Comparing Einstein and Other Ccreative Geniuses

Comparing Einstein and Other Ccreative Geniuses

The author Banesh Hoffmann wrote the essay "Unforgettable Albert Einstein," and expresses his admiration at Einstein’s innate ability for getting to the heart of a situation with simple logic. This ability was the secret of his scientific discoveries. Einstein once made a statement that when Mozart composed music, he found the beauty that was already there waiting to be revealed. This one ability was characteristic of Einstein’s findings. He was able to reveal what already existed but had not been discovered. Whether or not he was using every day experiences or working on more abstract projects his approach was the same. He was able to seek and find the simplest answer to a task or a formula.

In one situation Einstein asked Hoffmann if he knew why a man’s feet would sink in dry or wet sand but not in damp sand. He was unable to give him an answer. Einstein explained that surface tension caused by tiny amounts of water pulled the grains of sand together. Because of the friction that was caused, this made the surface hard to move. Einstein’s way of thinking was so simple, that most people would overlook the obvious answers that he would reason out.

The simple and curious question that Einstein asked himself was whether a light wave would seem stationary if one ran abreast of it. This question would later lead him to explore and to discover the principle of relativity. An easy example of this theory is the illustration of when you stir a stick in water. It does not matter if you are standing still or moving in a boat. The waves once made by the stick remain the same. It was through questioning and observing that Einstein was able to come up with the solutions that revolutionized physics.

I can relate with revealing something that has not been uncovered when I work on artwork. I have experienced this when the painting seems to evolve. I might start with a simple feeling or emotion and then I set into action the birth of a new creation. I have also painted a person that I have not met. Later when I meet the person in my painting I am surprised. The person had always existed, but had not been revealed to me yet.

The invention of perspective was discovered in the 15th century.