Einstein was not only a brilliant physicist, but a very wise man. Share your favourite quotes. Most should be inspirational/deep.
-Einstein
Post your favoourite Einstein quotes or quotes you think are important
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I can't personally peg down one quote (the guy had one of the most brilliant minds) but I love his thoughts on religion and God.
I came across it through an online article about his letter on religion being auctioned.
"The word 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."
Einstein, who was Jewish and who declined an offer to be the state of Israel's second president, also rejected the idea that the Jews are God's favoured people.
"For me the Jewish religion like all others is an incarnation of the most childish superstitions. And the Jewish people to whom I gladly belong and with whose mentality I have a deep affinity have no different quality for me than all other people. As far as my experience goes, they are no better than other human groups, although they are protected from the worst cancers by a lack of power. Otherwise I cannot see anything 'chosen' about them."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2008/may/15/peopleinscience.controversiesinscience
http://www.spaceandmotion.com/albert-einstein-god-religion-theology.htm
I came across it through an online article about his letter on religion being auctioned.
"The word 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."
Einstein, who was Jewish and who declined an offer to be the state of Israel's second president, also rejected the idea that the Jews are God's favoured people.
"For me the Jewish religion like all others is an incarnation of the most childish superstitions. And the Jewish people to whom I gladly belong and with whose mentality I have a deep affinity have no different quality for me than all other people. As far as my experience goes, they are no better than other human groups, although they are protected from the worst cancers by a lack of power. Otherwise I cannot see anything 'chosen' about them."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2008/may/15/peopleinscience.controversiesinscience
http://www.spaceandmotion.com/albert-einstein-god-religion-theology.htm
Further from that work;
"Einstein may have not believed in God, but he felt that faith was a must. This is probably why he never gave a second thought to studying the quantum theory and its random nature. He once said that "God does not throw dice", meaning that quantum theory randomness is out of the question for him. This belief in faith is probably also why his position towards religion was often misinterpreted.
"Like other great scientists he does not fit the boxes in which popular polemicists like to pigeonhole him. It is clear for example that he had respect for the religious values enshrined within Judaic and Christian traditions... but what he understood by religion was something far more subtle than what is usually meant by the word in popular discussion", said John Brook from the Oxford University, leading expert on Albert Einstein.
Einstein was often associated with atheism because of his views on conventional religion, but he never liked being called an atheist. "
Einstein believed in Deity but not in God as conceived by religion and, certainly, not in any of the religions or their institutions.
He was certainly not an atheist. People think of him that way only because he deplored the practices and beliefs of formal or organized religions.
My favorite quote is his definition of insanity: doing the same things over and over and expecting different results.
Perry
He was certainly not an atheist. People think of him that way only because he deplored the practices and beliefs of formal or organized religions.
My favorite quote is his definition of insanity: doing the same things over and over and expecting different results.
Perry
I've always loved this one by the great Newton:
"If I have seen further it is only by standing on the shoulders of giants."
To me, this exemplifies the ultimate in humility. It also sums up one of the most beautiful traits that separates humans from the rest of the animal kingdom: aside from physical evolution common to all living things, we are the only species to research, document, and build upon the knowledge and wisdom of our predecessors.
"If I have seen further it is only by standing on the shoulders of giants."
To me, this exemplifies the ultimate in humility. It also sums up one of the most beautiful traits that separates humans from the rest of the animal kingdom: aside from physical evolution common to all living things, we are the only species to research, document, and build upon the knowledge and wisdom of our predecessors.
E=MC2
I think of Al as believing in a creative force (GOD) but this god is not a personal god so stop praying
A force from which we came then go back as energy is not lost
I would like to know if he believed our self awareness survived death or if he thought it mattered
I think of Al as believing in a creative force (GOD) but this god is not a personal god so stop praying
A force from which we came then go back as energy is not lost
I would like to know if he believed our self awareness survived death or if he thought it mattered
I suspect some animals do pass on wisdom
Monkeys teach their young to use tools etc
In many ways in this he was a typical indeed almost stereotypical German Jew of the period 1880 - 1925.
Needless to say the world changed with Hitler coming to power, and knowledge of this period of German history has been forgotten, completely overshadowed by what followed.
True. Monkey see, monkey do. lol
But they will continue to use the same twig for catching insects, and the same rocks to crack things open. Humans will not only improve the way to use these tools, but improve the tools themselves.
My fav Einstein quote:
The problems we face today will not be solved by the minds that created them.
Believe he was referring to conservatives....
The problems we face today will not be solved by the minds that created them.
Believe he was referring to conservatives....
My impression is quite the opposite. Einstein seemed to be more often associated
with deism or whatever belief in a deity by Christian apologetics to strengthen their
arguments for the existence of God.
Einstein's religious belief was very much in line with Spinoza's pantheism.
Einstein might not feel comfortable with identifying himself as an atheist. But
he was almost certainly not the conventional type of deist who believed in a
personal god.
Imitation and social learning has been documented and studied in a great variety of non-human animals. In addition there are a number of animals that manufacture tools in order accomplish tasks, birds are a great example they have not only been doing this for years but they have adapted the use of tools in order to suit their specific environment. In the first link below there is an account of crows that learned not only how to use tools that are not found in nature but they were able to learn by watching an instructional video (podcasts for animals?).
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/parrots-in-the-land-of-oz/birds-that-use-tools/714/
http://www.sociallearning.info/home/pdf/social learning in animals.pdf
http://www.pigeon.psy.tufts.edu/avc/zentall/default.htm
As for an Einstein quote, I have always been partial to this one.
A human being is a part of the whole, called by us the “Universe,” a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separate 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. Nobody is able to achieve this completely, but the striving for such achievement is in itself a part of the liberation and a foundation for inner security.
—Albert Einstein (1879–1955)
That's one of my favorite ones.
Here's another:
The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing.
- Einstein
Some fave quotes I love "80% of success is just showing up" - I think it was attributed to Woody Allen. "The first wealth is health" Ralph Waldo Emmerson. "Its fun being me, is it fun being you?" - Denny Crane Boston Legal.
Also a fave lyric from a song "Nothing's worth having without some kind of fight...you have to kick in the darkness till it bleeds daylight" - Bruce Cockburn
Also a fave lyric from a song "Nothing's worth having without some kind of fight...you have to kick in the darkness till it bleeds daylight" - Bruce Cockburn
You have to quote it in full so that its meaning is clearly understood; it is one of those rare pearls of wisdom:
“Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.”
Perry
