Albert Einstein (1879-1955)

[Philosophy Now]

Alistair MacFarlane considers the life and work of a profound physicist.

http://philosophynow.org/issues/93/Albe ... _1879-1955

[Felasco]

I wonder how many genius thinkers there have been who were so deeply involved with their work that they didn't care about fame, glory, reputation, career, money etc.

We assume that everyone capable of such discoveries would have a motivation to share them with the rest of us. I'd bet some of the most brilliant people to have lived just couldn't be bothered to play the fame game, which to them must have seemed a truly boring business.

If Einstein had been a little more interested in his research, we may have never heard of him. We know of his work as much for his thoroughly ordinary desire to be noticed as we do for his remarkable genius.

[attofishpi]

Einstein was enlightened...he was no fool shortening his sight with atheism.

[RickLewis]

Einstein was enlightened...he was no fool shortening his sight with atheism.

Ah, funny you should say that. Here is a brief item from the News page of our Nov/Dec issue (Issue 93):

‘God Letter’ sold on eBay

A handwritten letter from Albert Einstein to the philosopher Erik Gutkind, known as the ‘God Letter’, was offered for sale on eBay during October. Einstein wrote to Gutkind about a year before his death, prompted by reading Gutkind’s book Choose Life: The Biblical Call to Revolt. In the letter, Einstein declared “The word of God is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of honourable, but still primitive legends which are nevertheless pretty childish. No interpretation, no matter how subtle, can (for me) change this.” The letter, on Princeton University letterhead and with the original envelope, stamp and postmark, was sold for $3,000,100 to an anonymous online bidder.

http://philosophynow.org/issues/93/News ... ember_2012