Essential Thinkers #22 Albert Einstein, Genius of 'Special' and General Relativity

I posts this article today, 18th April 2017. It is exactly (plus minus leap year) 62 years since the death of Albert Einstein on 18th April 1955. I can’t wait to watch National Geographic Series entitled Genius about the life of Einstein! (premier 25th April 2017)

German-born physicist of Swiss parentage, Albert Einstein (1879-1955) became a naturalised American in 1935, after leaving Hitler’s Germany to avoid persecution as a Jew. After an unpromising start to his academic career, at one time declaring, “I have given up the ambition ever to get to a university,” he accepted a job in Bern patent office, where he conceived the theories of general and special relativity which were to found modern physics. Einstein was also politically active, both in the cause of world peace and Zionism. In 1952 he was offered the presidency of Israel but declined, claiming he was too naïve in politics. On the relation between his scientific and political interests he once said, “Equations are more important to me, because politics is for the present, but an equation is something for eternity.”

The philosophical import of Einstein’s work is enormous. His theory of relativity assigns an unprecedented importance to the role of the observer in his description of the physical world, threatening the received notions of space and time, as found in Isaac Newton, John Locke, Immanuel Kant and others. The central aspect of Einstein’s works is that the speed of light is constant. It gives rise to the two most famous ideas of relativity physics: the equivalence of mass and energy expressed in the equation E = mc² (where E = energy, m = mass and c = the constant speed of light), and the law that nothing can travel faster than the speed of light.

These have at least two philosophically important consequences. First, it follows from relativity that one cannot speak of an event occurring at precisely the same time for different observers. Each observer’s time frame is relative to himself. Imagine an observatory in Jupiter looking at an observatory on Earth. In each an astronomer looks through his eyeglass at the other at, we might suppose, exactly the same time. Since light takes 35 minutes to travel from Jupiter to Earth, the event on Jupiter in which the astronomer looks through his telescope must have taken place 35 minutes before the astronomer on Earth observes the event. Equally, the same applies to the astronomer on Jupiter: as he observes the astronomer on Earth he is observing an event that took place 35 minutes prior to his own time frame. It is tempting to think there is some absolute position in which the two events could be observed as simultaneous, but this is exactly the possibility ruled out by relativity theory. Space and time are not independent dimensions, but form a four-dimensional unity, space-time, in which every event can only be recorded relative to a local time-frame.

The second philosophically interesting consequence of relativity is that although the speed of light is constant, its frequency (the number of waves of light per second) varies closer to massive objects like planets. This means time appears to run slower near a massive body than farther away. In 1962 physicists confirmed this prediction by using two very accurate clocks, one at the base and one at the top of a water tower. The clock at the base was found to run slower than the other.

This gives rise to the famous ‘twin paradox.’ Suppose one twin goes for a lengthy journey into space while the other stays on Earth. When he returns he would appear to be much younger than his twin. The paradox arises from the assumption of an absolute time frame. The relativity thesis means that each body carries around its own personal time scale which does not, in general, agree with the time scale of other entities. Relative to each other, 50 years near a massive gravitational body is a shorter duration than 50 years far away from massive body. Thus while 50 years might have passed on Earth the space travelling twin might find he has only been away in space for 35 years. The exact difference depends on the gravitational influences on the two twins throughout their lives.

The philosophical consequences of Einstein’s relativity theory, like the empirical consequences, are yet to be fully known. Issues about time-travel, the passage or ‘flow’ of time, the asymmetry between past and future and between cause and effect, are all issues that require an understanding of Einstein’s momentous work.

[Summarized from Philosophy 100 Essential Thinkers by Philip Stokes, 2012.]

Lord, Give Us Today Our Daily Idea(s)

Nurture Creativity: Laugh Out Loud (L.O.L.)

If you're not laugh or at least smile by this photo, you're too serious... Repent!

“If you lose the power to laugh, you lose the power to think” (Clarence Darrow)

Jack Foster in his book How to Get Ideas writes that having fun is one of the best ways to get our minds into idea-condition. He tells that usually in creative departments of advertising agencies a writer and an art director work together as a team on a project. In some departments and occasionally in the ones that Jack is headed, three or four teams work on the same project. “When that happened in my departments,” write Jack, “I always knew which team would come up with the best ideas, the best ads, the best television commercials, the best billboards. It was the team that was having the most fun.” He observes that the ones who were having fun – smiling and laughing – generally always did find great ideas. He continues, “Were they enjoying themselves because they were coming up with ideas? Or were they coming up with ideas because they were enjoying themselves?” What do you think? “The latter. No question about it,” he answered.  

How many times have you walked secretly observing your office or classroom and noticed that people are laughing and having fun? Probably not many. My girlfriend said that her class was never boring because she always make sure that her students are having fun while studying. No wonder her students like her very much. She is creative. And creative people are not boring (most of them). My work also deal with students. I know that if I want my students to be more creative, I should give them more time to play and think.  If you are negative, you can´t be creative. Your thoughts affect your attitude, which in turn affects your behaviour. Negative behaviour almost always will block your creative juices because in turn, it will affect your attitude. And your attitude will affects other’s attitudes too.

Albert Einstein know the important of having fun when he said that “Creativity is intelligence having fun.” I once read that children laugh more than 300 times a day, whereas adults laugh less than 20 times a day. It tells me that somehow people become too serious and lose the ability to laugh while growing up. “Serious people have few ideas,” said Paul Valery, “people with ideas are never serious.” If you’re too serious, try to regain the lost joy of childhood by becoming more playful and humorous. You must be serious about not taking yourself so seriously. Laugh out loud. Smile a little bit more. Jokes around. Learn to be humorous. It will boost your immune system, reduces stress, give you a natural feel-good high, and nourish your brain and helps keep it alert and active but most important of all – you’ll become more creative.

Of course there are such people who are creative but don’t know how to have fun. These people are either rare or if they exist at all, aren’t worth to be your role model. You, have fun. You, please smile. You, laugh out loud! You, be creative. Michael Schrage says, "Serious play is not an oxymoron; it is the essence of innovation."

Yes, laugh out loud!  

God, Give Us Today Our Daily Idea(s)

Nurture Creativity: Never Lose a Holy Curiosity

“The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.”

(Albert Einstein)

All of us come into the world curious. Since the day we were born we have within us an unquenchable thirst for knowledge. When we were babies, we love to explore and learn new things. We were like little (mad) scientists who innocently enjoy experiment with everything in our environment. As soon as we can start to speak, we ask question after question, “Why the sky is blue?” “Where I’m coming from?” “Why I need to eat?!” When my little cute cousin asked me a question, I answered it, she then have a dozen more questions after that. Unstoppable!

In his book Think Like Da Vinci, Michael J. Gelb said that as a child, Leonardo Da Vinci possessed an intense curiosity about the world around him. Da Vinci wrote this on his notebook: “Do you not see how many and how varied are the actions which are performed by men alone? Do you not see how many different kinds of animals there are, and also the trees and plants and flowers? What variety of hilly and level places, of springs, rivers, cities, public and private buildings; of instruments fitted for man’s use; of diverse costumes, ornaments and arts?”

Elsewhere Da Vinci adds: “I roamed the countryside searching for answers to things I did not understand. Why shells existed on the tops of mountains along with the imprints of coral and plants and seaweed usually found in the sea. Why the thunder lasts a longer time than that which causes it, and why immediately on its creation the lightning becomes visible to the eye while thunder require time to travel. How the various circles of water from around the spot which has been struck by a stone, and why a bird sustains itself in the air. These questions and other strange phenomena engage my thought throughout my life.” What a curious man! No wonder he is known today as the greatest of all geniuses. He was intensely curious. Never stop.

All great thinkers and creatives, like Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Edison and Richard Feynman never stop asking confounding questions with the same intensity throughout their lives. Their bodies may grow old but their minds are like children with “an insatiably curious approach to life and an unrelenting quest for continuous learning” as Michael J. Gelb defines curiosity in his book. “I have no special talent,” said Albert Einstein, “I am only passionately curious.” If you want to nurture your creativity – be curious. Curiosity makes your mind active and you will become more observant of new ideas. It also opens up new possibilities and brings excitement into your life. For me, being curious is not only to gather more information or for the sake of being smart, but it is a way of learning something new.

To be more creative, you need to possess an intense curiosity. Donald Latumahina, Lifehack expert, suggests 6 tips to develop curiosity: 1) Keep an open mind. To be open to learn, unlearn and relearn; 2) Don’t take things as granted. Dig deeper beneath the surface of what is around you; 3) Ask questions relentlessly. What, why, when, who, where, and how are the best friends of curious people; 4) Don’t label something as boring. Curious people are unlikely to call something as boring; 5) See learning as something fun. Look at life through the glasses of fun and excitement and enjoy the learning process; and 6) Read diverse kinds of reading. It will introduce you to the possibilities and excitement of the other worlds which may spark your interest to explore them further. I loves this quote from Albert Einstein: “The important thing is not to stop questioning… Never lose a holy curiosity.”

Yes, never lost a holy curiosity.

Idea is here all along, waiting for someone to ask.

God, Gives Us Today Our Daily Idea(s)

Nurture Creativity: Listen to Jason Mraz (or if You Prefer, Classical Music)

“When I sit down to write a song,

I really want the message of healing to thrive and transcend all ages”

(Jason Mraz)

Are you stuck of idea? Are you feeling overwhelmed and having a mental block? Do you feel the least bit creative? Then it’s time to get your creative juices flowing by listening to music. There are so many different things you can do such as take a walk, read a book or magazine, watch TV or movie, chat or talk to a friend. But let me focus on something that Albert Einstein loved to do – listen to music. When I read about Einstein I noticed that he listened to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Einstein have good taste of music after all.

The Mozart Effect by Howard Wright, author of 100 Great Innovation Ideas (Marshall Cavendish Business, 2012)

A Study conducted by a French researcher, Dr. Alfred A. Tomatis, and published in his 1991 book Pourquoi Mozart? found that listening to Mozart promoted healing and the development of the brain. Another study in 1993 by Shaw Rauscher, found that listening to Mozart helped with ‘spatial intelligence’ although it also showed that the enhancing effect of the music was only temporary. Although there are differing views on the benefits of classical and other types of music, the sheer act of sitting down and listening is enough to provide you with the time and space to think. If the music helps to stimulate ideas, it’s even better.

But probably you don’t like classical music. Listening to Mozart probably not you. I understand. At first I don’t like it either. Maybe you like to listen to rock music or traditional music or jazz or pop, whatever music that inspires and motivates you. Music has different effects on different people, so don’t think you have to cultivate a love for classical music just because I suggests you so. For me, Mozart is fine but I prefer Jason Mraz more. He wrote songs that have souls, great soothing voice, meaningful and heart-piercing lyrics. Mraz blend with his guitar so well that you can rely on the quality of his music either from studio recordings or live on stage. Most important of all, listen to Jason Mraz can be relaxing and therapeutic and help to clearing my mind of clutter. I can better concentrate and stimulate ideas (But I always end up sing along, whatever).

Listen to Mozart. Listen to Jason Mraz. Listen to music that will inspire you. Find your own music that suite you (btw, solitude is fine too). Find music that helps get you in that creative space, stick with it and listen to it over and over whenever you need to be in a creative frame of mind. This is important: Once you find the music that inspires and sparks your creativity, keep listening to it whenever you want ideas to flow. Say politely ‘Excuse me,’ grab that headphones and turn on the music!

Listen to music.
Listen to be in a creative frame of mind.

God, Give Us Today Our Daily Idea(s)

Creativity is an Attitude!

            

Creativity is more than knowledge and is also more than an ability. It is an attitude. People are born with creative ability and most people possess adequate knowledge but because they think they are not creative and hence true to the rule of self-fulfilling prophesy, they become not creative. The second obstacle is society’s attitude. Society tends to ridicule those who are different – not only those who behave differently but those who think differently. Different is assumed to be abnormal.

Creative people do not toe the line. They are independent thinkers. They are not worried to what others think. History is full of ‘eccentric’ thinkers and inventors who not only think differently (and hence discover new theories) but they behave differently too, as seen in their dressing and demeanour (perangai, tabiat, kelakuan, tingkah laku), for instant. Can you picture Albert Einstein with his trademark shaggy hair? Or A. Samad Said without his shaggy beard and moustache?

Creativity is more than knowledge. It is an attitude. Many people possess the knowledge, but they dare not translate it into action in the form of inventions or innovations due to the variety of factors, one of which is the fear of failure. Failure to attempt, people say, is worse that actually failing. We learn after a failure. We learn nothing if we did not even attempt it. People, in general, also fear being laughed at. They have an idea but they dare not articulate it in case people laugh at them (People laughed at my ideas so often that I tend to take it as pre-congratulations).

Creative people are risk-takers; to them, failure is taken as a learning experience. Their first article writing maybe a disaster but they will push on, knowing that mistake or failure is the first step towards success. Creative people are also very persevering. They will keep on trying until they succeed. Creative people are independent, humorous and may appear eccentric but they are all there. Many well-known creative people are a little different. They know that they are creative. These creative people are much better off than those who think that they are not creative when they actually are, who incidentally form the majority. Do not be part of the majority. Be the minority who knows they are creative.

Creativity require knowledge, no doubt. It is an ability.

But most important of all, creativity is an attitude!

Think creative and we will be creative. This I know.

Lord, Give Us Today Our Daily Idea(s) 

Creative People are Dynamic

Unlike most people, creative people do not allow their minds to become passive, accepting, unquestioning. They manage to keep their curiosity burning, or at least to rekindle it. One aspect of this intellectual dynamism is playfulness. Like little children with building blocks, creative people love to toy with ideas, arranging them in new combinations, looking at them from different perspectives.

It was such activity that Isaac Newton was referring to when he wrote,

“I do not know what I may appear to the world; but to myself I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the seashore, and diverting myself in now and then finding… a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me.”

Albert Einstein was willing to speculate further. He saw such playfulness as “the essential feature in productive thought.” But whatever the place of playfulness among the characteristics of creative people, one thing is certain: it provides those people a richer and more varied assortment of ideas than the average person enjoys.

Lord, Give Us Today Our Daily Idea(s)

Taken from Vincent Ryan Ruggiero’s The Art of Thinking: A Guide to Critical and Creative Thought (8^th Edition), (United States: Pearson Education, Inc., 2007) pg. 90

How-To Generate Ideas #14: Take A Walk

“If you are seeking creative ideas, go out walking.

Angels whisper to a man when he goes for a walk”

(Raymond Inmon)

One of the greatest creative thinkers of all time – Albert Einstein – I read, always took frequent walks every time he wants to solve problems and generate ideas. And no wonder. Walking gets creative ideas flowing in at least three ways according to Maggie Greenwood-Robinson in her book 20/20 Thinking:

1)     It increases and improves oxygen flow to the brain, energizing brain cells for sharper mental performance.

2)     Some scientists believe that exercise, in general, triggers the release of various brain chemicals that enhance creativity.

3)     Others speculate that exercise may subdue activity in the left half of the brain, the part that deals with logic, and stimulate the right half, which is responsible for creative thought.

Walking and exercise in general enhances both mood and creativity. What kind of exercise? Depend on your physical capacity. Just get physical. Writer of Creativity Now, Jurgen Wolff suggests it is “enough to get your heart beating faster, but not so demanding that you’re gasping for air. This might include fast walking, jogging, or using a cross-trainer or stepper, or even continuous vigorous vacuuming.” He continues, “Just running in place for a few minutes, using a stationary bike, or going up and down the nearest set of stairs will all get your blood flowing faster and more oxygen to your brain.”

Walk. Walk. Walk. Go to the public park such as Taman Rimba or Taman Sahabat. Walk around the Kampung (village) or city. Go to supermarket such as Giant, Everise, H&L, Jaya Jusco, Metro, etc. (or megamalls). Walk around your office area. Walk in campus or university area. Raymond Inmon said, “If you are seeking creative ideas, go out walking. Angels whisper to a man when he goes for a walk.” That angel part, I’m a bit skeptic. That walking and creative ideas part – that’s guarantee!

Lord, Give Us Today Our Daily Idea(s)

Story of Idea #2: Albert Einstein the Scientist had the Mind of a Child

“I am enough of the artist to draw freely upon my imagination.

Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited.

Imagination encircles the world” (Albert Einstein)

When Albert Einstein was interviewed on the source of his creative genius, he was purported to have replied, “It was because I’m mentally retarded.” Is it possible that one of the greatest geniuses who ever lived was mentally retarded?

Fortunately, Einstein explained what he meant. Einstein had the mind of a child but the brain of a scientist. Like a child, he was constantly asking probing questions which adults regarded as ‘silly’ like: “What will happen if I ride on a light beam?” Incidentally, it was this question that led to his discovery of his famous Theory of Relativity.

In essence, Einstein never grew up. He retained his childlike curiosity. That was why he considered himself “mentally retarded.” Unlike a child, however, Einstein was able to answer his own questions because he had the knowledge and creativity of a scientist.

Another quality of Einstein was that he imagined in pictures rather than using the language of words in his thinking. Every language carries with it inherent limitations that restrict thinking. For instance, the definition of the word “atom” as an indivisible part of matter restricted thinking about the structure of atoms for many years. Words have limitations. Thinking visually and escaping from our linguistic limitations enriches our imagination.

Therein lies a secret to creativity – maintain the innocent curiosity of a child and imagine in pictures more than words.

Note: Short article above is taken from Dr. Yew Kam Keong’s You Are Creative: Let Your Creativity Bloom, 3^rd Edition (Petaling Jaya: Advantage Quest Publications, 2007), Page 17.

Lord, Give Us Today Our Daily Idea(s)

How-To Generate Ideas #10: Ask, Ask, Ask Questions

“Computers are useless.

They can only give you answers” (Pablo Picasso)

Albert Einstein, the famous scientist, was once asked: “What would you do if you have 60 minutes to save the world from the collision with a large meteorite?” Einstein wittily replied, “I would spend the first 55 minutes asking questions and the last 5 minutes to find a solution.”

Asking questions is a great way to explore any problem and discover many new solution ideas. When we ask questions, we awaken our sense of curiosity – a gift that we all had since we’re born. Curiosity will breed new idea but first it must start with a right question. Vanessa Redgrave advices: “Ask the right questions if you're going to find the right answers.” Asking the right questions in a more targeted way with a good questioning process will give us a better understanding of our problem at hand and thus be able to generate more practical ideas.

5W’s and 1H (or the 5 Wishes and 1 Hope): Who, Why, What, When, Where and How questioning process is very helpful. For example, let’s say I want to create new ways to experience the Bible daily. My questions can be:

Why I have to read the Bible story only through book? How about audiobooks, songs or movies? Why not reading or listening to different versions every year? How about learning to read the Bible in other translations? How about organizing a conference where people continually reading the whole Bible nonstop until it finished? Why not make the Bible drama? Or expressing it in a group dance? When is the best time to read it? Early morning or mid-night or every tea breaks? Where? Under the bridge, in the wood, up on the tree or by the lakeside? Read to Muslims in the mosque or Hindus and Buddhists in the temple? How about listening to audiobook while stuck in the traffic jam? Since the Bible is quite a bulky book, why not tear it into each single book and carry it along anywhere you go and proceed with the new book after you finished reading it? Why not speaking the Bible instead just reading it? Why not creating a Bible when I press the words the book will make sound and read it for me?

Surprisingly, when I asked these questions to a group of people I was sometime considered a ‘rebel’ person (and laughed at). But as the Chinese proverb said: “He who asks a question is a fool for five minutes; he who does not ask a question remains a fool forever.” Ask, ask, ask questions and many fresh and exciting new ideas you will get.

Lord, Give Us Today Our Daily Idea(s)

How-To Generate Ideas #7: Go Daydreaming

“The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant.

We have created a society that honours the servant and has forgotten the gift”

(Albert Einstein)

In his book Head First!: You’re Smarter than You Think, Tony Buzan said that Leonardo Da Vinci, Albert Einstein, Martin Luther King Jr. and many other are considered true geniuses because they love to daydream. Daydreaming (or mind wandering, if you prefer that term) encourages creativity. Daydreaming is actually a great way come up with ideas – it is not a waste of time. “Daydreaming is never random”, Tony said, “The brain will daydream about future... Imagination is the source of everything. Where does pyramid come from? Imagination; where does the sphinx come from? Imagination.”

We all daydream. It’s no strange coincidence that during the time you daydream while drive along staring out the window, lying in your bed, listening to songs or playing a guitar, undertake your daily duties at work, when reading the Bible narratives, or when sitting in the toilet (my favorite place to daydream!) – many random imaginations and ideas of possibilities come to mind.

Take time to daydream. Create places to daydream. Play with it. Dream wide awake. Great ideas may just around your dreams.

Lord, Give Us Today Our Daily idea(s)