism -- how passionately I hate them!”
“As our circle of knowledge expands, so does the circumference of darkness surrounding it.”
“Don't dream of being a good person, be a human being is valuable and gives value to life.”
“Student is not a container you have to fill but a torch you have to light up.”
“I do not teach anyone I only provide the environment in which they can learn”
“To dwell on the things that depress or anger us does not help in overcoming them. One must knock them down alone.”
“The unleashed power of the atom has changed everything except our thinking. Thus, we are drifting toward catastrophe beyond conception. We shall require a substantially new manner of thinking if mankind is to survive.”
“Bureaucracy is the death of all sound work.”
“The right to search for the truth implies also a duty; one must not conceal any part of what one has recognized to be the truth.”
“If there is any religion that could respond to the needs of modern science, it would be Buddhism.”
“If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things.”
“I believe that Gandhi’s views were the most enlightened of all the political men in our time. We should strive to do things in his spirit: not to use violence in fighting for our cause, but by non-participation in anything you believe is evil.”
“It is this mythical, or rather symbolic, content of the religious traditions which is likely to come into conflict with science. This occurs whenever this religious stock of ideas contains dogmatically fixed statements on subjects which belong in the domain of science.”
“Combinatory play seems to be the essential feature in productive thought.”
“The only source of knowledge is experience.”
“Imagination is the highest form of research.”