10 myths about Albert Einstein that you absolutely should not believe

Myth 1. Einstein was left handed

rooted in the mass consciousness beliefthat left-handed people are much more creative and gifted than right-handed people. In support of this "fact", Einstein is usually cited as an example. And it’s hard to imagine a person more talented than Albert. Everything fits!

But actually on mostThe left brain knows what the right hand is doing / American Psychological Association photographs, Albert writes with chalk and even holds the bow while playing the violin with his right hand. And it is obvious that it was she who was the leader for him.

Myth 2. Einstein was a bad student

Another myth about Albert is that he was such a bad student that he constantly failed exams in all subjects, even mathematics. But this did not prevent him from becoming a great physicist and creating the theory of relativity!

This story is especially loved by the parents of those children who do not have time at school. No need to worry about studying - Einstein, there, also went with deuces, and nothing.

The main thing is to think outside the box, the rest will follow!

But fairy tales about a brilliant physicist who could not learn mathematics are untenable. To understand this, just look at certificateEinstein's certificate in Aarau / Albert Einstein — Derrière l'image Einstein from his school in the Swiss canton of Aarau.

He had excellent marks in all exact sciences, including mathematics and geometry, and very good marks in Latin and Greek. The only discipline in which he had average (but not bad) marks was French.

When Einstein passedEinstein Failed School/ABC Science an exam at the prestigious Polytechnic Academy in Zurich, it was precisely because of his insufficient knowledge of this language that he did not have enough points. He pulled up French, retaken and successfully entered the next time.

Most likely the myth of the Losers-Einstein appearedEinstein revealed as brilliant in youth / The New York Times due to a change in the grade system at the school where he studied. At first, 6 was the highest score and 1 was the lowest. The scale was then flipped and 1 became the highest score.

Myth 3. Einstein had dyslexia and Asperger's syndrome

Some write on the Internet that Albert did not really know how to read until he was nine years old and was unable to even express his thoughts properly - but this is not true.

By memoriesFamous People With Dyslexia / LearningInfo.org to his mother, until the age of 2–3, the future physicist hardly spoke, but then he began to pour out whole sentences. He went to school at six and got good grades there, and at thirteen he read Critique of Pure Reason. Kant.

Yes, and Einstein knew how to write perfectly, considering how many papers he left behind.

Einstein apparently did not suffer from autism either. He was a rather introverted person and appreciated a solitary life, but he had many friends in the scientific community. Among them are professional psychiatrists. And none of them did not suspectJ. Stachel. Einstein from 'B' to 'Z' Alberta in any mental disorders.

Myth 4. All of Einstein's discoveries were actually made by his first wife.

In correspondence with his first wife, physicist Mileva Marich, Albert in some places used the constructions “our work” or “our theory”. From this, some biographers have concluded that she made a significant contribution to the theory of relativity. And Einstein not only did not indicate her as a co-author, but also went to another woman, his cousin Elsa. How ungrateful these men are!

But in reality there is no convincing evidenceThe debated legacy of Einstein's first wife / Nature the fact that Marich was somehow connected with the work of Einstein. She did not study the theory of relativity at all, but, as the familiar families of physicists claimed, several times spokeJ. Stachel. Einstein from 'B' to 'Z' with Albert at the table about experimental studies of thermal conductivity, which was her specialty. However, the matter apparently did not go further than discussions.

Einstein's eldest son Hans arguedJ. Stachel. Einstein from 'B' to 'Z'that after marriage, his mother left science and did not publish any work either during her marriage to Albert, or later. In addition, in none of her letters did Maric claim that she somehow helped her husband.

So the story that all the discoveries for Einstein was made by his wife is not true.

Myth 5. Einstein was a committed vegan

Sometimes on the Internet, various figures of science or art are credited with veganism, claiming that it was thanks to this diet that they became so smart and famous. Einstein was no exception.

In general, the assumption that Albert was a vegan has some basis. The point is that he had manyS. Kantha. An Appraisal of Albert Einstein's Chronic Illness chronic health problems, in particular - with digestion.

During his life, Einstein suffered from stomach ulcers, inflammation of the gallbladder, jaundice, acute intestinal pain, and more. And at some point, doctors advised him to try vegetarianism. Einstein began to abstain from meat, and his stomach felt better. That's just madeA. Calaprice. An Einstein Encyclopedia He is only 51 years old.

In addition, Einstein still occasionally ate meat, and also never refused eggs and dairy products.

Only at the age of 74, a couple of years before his death, he wrote in a letter to his longtime friend Hans Myusam that he decided to exclude fatty foods, meat and fish. But, apparently, Albert did not put any philosophyP. Frank. Einstein, but simply ate what best suited his sensitive stomach.

Myth 6. Einstein created the atomic bomb

Albert Einstein is sometimes called the inventor of nuclear weapons. But this is also not true. He was not involved in its creation and was not a member of the famous Manhattan project. The work there was carried out by the American physicist Robert Oppenheimer, and it is he who can nameK. bird. American Prometheus: The Triumph And Tragedy Of J. Robert Oppenheimer "father of the atomic bomb".

Einstein was not eager to create murder weapons. In addition, the US Army would simply not give him access to the Manhattan Project because of suspicions of links with the USSR.

The only thing in participatedAlbert Einstein: Fact or Fiction? /History Einstein is in writing an address to President Franklin Roosevelt. In it, he urged him to do everything possible so that America would be the first to create nuclear weapons. He did this immediately after learning in 1939 that scientists in Nazi Germany had been able to split the uranium atom. The physicist instantly realized that it was necessary to get ahead of them at all costs.

However, after the war, Einstein was shocked attacks to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and together with another scientist, Bertrand Russell, signed the so-called manifestoStatement: The Russell-Einstein Manifesto – Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs / Pugwash Russell-Einstein, in which he demanded world nuclear disarmament.

Myth 7. Einstein said: "There are two infinite things - the universe and stupidity"

Albert Einstein is without a doubt one of the most popular physicists. Only Newton and hawking. And in social networks, a huge number of quotes are attributed to him, which often are not even related to science. One of the most popular goes something like this:

There are only two infinite things: the Universe and human stupidity. However, I'm not sure about the universe.

So, Einstein did not say this, because he, how to put it mildly, did not consider the Universe to be infinite. In his calculations he calculatedAlbert Einstein and the origins of modern cosmology / Physics Today its volume and came to the conclusion that it is 10⁷ cubic light years.

Einstein underestimated the dimensions of the universe - in realityVolume of universe / WolframAlpha only the volume of the part of the Universe visible to us is equal to 4.212 × 10³² cubic light years. Well, even such talents can make mistakes sometimes.

Actually a quote about the size of the universe and the stupidity of Albert in the 1940s attributedTwo Things Are Infinite: the Universe and Human Stupidity / Quote Investigator Gestalt therapist Frederick Perls. Apparently he just made it up. And as a result, in his books on self-knowledge, he often repeated these words in a variety of variations, making either Einstein or the anonymous “great astronomer” the author.

Myth 8. Einstein feared that new technologies would create a "generation of idiots"

Another quote attributed to Einstein is: “I fear the day will come when technology will surpass mere human communication. And we'll get a generation of idiots."

Usually this statement is used to show how the Internet and mobile communications affect children. But in the good old days, when everyone spoke with their mouths, and not through instant messengers, they lived much better, truth?

Only this quote is a myth. Her attributedDid Einstein Say He Feared Technology Would Create a ‘Generation of Idiots’? / Snopes.com Einstein the screenwriters of the 1995 film Powder. In reality, Albert is nothing like that. did not tellDid Einstein Say He Feared Technology Would Create a ‘Generation of Idiots’? / Snopes.com.

Myth 9. Only Einstein himself and 2-3 other people could understand the theory of relativity

There are many stories floating around the web that illustrate how complicated Einstein's theory of relativity is. And at least two of them actually happened.

For example, once the astrophysicist Arthur Eddington, his rival Ludwik Silberstein askedEinstein: His Life and Universe - Walter Isaacson: is it true that he is one of three people in the world who understand the theory of relativity? And Eddington thought about it and answered: “And who is this third one?”, hinting that Zilberstein is not included in this number.

Second happeningWhen Albert Einstein Met Charlie Chaplin, The Conversation Was Hilariously Epic / NDTV.com. When in 1931 Einstein met with Charlie Chaplin, then said to him - "I admire your art - you do not say a word, but the whole world understands you." Chaplin replied: "And the whole world admires you, although no one can understand a single word of what you say."

But in both stories, the characters exaggerated. Einstein himself repeatedly said that his theory is perfectly understandable to interested people, and even more so to everyone who has an education in physics. In an interview with the Chicago Daily Tribune in 1921, to the question "Is it true that your work is so complex that no one can comprehend it?" Albert laughed and answeredEinstein: His Life and Universe - Walter Isaacson:

Wherever I go, someone will ask me this question. This is absurd. Anyone with sufficient scientific training can easily understand this theory. There is nothing surprising or mysterious about it.

So the incomprehensibility of the theory is somewhat exaggerated.

Myth 10. Einstein was a deeply religious man

Another story that allegedly happened to Einstein is about how, in his youth, he proved the existence of God to an atheist university professor.

In response to the pundit's statement, "Can God be seen or felt?" young Albert "witty" answered something like: "Have we ever seen the brain in the professor's skull? Not? So he's not there, here." Cut so cut.

You can read this fable in its entirety by googling the well-known meme “that student was Albert Einstein.”

Actually the bike is clean fictionDid Albert Einstein Humiliate an Atheist Professor? / Snopes.com. Einstein was not a devout believer, but he did not call himself an atheist either. He characterizedDid Einstein Say He Believed in the Pantheistic God of Baruch Spinoza? / Snopes.com his views as pantheistic, that is, he believed that the world and the universe are God.

One day, on April 25, 1929, in response to the question of the famous American rabbi Herbert Goldstein about the faith of Einstein answeredScientist Defines His Faith in Reply, to Cablegram From Rabbi Here / The New York Times: "I believe in the god of Spinoza, who manifests himself in the natural harmony of being, but not at all in a god who is busy with the destinies and deeds of people."

About the Christian Almighty Albert in a letter to Beatrice Flochlich saidThe Expanded Quotable Einstein/Princeton University Press thus: "The idea of ​​a personified god is completely alien to me and seems even naive."