Albert Einstein was truly unique. As a child, he was a “late talker” compared to most children but he mastered differential and integral calculus by age 15! He disliked his school’s system of rote memorization and rigid discipline prevalent in Germany at the time. Because of his critical thinking and curiosity, he kept asking questions which may have irritated some of his “old school” teachers, with one teacher telling him he would never amount to anything.
Albert Einstein went on to formulating the general and special theories of relativity (which are among the core pillars of modern physics) as well as winning the Nobel Prize in Physics for discovering the photo-electric effect along with several other awards. I recall visiting Princeton University many years ago and witnessing his monument there. That will always be a beautiful moment etched in my soul’s memory.
In addition to his natural brilliance, young Albert was positively influenced by a young medical student from Poland named Max Talmud. Max visited Einstein’s house weekly for a meal where they then had one-on-one study sessions. Sharing with him key textbooks on Math and Science, Max mentored Albert beautifully. When Albert was 12, it is said that his mathematical knowledge had surpassed Max’s and the latter changed his approach from teaching to having profound intellectual debates with the young Einstein!
But despite his achievements, this is what Einstein said about himself:
“I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious.”
“It’s not that I am so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.”
Einstein thus simultaneously demonstrated his humility while also sharing important advice to all learners – that his genius and accomplishments have less to do with special talents and more to do with being passionately curious and persistent in one’s learning and questioning. He said, “The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existence. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life of the marvellous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery each day. Never lose a holy curiosity. ’’Therefore, stay curious always. Walk the path of Einstein.
