My Susan, who understood before I did what this blog would mean to me
Had a visit from my Susan and her Michael — it was busy and wonderful and left no time to think of writing. Well, they’re gone and the laundry is (almost) all done, so last night I sat down to relax and watch ‘Inside Einstein’s Mind’ on Netflix. A normal person would have watched it through and learn something, but normal wouldn’t exactly describe me.
Whenever I think of Einstein, I imagine the world-renowned brilliant
the famous photo of Einstein sticking his tongue out
physicist himself. This Nova program mentions something about Einstein having children. My curiosity took over. I had to put aside watching to find out something about them.
No one seems to know anything about Albert Einstein’s daughter Lieserl. She was probably born in 1902 and I could learn nothing more. It’s a mystery….
Hans Albert Einstein
One son, Hans Albert, 1904-1973, a hydraulic engineer, followed his father’s example and moved to the U.S. in time to avoid the Holocaust. Hans became a professor at the University of California at Berkley.
Eduard, 1910-1965, often ill as a child was a talented student and musician. He studied medicine and wanted to become a psychiatrist. In one of those ironic coincidences, at age 20, he began suffering from schizophrenia. That ended any plans for a successful career. He spent many years hospitalized.
Eduard Einstein
Worth a read
Not long ago, (see May 15, 2017) I wrote about reading ‘The Professor and the Madman’ by Simon Winchester. In it, Winchester states one in a hundred people have schizophrenia. That’s a whole lot folks. We need some brilliant souls to seek a cure for this heartbreaking illness which afflicts so many.
These are the children from Einstein’s first marriage.
In my search, I also learned about many quotes attributed to Albert Einstein himself. Here are a few:
‘Logic will get you from A to Z. Imagination will get you everywhere.
The only way to escape the corruptible effect of praise is to go on working.
The most important question you can ever ask is if the universe is a friendly place.
It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.
The ones who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.
The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination.
‘Gravitation is not responsible for people falling in love.’ Einstein
Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving.
The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education.’
Einstein, an opinionated man with humor.
There are many more. Look for them online — fortunately Einstein WAS an opinionated man — with humor!
Joe’s Einstein coffee cup. He hopes some of the brilliance will rub off.
View from Over the Hill 
Morning, Muriel. I never knew that he had children. It’s incredible that nothing is known about his daughter.
Anyway, get back to your laundry!
Neil
Actually Neil: These three were only the children from his first marriage. He had more later….
Laundry is going as I write this — honest. Chuckle….
“It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.”
– That’s what I think too, Muriel. I’m not good at puzzles, and dont’ think I can past Mensa tests. But I am willing to spend more time thinking about something than other people.
The other thing I have, is that I am willing to think, and also willing to not put any limits on my thinking. I got better and better at that in my computer job at Safeway, because that was the only way I could debug programs.
. . . I had to be able to think about ANY and EVERYthing. You had to make sure that you didn’t say “oh that can’t be it.” You had to literally have no judgement at all, and let your mind do whatever the hell it wanted to come up with a solution.
Right you are Chris. Cheers.
Thank you for the Einstein article. Your curious mind keeps you young… as does your laughter. In college in the 60’s, I had a poster of Einstein on my door: “It’s not what’s on your head but what’s in it.”
Well, I finally did get to see the rest of the Einstein NOVA show on Netflix last night Judy. Fascinating man, but in my opinion, still very human…..
Thanks for enlightening me on little known facts about Albert Einstein. I have a coffee cup with Einstein’s portrait baked into the cup in two places. Every morning, like it or not, I see him in deep thought while I enjoy my coffee. As I sip the coffee I always think that maybe some of his genius will rub off on me. No luck. I still do not understand his physics formula, E equals mc2 on Mass and Energy and the speed of light. Great blog Muriel. I always learn something new when you write. Like I never knew he had children from his first wife. I will look for the NOVA show on Netflix.
Your Einstein cup reminds me of my visit to the Pere Lachaise Cemetery in Paris where I breathed in deeply at each grave of some brilliant composer or writer I admired, hoping to inhale just a little of their talent. It didn’t work either.
Do watch the NOVA documentary about Einstein. It was fascinating. Enjoy.