[Peace-discuss] Albert Einstein (Born 3/14/1879, "Pi Day")

[Szoke, Ron]

ALBERT EINSTEIN  (14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) 
was a German-born theoretical physicist,[7] widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theory of relativity, but he also made important contributions to the development of the theory of quantum mechanics. Relativity and quantum mechanics are together the two pillars of modern physics.[3][8] His mass–energy equivalence formula E = mc^2, which arises from relativity theory, has been dubbed "the world's most famous equation".[9] His work is also known for its influence on the philosophy of science.[10][11] He received the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics "for his services to theoretical physics, and especially for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect",[12] a pivotal step in the development of quantum theory. His intellectual achievements and originality resulted in "Einstein" becoming synonymous with "genius".[13]
	In 1905, a year sometimes described as his annus mirabilis ('miracle year'), Einstein published four groundbreaking papers.[14] These outlined the theory of the photoelectric effect, explained Brownian motion, introduced special relativity, and demonstrated mass-energy equivalence. Einstein thought that the laws of classical mechanics could no longer be reconciled with those of the electromagnetic field, which led him to develop his special theory of relativity. He then extended the theory to gravitational fields; he published a paper on general relativity in 1916, introducing his theory of gravitation. In 1917, he applied the general theory of relativity to model the structure of the universe.[15][16] He continued to deal with problems of statistical mechanics and quantum theory, which led to his explanations of particle theory and the motion of molecules. He also investigated the thermal properties of light and the quantum theory of radiation, which laid the foundation of the photon theory of light.
		In 1918, Einstein was one of the founding members of the German Democratic Party, a liberal party.[171] Later in his life, Einstein's political view was in favor of socialism and critical of capitalism, which he detailed in his essays such as "Why Socialism?"[172][173] His opinions on the Bolsheviks also changed with time. In 1925, he criticized them for not having a 'well-regulated system of government' and called their rule a 'regime of terror and a tragedy in human history'. He later adopted a more moderated view, criticizing their methods but praising them, which is shown by his 1929 remark on Vladimir Lenin: "In Lenin I honor a man, who in total sacrifice of his own person has committed his entire energy to realizing social justice. I do not find his methods advisable. One thing is certain, however: men like him are the guardians and renewers of mankind's conscience."[174] Einstein offered and was called on to give judgments and opinions on matters often unrelated to theoretical physics or mathematics.[132] He strongly advocated the idea of a democratic global government that would check the power of nation-states in the framework of a world federation.[175] He wrote "I advocate world government because I am convinced that there is no other possible way of eliminating the most terrible danger in which man has ever found himself."[176] The FBI created a secret dossier on Einstein in 1932, and by the time of his death his FBI file was 1,427 pages long.[177]
	Einstein was deeply impressed by Mahatma Gandhi, with whom he exchanged written letters. He described Gandhi as "a role model for the generations to come".[178] The initial connection was established on 27 September 1931, when Wilfrid Israel took his Indian guest V. A. Sundaram to meet his friend Einstein at his summer home in the town of Caputh. Sundaram was Gandhi's disciple and special envoy, whom Wilfrid Israel met while visiting India and visiting the Indian leader's home in 1925. During the visit, Einstein wrote a short letter to Gandhi that was delivered to him through his envoy, and Gandhi responded quickly with his own letter. Although in the end Einstein and Gandhi were unable to meet as they had hoped, the direct connection between them was established through Wilfrid Israel.[179].
		Einstein spoke of his spiritual outlook in a wide array of original writings and interviews.[180] He said he had sympathy for the impersonal pantheistic God of Baruch Spinoza's philosophy.[181] He did not believe in a personal god who concerns himself with fates and actions of human beings, a view which he described as naïve.[182] He clarified, however, that "I am not an atheist",[183] preferring to call himself an agnostic,[184][185] or a "deeply religious nonbeliever".[182] When asked if he believed in an afterlife, Einstein replied, "No. And one life is enough for me."[186]
		Einstein was primarily affiliated with non-religious humanist and Ethical Culture groups in both the UK and US. He served on the advisory board of the First Humanist Society of New York,[187] and was an honorary associate of the Rationalist Association, which publishes New Humanist in Britain. For the 75th anniversary of the New York Society for Ethical Culture, he stated that the idea of Ethical Culture embodied his personal conception of what is most valuable and enduring in religious idealism. He observed, "Without 'ethical culture' there is no salvation for humanity."[188]
		In a German-language letter to philosopher Eric Gutkind, dated 3 January 1954, Einstein wrote:
	<< The word God is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of honorable, but still primitive legends which are nevertheless pretty childish. No interpretation no matter how subtle can (for me) change this. ... For me the Jewish religion like all other religions is an incarnation of the most childish superstitions. And the Jewish people to whom I gladly belong and with whose mentality I have a deep affinity have no different quality for me than all other people. ... I cannot see anything 'chosen' about them.[189] >>
		Death:  On 17 April 1955, Einstein experienced internal bleeding caused by the rupture of an abdominal aortic aneurysm, which had previously been reinforced surgically by Rudolph Nissen in 1948.[190] He took the draft of a speech he was preparing for a television appearance commemorating the state of Israel's seventh anniversary with him to the hospital, but he did not live to complete it.[191]
		Einstein refused surgery, saying, "I want to go when I want. It is tasteless to prolong life artificially. I have done my share; it is time to go. I will do it elegantly."[192] He died in the University Medical Center of Princeton at Plainsboro early the next morning at the age of 76, having continued to work until near the end.[193]
		In a memorial lecture delivered on 13 December 1965 at UNESCO headquarters, nuclear physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer summarized his impression of Einstein as a person: "He was almost wholly without sophistication and wholly without worldliness ... There was always with him a wonderful purity at once childlike and profoundly stubborn."[198]
		Einstein bequeathed his personal archives, library and intellectual assets to the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel.[199]

		— Excerpted from Wikipedia online, 3/14/2022
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