The top ten lessons one should learn from Einstein

I just got an eMail from a reader who suggested I mention the 10 Lessons Every Student Can Learn From Einstein, for the benefit of the four bored folks who peruse this hole-in-the-world (ha ...). It's very interesting indeed.

1 – "Imagination is more important than knowledge."
Of course, everyone will know Einstein's most famous quote, right? And quite correct is he, too. Knowing stuff will only get you so far – in the end you gotta be creative and use your knowledge in different ways.

2 – "Do not worry about your difficulties in Mathematics. I can assure you mine are still greater."
Believe it or not, the man considered to be the most brilliant mind since Da Vinci (and before Stephen Hawking) actually claimed he had difficulties with mathematics. Hard to believe, really. But then, it's just indication that A) math isn't everything, and B) you can still be great even if you suck at some stuff.

3 – "The only real valuable thing is intuition."
I dunno about it being the "only" valuable thing, but intuition and instincts certainly play an important role in every day life and beyond. Sometimes, whatever you may intellectually think or know (or think you know), you just gotta go with your gut.

4 – "Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new."
Damn straight. The cost of falling flat on your ass is often superseded by the rewards of experimenting, branching out, and trying new things.

5 – "The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education."
Maybe it's just my school-hating side coming out, or because Einstein was similar in that regard from what I've heard about him, but indeed, little is as restrictive and limiting in one's intellectual evolution than official curricula. It's following up on your interests and passions that make you learn all you can and be the best you can be, not sitting in a class drowning in boredom.

6 – "I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones."
Ah, so that's where that fatalistic phrase comes from. Not to mention I do somewhat agree with it, though. I've never had high expectations for the future of humanity as a whole, but one can always hope I suppose ... (And it would also be fun to point out how Einstein, whose work was directly responsible for the development of the atom bomb and the subsequent nuclear arms proliferation, was actually a staunch anti-war peace supporter. One can almost detect the buzzing of cognitive dissonance in there, somewhere ...)

7 – "We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them."
It's both amusing and tragic how few people actually act along these lines of not doing the same stupid things over and over again when they're consistently shown to blow up in their face ...

8 – "The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing."
Indeed; if anything, it's just to make us even more curious. Which, for people like I who love to learn (when it's interesting at least), is never a bad thing, really.

9 – "Whoever undertakes to set himself up as a judge of Truth and Knowledge is shipwrecked by the laughter of the gods."
One of the interesting things about Einstein that made him so well-liked, was his humility. For the smartest man of his time, he certainly didn't act like a deity or someone who knew everything; whilst acknowledging his skills and talents, he frequently detailed how he didn't know everything, and those who claim they do are sadly deluded.

10 – "Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts."
One could read this one of two ways: some understand it as meaning that you mustn't lose track of the important things in life, such as love and happiness and so forth, but I read it to mean that not everyone who's worthy of recognition or thanks, will necessarily get it. Life just isn't always fair that way.

Food for thought. ;)

(thanks to Amber Johnson from Online College)