Valle de Pineta in the Pyrenees of
Huesca - Above Photo credit: Iñaki Larrea
“A
human being is a part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time
and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feeling as something
separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness.
This
delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and
to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves
from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living
creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.”
Albert Einstein wrote these words in a
letter in 1950, to a man
named Robert S. Marcus who was grieving for the loss of his son to polio.
Though
they were originally words of condolence for death, they can be read as words of
inspiration for embracing life, all life.
With thanks to MNN
With thanks to MNN
[....]
Although Einstein made his mark primarily as a physicist, his
political views have grown nearly as famous as his scientific achievements. But
they were also more complex than many realize.
Einstein was a lifelong pacifist, except when it came to taking up defensive arms against the Nazis, who singled him out for persecution. Moreover, when he realized that scientists in Nazi Germany might be working on nuclear chain reactions with bomb potential, he wrote a letter to President Roosevelt urging that the U.S. government coordinate its own research in the area. The letter may have contributed to the formation of the Manhattan Project, to which Einstein -- much to his relief -- was not invited; the government considered him a security risk due to his many associations with peace causes and memberships in social advocacy groups like the NAACP [sources: Kaku].
Nevertheless, his E = mc2 equation was essential to their successful efforts in making the first atomic bombs [sources: Kaku]. Einstein also helped fund the war effort by auctioning his manuscripts, and worked after the war to oppose the development of the hydrogen bomb and to control nuclear proliferation.
In 1952, Israeli premier David Ben-Gurion offered Einstein the presidency of the newly established state of Israel. Einstein politely turned him down, citing advancing age and stating that his lifelong focus on objective matters had left him unsuited to politics [sources: Einstein; Kaku].
[....]
This information with thanks to How Stuff Works
Einstein was a lifelong pacifist, except when it came to taking up defensive arms against the Nazis, who singled him out for persecution. Moreover, when he realized that scientists in Nazi Germany might be working on nuclear chain reactions with bomb potential, he wrote a letter to President Roosevelt urging that the U.S. government coordinate its own research in the area. The letter may have contributed to the formation of the Manhattan Project, to which Einstein -- much to his relief -- was not invited; the government considered him a security risk due to his many associations with peace causes and memberships in social advocacy groups like the NAACP [sources: Kaku].
Nevertheless, his E = mc2 equation was essential to their successful efforts in making the first atomic bombs [sources: Kaku]. Einstein also helped fund the war effort by auctioning his manuscripts, and worked after the war to oppose the development of the hydrogen bomb and to control nuclear proliferation.
In 1952, Israeli premier David Ben-Gurion offered Einstein the presidency of the newly established state of Israel. Einstein politely turned him down, citing advancing age and stating that his lifelong focus on objective matters had left him unsuited to politics [sources: Einstein; Kaku].
[....]
This information with thanks to How Stuff Works
Related:
Claude Shannon Jr: The Greatest Genius No One Has Heard Of
John von Neumann: This Hungarian-American Mathematician May Have Been Smarter Than Einstein
Great Minds: Filippo Brunelleschi
Great Minds: Leonardo da Vinci
The Genius of Nicola Tesla
Einstein's Famous Theory Has Aged Well
Warp Speed Space Travel A Possibility Thanks To Einstein's Theory Of Relativity
Albert Einstein: 25 Quotes
A Century Ago Albert Einstein Showed The Most Unlikely Idea Can Be Right
Last Piece of Einstein’s Theory Of Relativity In Line For Final ‘Proof’
Last Piece of Einstein’s Theory Of Relativity In Line For Final ‘Proof’
Albert Einstein: Photographic Evidence Reveals His First Prediction Of Gravitational Waves
Never Ever Give Up! - Famous Failures
Student Builds Super-smart Robot That Paints Award-winning Einstein Portrait
Albert Einstein's Legacy
The Nobel Prizes In Numbers
