Young Albert tried to imagine the mysterious force that caused the compass needle to move, and the experience awakened a sense of wonder that stayed with him for life. Understanding the universe became an "eternal riddle" for Einstein, a quest for scientific enlightenment. "The road to this paradise was not as comfortable and alluring as the road to the religious paradise," he wrote, "but it has proved itself as trustworthy, and I have never regretted having chosen it."- www.amnh.org/exhibitions/einstein/life/ Albert Einstein was a poor student and although he did not earn top grades in every subject, he excelled at math and science. "It is, in fact, nothing short of a miracle," he wrote, "that the modern methods of instruction have not yet entirely strangled the holy curiosity of inquiry." Schilpp, 1970. p. 17. Being fiercely independent, even as a young boy, Albert had already developed a deep distrust of authority. He challenged not only his teachers but also long-standing mathematical and scientific "givens," such as ancient Greek rules of geometry and laws of physics established by other scientists. Ironically, Einstein's questioning and resulting breakthroughs eventually turned him into an authority
Young Albert tried to imagine the mysterious force that caused the compass needle to move, and the experience awakened a sense of wonder that stayed with him for life. Understanding the universe became an "eternal riddle" for Einstein, a quest for scientific enlightenment. "The road to this paradise was not as comfortable and alluring as the road to the religious paradise," he wrote, "but it has proved itself as trustworthy, and I have never regretted having chosen it."- www.amnh.org/exhibitions/einstein/life/ Albert Einstein was a poor student and although he did not earn top grades in every subject, he excelled at math and science. "It is, in fact, nothing short of a miracle," he wrote, "that the modern methods of instruction have not yet entirely strangled the holy curiosity of inquiry." Schilpp, 1970. p. 17. Being fiercely independent, even as a young boy, Albert had already developed a deep distrust of authority. He challenged not only his teachers but also long-standing mathematical and scientific "givens," such as ancient Greek rules of geometry and laws of physics established by other scientists. Ironically, Einstein's questioning and resulting breakthroughs eventually turned him into an authority