It’s hard to believe anyone being able to create that much material for anyone to read. When you think about it, it’s difficult for the average person to write a simple cover letter for a job application, little alone, write volume’s of work. Many people say that geniuses are very different from ordinary people and they would be right in saying that. They see the world differently, the understand the world better, and they know how to make their mark. The average person limits themselves, although they don’t see it that way, by only doing the things they want to do at the time they want to do them. Genius’s don’t live like that. They see life as a clock about to run out of time and they only have so much time to get their work done, hence why they are always so busy all the time.
Ever wonder why Stephen King was able to write all those novels? Simple, he made himself sit down and write. If he let every distraction take over his attention, the world would never have been introduced to his famous characters that he created. What about plays? Sonets? Movies? Music? Science? Space Travel? etc… Genius people work hard and that is an understatement. If you call someone a genius because they do more work than you, listen to the words you use and why you felt the need to tell them that. You will find that most people you think are genius’s don’t feel they are themselves. This is because the lifestyle they have created for themselves just shows that they need to work harder in order to meet their results. If you look at the article I wrote about the MacArthur recipients you will probably think that all these people are brilliant individuals and you would right in saying that but you would be wrong in thinking that they were born a special way and that was proven in the book by a fellow recipient, Denise Shekerjian, Uncommon Genius.
E=MC²
Albert Einstein was a man that changed the course of math and science for mankind. Many people do not realize how simple of a math equation he created could have such a huge impact on everything about our future. Men like Stephen Hawking’s look up to Einstein because they hope to create simple and elegant equations that explain the universe. Einstein’s work revolved around math and science and he was so smart that when asked if he still knew how to do basic math his reply showed that he would probably not know where to begin. I think for a lot of parent’s who try to help their child with elementary and middle school math find that math at that level can still be hard for them. Einstein had a great quote about his troubles with math when he said,
“Do not worry about your difficulties in mathematics. I can assure you mine are still greater.”
This goes to show that men of higher thinking still have a long way to go before conquering their field. So if men like Einstein still knew their limitations about what they were working on, it just goes to show how much we still don’t understand our world and what we do know is still a very small fraction of the absolute truth. Einstein pointed this out when he said, “We still do not know one thousandth of one percent of what nature has revealed to us.” This goes to show that we still have a long way to go before we really understand the world we are living in. My favorite quote of his is this one,
“Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I’m not sure about the former.”
Life’s Work Preserved
In an effort for the world to see what this man created all of his work is being digitized and placed online for anyone to read and study. All his papers, letters, personal notes he wrote are available online in both english and german. People can even view documents side by side in each language to compare the two. This will help generations to come learn what this man knew long ago. If he had lived just twenty years longer, who know’s where he would have taken mankind today. If Carl Sagan and him had met, that relationship would have been wonderful to see grow.
When you look back at the history of individuals who lived great lives, you begin to see the trend that all they did differently in the life was that they worked hard at what they believed in and didn’t make excuses that would draw them away from their work. So the next time you feel that you are not doing enough in your life, look at how you spend your time and start trying to include more things that are helpful and productive to your life. If you want to write, then write, if you want to build something, find groups that will help you.
I have provided links below so you can access each online database and read all his life’s work. If there is anything you pick up on, pay attention to how he writes. Genius’s do write differently from ordinary people and if you can pick up on that then you can start to see where your life needs to start improving, or if you need improving at all. For the most part, we should all be improving as individuals. They say that you should never be the same person (i.e., beliefs, values, ideals, etc) you are every 5 years, if you are, then you are not growing as a person.
Here is my favorite picture of him with men who changed the course of study for their fields, also called the Picture of Geniuses, at least, that’s what I call it.
Links
The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein Wikipedia Article
News Article
The Life of An Entrepreneur 