Approaching Einstein
Approaching Einstein, the man himself, what he actually thought and what he wanted to teach us about his life, has become a difficult task. The legacy and memory of Einstein has been almost completely distorted through years of cultural filtering. One of the world’s most original and inventive thinkers has become a special type of cliché, where we still acknowledge the genius of what he said, recognize it as the truth without disagreement, and refuse to think more deeply on what he meant than at a surface level or even read what he wrote one time.
Like any celebrity, the audience has expectations and whatever the more complex truth of the individual themselves is remains distorted. Along with Einstein’s obvious scientific contributions, it’s worth noting his efforts in philosophy, reflections about life, and things he found personally interesting. For me this is what is most interesting about Einstein, this stubborn creativity and deep unhurried thoughtfulness turned towards a contemplation of the deeper questions in life. Watching videos or reading his writing, one is struck with a real sense of calm, unhurriedness, a clear gaze that delights in wonder.
The following are a few Einstein quotes and my own thoughts about them which may or may not be accurate interpretations. I find myself drawn back to these quotes again and again as they are deeply instructive.
1) “If I had an hour to solve a problem I'd spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem and 5 minutes thinking about solutions.”
So often we immediately set about solving tasks with our first impulses or the first thing that comes to our mind. Usually these ideas are riddled with cognitive biases and ultimately bring us far from our original goal.
The realization that you need to consider properly the nature of the problem you’re looking at, what’s needed to solve it, and what’s relevant while remaining free from emotional attachment or distraction is a crucial one. And we should try to be like Einstein when we approach problems, mindful, unhurried, bringing the full strength of our mind to the problem at hand.
2) “A man should look for what is, and not for what he thinks should be.”
A key reminder of what observation actually means. Accurately observing before mixing in our own ideas with what we have observed. This is a difficult one to actually follow as our mind´s seem wired to tell stories and put together patterns by combining pieces of information, which may not be actually related.
3) “The world as we have created it is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking.”
I am departing a bit from the point Einstein is actually making with this quote, but this one reminds me of the need to be aware that our thoughts color our perceptions and greatly influence how we see and interact with the world. Einstein argument here is that we are fundamentally on the wrong path, a point he makes more strongly with his more famous quote that “World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.”
4) “There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.”
This is an interesting one, because it reminds us of Einstein’s insistence that we should have the proper sense of awe and wonder at our incredible world.