Einstein, Part I

About a year ago, I read Einstein: His Life and Universe by Walter Isaacson and I was completely blown away. I knew a little bit about Einstein based on recollections from a term paper written in high school. However, I was amazed by how little I really knew about him. In the ensuing months, I have purchased another eight books on Einstein, with another 4-5 on the "purchase on sight" list.

What amazes me most is just what a 'real' person he was. I'm not necessarily condoning his actions, but he:
* had a child out of wedlock who 'disappeared' (i.e. was probably adopted or given away). The child wasn't even known to his many biographers until 1986 - 31 years after his death - and has not been 'found';
* was notorious for having several infidelities during his two marriages (the second one to a 2nd cousin). It has been suggested had "a small harem" at his summer home in Caputh (Ohanian 2008, pg. 289, referencing information in Folsing 1998);
* made several published mistakes in his research (but obviously got many, many more things correct);
* was offered the presidency of Israel (mostly a figurehead position);
* wrote President Roosevelt suggesting the formulation of a project to develop an atomic bomb, despite being an avowed pacifist (one of his greatest regrets, I'd imagine).

In short, a remarkable life as a physicist and statesman, but also a very human person with normal human issues and foibles. And yet, that is not what I am most impressed with. It has been suggested that there are perhaps three Einstein phases: opening (pre-1905 'annus mirabilis'), when he is desperately striving to make a mark on the world; middlegame (pre-quantum mechanics), as a very active, productive, revered physicist (through about age 50); and endgame, in which his best years as a physicist are clearly behind him (while he chases a unified field theory much as Don Quixote chases windmills), yet he continues to have a mark in other areas, including politics, religion, and philosophy.

As an academic professor, I am impressed with the transition from opening efforts to the middlegame in which how he was able to radically alter his field in a relatively short time, even with all of the distractions. Over subsequent posts, it is this theme which I intend to explore more deeply.