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Category Archives: Einstein
Darwin’s Method vs. Einstein’s
As my novel about Charles Darwin’s family goes to market, I’m thinking about the differences in the two men’s methodology. Darwin was an experimental biologist, such that his home, Down House, was filled with tanks of salt water, plants that … Continue reading
Posted in Darwin, Einstein, writing
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Imagining a Lost Letter
Mileva Maric was a brilliant, disciplined student. Unlike Einstein, she actually attended class, took notes, studied all night. Her roommates, other female Eastern European students who also lived at 50 Pattenstrasse, reported that her light would go out briefly for … Continue reading
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What Is Schizophrenia, Anyway?
No, Einstein was not schizophrenic. But his son, Eduard was. And Mileva’s sister. I have media-inspired notions of schizophrenia, such as from the movie A Beautiful Mind, and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, but wasn’t sure how a visual … Continue reading
Posted in Einstein's children, family members, Mileva Maric, writing
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The Method, So Far
The biography reading is so extensive, it would be easy to digest entire volumes and have no clue where anything is. That’s what an index is for, of course, and they are blessedly helpful. When I researched the Darwin book, … Continue reading
Posted in Darwin, Einstein, Research methods, writing
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Are You a Creative Genius?
I’m still hanging out in the Jurgen Neffe biography of Einstein, where he talks about the recurrent personality traits of geniuses (p. 25) based on research by Howard Gardner of Harvard. Gardner compared Einstein with the likes of Picasso, Freud, … Continue reading
Posted in Einstein, genius
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Diagnosing a Genius
According to Jurgen Neffe (Einstein, pp. 36-7), various behaviors that Einstein exhibited as a child, specifically delayed speech, fits of temper, an ability to detach and focus on an interest in a way that rendered him inaccessible to those around … Continue reading
Posted in Einstein, genius
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A Ghoulish Demise
Jurgen Neffe begins his biography of Einstein at the autopsy (Neffe, Einstein, p. 3-5). The hospital is in Princeton, New Jersey; the medical examiner is Thomas Harvey. Neffe describes the Y-shaped cut: “He places his scalpel behind one of the … Continue reading
Posted in death, Einstein
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Photo Gallery
Everyone is familiar with the iconic pictures of Einstein as an old man. He has a wild halo of white hair and looks somewhat mad. As with Darwin, whose iconic photo also shows him as old, bearded, and white-haired, I … Continue reading
Posted in Einstein, Einstein's children, family members
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Regarding Lieserl
Despite having the highest grades in his graduating class at the Zurich Polytechnic, Einstein was unable to find a job after graduation. It was understood that such a student would become the assistant to one of the professors there, but … Continue reading
Posted in Einstein, Einstein's children, Mileva Maric
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A possible frame for the Einstein novel
Today I read an article on Einstein that might provide a possible frame for the next book. I’m not far enough in to say for certain, but the article presents a possibility. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1211594-7,00.html The materials seem to be there, in print, translated … Continue reading
Posted in Darwin, Einstein, Einstein's children, family members, Mileva Maric, writing
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