The Genius: Albert Einstein

Nancy: Mom, Today our teacher told us about Albert Einstein that he was a great scientist! 

Mom: He was indeed! 

Nancy: Mom, I wanna know about Sir Albert Einstein, basically everything about him, his life story, his awards and honours, his theories, friends, family!

Mom: Okay! As you know I'm very much fond of reading, I recently read a book on Einstein and I have gained much knowledge about Einstein! Let me tell you the highlights of the book!

Nancy: Thanks Mom!

Mom:- So, firstly tell me what do I tell you first?

Nancy: Mum, First tell me his life story.. Where was he born, his mom- dad's name, his education etc.

Mom: Ohh.. You wanna know everything about him! Actually I'm not a walking dictionary so let me bring the book which I read and I'll tell you the highlights from there! Okay?

Nancy: Okay!!

Mom: Let me tell you the life story of Sir Albert Einstein!

A BOY NAMED ALBERT EINSTEIN WAS BORN IN GERMANY ON 14 MARCH 1879. EINSTEIN’S FATHER’S NAME WAS HERMANN EINSTEIN . HE WAS AN ELECTRICAL ENGINEER. EINSTEIN’S MOTHER’S NAME WAS PAULINE EINSTEIN. WHEN EINSTEIN WAS BORN HIS FAMILY WAS REALLY WORRIED ABOUT HIM AS HE HAD VERY LARGE AND MISHAPPEN HEAD. BUT WITHIN SOME DAYS HIS HEAD GREW NORMAL. BUT THE WORRIES OF EINSTEIN’S FAMILY DIDN’T STOP THERE,WHEN HE WAS SMALL HIS PARENTS THOUGHT HE MIGHT BE INTELLECTUALLY DISABLED BECAUSE HE WAS VERY SLOW TO LEARN TO TALK AND DID NOT SPEAK UNTIL HE TURNED 4. WHEN HE WAS 5 YEARS OLD HIS FATHER GIFTED HIM A SIMPLE POCKET COMPASS AND AFTER SEEING THAT COMPASS EINSTEIN WAS FASCINATED. AND THAT WAS THE BEGINNING OF HIS OBSESSION WITH SCIENCE. HE DID NOT LIKED MUSIC BUT AFTER LISTENING TO MOZART’S MUSIC , MUSIC BECAME THE PASSION OF EINSTEIN. HE ALSO SAID “IF I WAS NOT A SCIENTIST,THEN I WOULD CERTAINLY HAVE BEEN A MUSICIAN”. EINSTEIN ALSO LOVED PLAYING VIOLIN.EINSTEIN WAS VERY GOOD IN MATHS AND SCIENCE BUT HE WAS AVERAGE IN OTHER SUBJECTS. EINSTEIN HATED GRAMMAR, HE DIDN’T LIKED THE WAY IN WHICH HIS TEACHERS TAUGHT HIM GRAMMAR.HE ALSO HATED THE DISCIPLINE OF HIS TEACHERS,HE WAS A OPEN MINDED BOY AND DIDN’T LOVED TO BE IN DISCIPLINE. HIS INTEREST IN MATHS AND SCIENCE MADE HIM TO BECOME A GENIUS NAMED”SIR ALBERT EINSTEIN”.WHILE HE WAS 10 HE STARTED EDUCATING HIMSELF. AND WHEN HE TURNED 12 HE STARTED TEACHING HIMSELF EUCLIDEAN GEOMETRY. BY THE AGE OF 15 HE MASTERED CALCULUS. EINSTEIN DROPPED OUT OF SCHOOL BY THE AGE OF 15. HE QUIT HIS SCHOOL BUT NOT EDUCATION. HE APPLIED TO THE SWISS FEDERAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY. HE UNFORTUNATELY FAILED THE ENTARANCE EXAM AS HE WAS NOT PREPARED . HIS MARKS IN MATHS AND SCIENCE WERE GREAT , BUT HIS KNOWLEDGE IN OTHER SUBJECTS WAS NOT GOOD. BUT THEN ALSO HE DIDN’T LOSE HOPE AND GAVE IT A SECOND TRY. AND HE WAS SELECTED THIS TIME. THEN, HE MET HIS FUTURE WIFE MILEVA MARIC WHO WAS THE ONLY FEMALE AMONG THE SIX STUDENTS IN THAT SECTION.HE DIDN’T GOT JOB DUE TO DISOBIDIENT SIDE BUT FOR MONEY HE NEEDED A JOB . THEN HE GOT A JOB AS A CLERK IN A PATIENT OFFICE. THIS JOB WAS VERY EASY FOR ALBERT AND HE WAS ALSO HAPPY WITH WITH THE JOB AS HE GOT SUFFICIENT TIME TO WORK AND RESEARH. HE DEVELOPED HIS MOST IMPORTANT THEORIES DURING THAT BORING JOB. HE BECAME THE MOST INFLUENTIAL PHYSICIST OF THE 20th CENTURY. HIS RESEARCH CHANGED THE WORLD. HE WROTE 100s OF BOOKS. AND THIS LEGEND SAID GOODBYE TO THE WORLD ON 18 APRIL 1955.HIS LAST WORDS WERE SPOKEN WHEN A NURSE WAS BESIDES HIM, HOWEVER THE NURSE WASN’T ABLE TO RECALL HIS LAST WORDS. HENCE, HIS LAST WORDS WILL NEVER BE KNOWN.

Nancy: Einstein's story is very interesting!! Mom, I've heard that he had given many theories and the most popular is The Theory of Relative.. Rela..

Mom: Relativity!

Nancy: Ahh!! Yes!! Please tell me about it!

Mom: Okay! You won't understand it as you're small now but I'll try to explain!

EINSTEIN GAVE US MANY THEORIES BUT’THE THEORY OF RELATIVITY’ CHANGED THE WORLD.E=mc2. THIS EQUATION HAS EVERYTHING IN IT. E=mc2 IN THIS, E STANDS FOR ENERGY,M STANDS FOR MASS AND C STANDS FOR SPEED OF LIGHT. THIS EQUATION TELLS THAT ENERGY AND MASS ARE INTERCHANGEABLE.IT EXPLAINS THE BEHAVIOUR OF OBJECTS IN SPACE AND TIME AND CAN BE USED TO PREDICT EVERYTHING FROM THE EXISTENCE OF THE BLACK HOLES TO THE BEHAVOIUR O PLANET MERCURY IN IT’S ORBIT.THIS IS THE MOST FAMOUS THEORY OF EINSTEIN.

Nancy: Wow! I can't understand completely but sounds good! Hehe!! Well, Mama, As Einstein was sooo famous, he might be given awards and honours.. Isn't it?

Mom: Yes! Ofcourse! Even we get awards etc.in schools for little little things then why shouldn't Einstein get it ! He didn't do something small! He did something unforgettable! Gave us knowledge, theories!

Nancy: Ya! Mom, tell me about some of his awards!

Mom: Okay! Let me open the page where it's written!

•IN 1922 EINSTEIN WAS AWARDED THE 1921 NOBEL PRIZE IN PHYSICS FOR HIS SERVICES OF THEORETICAL PHYSICS AND ESPECIALLY FOR THE LAW OF PHOTOELECTRIC EFFECT.

•AMONG FURTHER HONORS WHICH EINSTEIN RECEIVED WERE THE COPLEY MEDAL OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY IN 1925 AND THE GOLD MEDAL OF ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY IN 1926.

•EINSTEIN WAS THE FIRST WINNER OF THE MAX PLANCK MEDAL IN 1929. EINSTEIN’S ACHIEVEMENTS BECAME SO POPULAR THAT HE WAS OFFERED TO BE THE PRESIDENT OF ISRAEL

These are only some of them! He got much more!

Nancy: He deserved it! Mom, I've always heard that these geniuses always write books! So, Einstein had written any book or not?

Mom: He had ofcourse! His books are read even today! Let me tell you about some of his books.

EINSTEIN WROTE MANY BOOKS , SOME OF THEM ARE AS FOLLOWS:

1. RELATIVITY: THE SPECIAL AND THE GENERAL THEORY.

2. THE WORLD AS I SEE IT

3. IDEAS AND OPINIONS

4. OUT OF MY LATER YEARS

5. THE EVOLUTION OF PHYSICS

6. SIDELIGHTS ON RELATIVITY

7. WHY WAR?

8. ESSENTIAL EINSTEIN

Books by him are as extraordinary as him! As you grow up, do read atleast one of his book!

Nancy: Yes Mom! I'll! I'm obsessed with Einstein and his work! He was so good person! Very nice person!!

Mom: He was intelligent but he had some quirky habits as well!!

Nancy: Einstein???

Mom: Yes! He was a human at last! Every human has quirky habits and so had Einstein! You wanna know his quirky habits?

Nancy: Yes Mom!

EINSTEIN WAS NOT ONLY ONE OF THE GREATEST MINDS OF ALL TIME BUT ALSO A MAN WITH SO MUCH QUIRKY HABITS AS WELL. EINSTEINS MANY HABITS WERE REALLY IMPORTANT AND CRUCIAL FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF MIND AND HELPED HIM A LOT TO TURN OUT TO BE A GENIUS. BUT ONLY SOME, WAIT!! WHY ONLY SOME? YOU WILL GET THE ANSWER VERY SOON.SOME OF HIS HABITS WERE A LITTLE WEIRD AS WELL AND THOSE WERE:

1. EINSTEIN LOVED TO SLEEP. HE SLEPT AT LEAST 10 HOURS PER DAY!! IT’S COMMON THAT SLEEP IS REALLY HELPFUL FOR BRAIN. SLEEPING WAS VERY SPECIAL TIME FOR ALBERT.HIS THEORY ON SPECIAL RELATIVITY CAME TO HIM WHILE HE WAS DREAMING.

2. EINSTEIN LOVED TO WALK.WALKNG CAN BOOST MEMORY,CREATIVITY AND PROBLEM SOLVING.IT DISTRACTS THE BRAIN FROM UNNECESSARY THOUGHTS AND ADOPTS A DIFFERENT STYLE OF THINKING THINGS.

3. EINSTEIN WAS FOND OF PLAYING VIOLIN. EINSTEIN PLAYED HIS VIOLIN FOR MANY HOURS. PLAYING AN INSTRUMENT COULD BE AMAZING TRAINING FOR YOUR BRAIN. IT INVOLVES HAND-EYE COORDINATION, LISTENING SKILLS,CONCENTRATION AND MEMORY. CLASSICAL MUSIC HELPS REDUCE STRESS BY LOWERING CORTISOL LEVELS IN THE BODY.

4. EINSTEIN LOVED SPAGHETTI VERY MUCH. OUR BRAIN CONSUMES 20% OF THE BODY’S ENERGY. CARBOHYDRATES IN PASTA ARE A GREAT WAY TO FEED OUR ENERGY-HUNGRY BRAINS.

5. EINSTEIN WAS A SMOKER!!! REALLY! HE WAS A SMOKER. NOWADAYS, MANY HEALTH RISKS OF SMOKING ARE WIDELY KNOWN. SO THIS IS NOT A HABIT WHICH WOULD BE WISE TO FOLLOW!!BUT EINSTEIN FAMOUSLY LOVED TO SMOKE.

6. EINSTEIN USED TO EAT INSECTS. SOMETIMES HE WOULD EAT BUGS STRAIGHT OFF THE GROUND. EATING INSECTS ISN’T SUCH A CRAZY IDEA AS IT SOUNDS!AS INSECTS CONTAIN CARBOHYDRATES,PROTEINS,VITAMINS,MINERALS AND HEALTHY FATS, THEY MAINTAIN HEALTHY BRAIN AND CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEMS.

7. EINSTEIN DIDN’T WEAR SOCKS. WHEN HE WAS SMALL HE FOUND THAT THE BIG TOE ALWAYS CREATES A HOLE IN THE SOCKS SO HE STOPPED WEARING SOCKS. THIS FASHION CHOICE DIDN’T MADE ANY FAVOUR FOR ALBERT BUT AFTER ALL IT’S EASIER FOR US TO KEEP YOUR FEET IN COMFORT.

Nancy: Eww.. Some of his habits are awful!

Mom: Very much!

Nancy: Mom! Einstein gave more theories like Relativity?

Mom: Yes! There are some special theories given by him! Let me tell you!

1. EINSTEIN-CARTAN THEORY

2. EINSTEIN’S STATIC UNIVERSE

3. EINSTEIN’S THOUGHT EXPERIMENTS

4. GENERAL RELATIVITY

5. SPECIAL RELATIVITY

6. PHOTOELECTRIC EFFECT

7. QUANTUM THEORY OF LIGHT

8. AVOGADRO’S NUMBER

9. WAVE-PARTICLE DUALITY

I haven't included Theory of Relativity here!

Nancy: Yes! Mom, as he was a scientist, did he invent something?

Mom: Yes! Some of his inventions are:

1. EINSTEIN REFRIGERATOR

2. ATOMIC BOMB

3. GAS ABSORPTION HEAT PUMP

Nancy: Really, he was legendary! Mom, I've many friends and I'm pretty sure that Einstein too had!

Mom: Yes! But do you know about Best friends of Einstein?

Nancy: Nope!

Mom: Aww.. I'll tell..

MICHELE BESSO WAS EINSTEINS BEST FRIEND. AND MARCEL GROSSMANN WAS ALSO ONE OF HIS FRIENDS. HOWEVER BOTH WERE UNIVERSITY FRIENDS OF EINSTEIN, THEY BOTH HAD A GREAT CONTRIBUTION IN THE THEORY OF GENERAL RELATIVITY BY EINSTEIN.

Nancy: Woho!

Mom: It isn't over here! There are some mind-blowing facts about him too!

Nancy: I wanna know them!!

Mom: Okay! I'm telling..

1. HE COULD NEVER SWIM OR DRIVE A CAR!

2. EINSTEIN’S BRAIN WAS STOLEN AFTER HE PASSED AWAY BY THE PATHOLOGIST WHO LOOKED AFTER HIS AUTOPSY TO FIND WHAT IS REALLY SPECIAL ABOUT HIS BRAIN!

3. EINSTEIN’S BRAIN IS STILL PRESERVED IN PRINCETON UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTRE!

4. HE OFFERED HIS NOBEL PRIZE AS A PART OF DIVORCE SETTLEMENT TO HIS FIRST WIFE!

5. HE MARRIED HIS FIRST COUSIN AFTER HIS DIVORCE!

6. EINSTEIN SAID HIS FIRST WORDS WHEN HE WAS 4 ON THE DINING TABLE=THE SOUP IS TOO HOT!! AND WHEN HIS PARENTS ASKED HIM WHY HE DIDN’T SAID ANYTHING TILL NOW SO HE ANSWERED, “TILL NOW EVERYTHING WAS IN ORDER”!

7. HE DIED IN A SLEEP AT THE HOSPITAL IN PRINCETON!

8. HIS CHILDHOOD NICKNAME WAS ‘THE DOPEY ONE‘!

9. THE NAME EINSTEIN MEANS STONE WORKER AND THIS NAME IS OF GERMAN ORIGIN. THIS NAME IS SO FAMOUS THAT IT IS ASSOCIATED WITH SOMEONE WHO IS PARTICULARLY INTELLIGENT OR SMART!

Nancy: These facts are new to me! Mom, but I have the biggest question regarding Einstein!

Mom: Ask?

Nancy: What made Einstein a genius?

Mom: Interesting question! I'll answer it for you.

BEFORE EINSTEIN’S DEATH HE ASKED NOT TO CONDUCT ANY RESEARCH ON HIS BODY, HE WANTED HIS BODY TO BE SAFE AND ASHES SCATTERED EASILY. IN 1955, AFTER HE DIED HIS BRAIN WAS STOLEN BY THOMAS HARVEY WAS CALLED TO EXAMINE HIS BODY BUT HE STOLE ALBERT’S BRAIN AND RAN AWAY. HE KEPT IT IN JARS IN HIS BASEMENT AND STUDIED IT FOR 40 YEARS. AFTER 40 YEARS HARVEY DECIDED TO SHOW UP AND GAVE THE BRAIN TO SCIENTISTS. WHEN SCIENTISTS STUDIED EINSTEIN’S BRAIN THEY WERE SHOCKED AS EINSTEINS BRAIN HAD 17% MORE NEURONS AS COMPARED TO A COMMON MAN. MEANS MORE SYNAPSES WERE BEING FIRED IN EINSTEIN’S BRAIN AND GIVING HIM MORE BRAIN POWER. FURTHER STUDY ON HIS BRAIN SHOWED THAT…EINSTEIN’S BRAIN WAS MISSING A WRINKLE CALLED PARIETAL OPERCULUM. DUE TO WHICH SIZE OF HIS PARIETAL LOBE WAS INCREASED BY 20% THIS AREA OF BRAIN IS RESPONSIBLE FOR MATH SKILLS AND MENTAL IMAGES. AS A RESULT HIS ABILITY TO IMAGINE THINGS WAS BOOSTED. AND THESE WERE THE MOST IMPORTANT REASONS WHICH MADE EINSTEIN A GENIUS.

Nancy: Really, he was different and unique than others! Einstein is my inspiration from today!

Mom: Before making him, do you know Why Einstein is an Inspiration?

Nancy: Ahh.. Noo..

Mom: No problem.. I'm here to tell you.

EINSTEIN HAS GONE THROUGH MANY INSTANCES AND HAS SUFFERED A LOT. BUT, THEN ALSO HE DIDN’T LOSE HOPE AND FOCUSED ON HIS PASSION,HIS GOAL AND ACHIEVED WHAT HE IS NOW. HIS THEORIES AND EQUATIONS HAVE MADE THE THINGS EASIER AND SIMPLER . EINSTEIN DEDICATED HIS LIFE TO MATHS AND SCIENCE AND GAVE US THE MOST IMPORTANT AND REMARKABLE THINGS. EINSTEIN TAUGHT US HOW TO LIVE. NOONE CAN BE A LEGEND AND SCIENTIST LIKE EINSTEIN. ALBERT HAD EVERYTHING THAT IS BRAIN!!EINSTEIN IS NOT WITH US BUT HIS TEACHINGS AND MEMORIES ARE THERE WITH US FOREVER !

Nancy: Wow! Powerful lines Mom! Really, Einstein's story has given a great impact on me! Mom, I'm sure that I'll too become a scientist and person like Einstein! From today, he's my inspiration! I'll become like him! Great! Genius! And Inspiration!

Mom was watching and listening to Nancy in utter amazement thinking about Nancy's scientific future like Einstein with tears of joy in her eyes!