Ideas And Opinions

Ideas and Opinions expresses a wide range of Einstein's thoughts throughout his life. The subject matter includes comments on freedom, politics, pacifism, education, religion, Germany, friends, and scientific issues. Whereas Einstein had a specific goal in writing each of these addresses, speeches and articles, the editor of this collection by combining Einstein's writings in this manner paints a picture of the man and his time. The most profound impact upon the reader is not the individual message of each writing, but rather how the whole body of work illuminates the dedication and fierce determination of one scientist to make himself a "harmonious personality" (64). One of the features of this collection is that it attempts to present each article in a straightforward manner. Each article is titled by what it attempts to say, for example one article is called "My First Impressions of the U.S.A." (3). This accurately reflects what Einstein says in this article, but so much more than what this title describes is also reflected in the essay. Einstein's political attitudes are best expressed not in his many essays on politics, government and pacifism, but instead in his First Impressions of America. One of his many observations is that "nothing is more destructive of respect for the government and the law of the land than passing laws which cannot be enforced" (6). Understanding this aspect is of immeasurable value when encountering Einstein's essay where he prescribes a program of action against atomic weapons. The greatest fault of this compilation is that it tends to be repetitive. However, this often helps to drive home the point and complete the overall picture of this man and his time. This text should be read by all persons everywhere. No other collection could possibly contain a better view of America, international relations, scientific issues and advances, religion, and humanity. For use in Honors Science, only certain readings would enhance the goal of the course, but including them would be invaluable not only for scientific perspective, but for an enriched experience of life itself.

I bought this book mainly to get a grasp on Einstein's feelings about education. The greatest mind of the modern age, pulling from personal experience as both a teacher and a student, lays down some very good ideas about what education should be about. I was also entertained by Einstein's global perspective, although I believe that the formation of a Utopian society is wishful thinking since there would still need to be a government of flawed human beings that were capable of corruption. Overall it is a great collection of letters and speeches by one of my favorite teachers, with the added bonus of his point of view on many things that plague our generation to this day. It is a very easy book to read and almost impossible to put down. The contents are infinitely better than the pseudo-intellectual bull-stuff that lay between the ears of many educators, scientists, and politicians of these perilous. I recommend this book to teachers, parents, scientists, politicians, and layman. Everyone can enjoy the simplicity of Einstein's arguments and thoughts.

By that I don't mean it in a bad way. His way of looking at life is definitely peculiar. But very interesting. Some of his writings I wasn't particularly interested in but it made for an interesting read when it comes to the rest of the book.

I really liked his answer to the question "what is the meaning of life?"

"To know an answer to this question means to be religious.... The man who regards his own life and that of his fellow creatures as meaningless is not merely unhappy but hardly fit for life."

Way to go buddy. I like you.

I prefer non-fiction books to fiction and it was eye-opening to read the opinions from one of the greatest minds of the last century on topics that were not related to his area of expertise (theoretical physics, AKA the original Sheldon Cooper). I recommend everyone put this book on their reading bucket list.

This is one of those books that took a while to read because every sentence was read multiple times and then pondered over for a few seconds/minutes until moving to the next idea. Einstein had an amazing ability to cut past the BS and apply plain logic to whatever issue he was addressing. He was a genius in all aspects of life and more people should try to achieve the intellectual freedom he had. His writings have definitely re-opened that inquisitive, knowledge-yearning part of my brain that has been dormant for a few years.

Some of the sentence structure was hard to read, I found myself reading and re-reading the passages in the first 30 pages until I my brain got used to Einstein's writing rhythm. Its either a language barrier, since English was not Einstein's first language (I think), or his grammar and sentence structure is so perfect that his writing looks weird to a 21st century reader. The YOLO generation might experience a brain bleed from Einsten's esoteric writing.

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This fascinating book contains brief writings of physicist Albert Einstein (1879 to 1955), one of the most creative intellects of the twentieth century. It contains articles from early in his career until his last writings of 1954. All works were gathered under the supervision of Einstein himself.

This book gives a comprehensive and personal portrait of the man behind the scientific legend. It contains the most important items from three important books of articles, speeches, statements, and letters by Einstein. These important books are: "The World As I see It" (1934), "Out of My Later Years" (1950), and "Mein Weltbild" (1953). As well, there are a few selections from other publications.

Finally, this book is divided into five parts. Below I will give the titles of each part as well as other relevant information concerning each part. Note that I will use the word "article" to denote a speech, letter, essay, etc.

(1) Ideas and Opinions (contains about 45 articles). This is the only part that has sub-sections of which there are five: General Section (untitled); About Freedom; About Religion; About Education; and About Friends. Some of my personal favorite articles in this part are entitled:

(i) The meaning of life (ii) The true value of a human being (iii) On wealth (iv) On academic freedom (v) On freedom (vi) Science and religion and (vii) Education for independent thought. Some of Einstein's friends included Bertrand Russell (philosopher), George Bernard Shaw (playwright), Marie Curie (chemist), Mahatama Gandi, and Max Planck (physicist).

(2) On Politics, Government, and Pacifism (about 35 articles). Note that Einstein was a pacifist (one who opposes the use of force under any circumstances). Six of my favorite articles in this part were:

(i) Peace (ii) Atomic war or peace (iii) The military mentality (iv) Why Socialism? (v) The pursuit of peace and (vi) On the abolition of the threat of war.

(3) On the Jewish People (nearly 15 articles). Note that Einstein was Jewish.

(4) On Germany (5 articles). Einstein who was born in Ulm, Wurttemberg, Germany emigrated to the United Stated in Dec. 1932.

(5) Contributions to Science (about 20 articles). For those that do not have a scientific background, most of these articles are not difficult to understand. Topics Einstein discusses include relativity, theoretical physics, science, and gravitation. As well, Einstein gives tributes to Isaac Newton, Johannes Kepler (discovered three laws of planetary motion), James Clerk Maxwell (known especially for his work on electromagnetism), and Copernicus (stated that the Earth revolves around the Sun).

Note that Einstein did win a Nobel Prize but he did not win it for his Theory of Relativity.

In conclusion, this may be the most definitive collection of Albert Einstein's popular writings and enables the reader to get to know the man behind the science!!

(first published 1954; publisher's note; 5 parts or about 120 articles; main narrative 375 pages)

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The ideas and opinions cover a very wide range of topics. Einstein comes across not only as an intellectual but also as a humanist and idealist. He lavishes the highest praises on Newton and Gandhi.

I bought this for my father who has shown interest in Einstein's theories. He says he has been enjoying the read because the collection of essays are rather short so he can take a break between the heavy words. He also says the philosophy section, without having a philosophy background, is very challenging even as it is enjoyable to read.

I was a little hesitant to buy this book. He is a genius after all. But it has been a joy to read. The passages tend to be fairly short and Einstein is a very clear writer. I highly recommend.

It will now be clear what is meant if I make the following statement: by his clear critique Hume did not only advance philosophy in a decisive way but also - though through no fault of his - created a danger for philosophy in that, following his critique, a fateful "fear of metaphysics" arose which has come to be a malady of contemporary empiricistic philosophizing; this malady in the clouds, which thought it could neglect and dispense with what was given by the sense. - Albert Einstein's Ideas and Opinions (Page 23, 24).

It is easy to say that Albert Einstein is correct about something. Today we are over reliant on our five senses. We live to satisfy materialistic impulses. If people cannot see, hear, taste, touch, or smell a thing - they will not believe in it. I often hear 300 pound people claim that they are starving when it is impossible for anyone carrying around that much body fat and be starving at the same time. I have had many conversations with college graduates that believe they are smart because they have a piece of paper which says the person completed a program of study, yet these graduates have little to no knowledge of what they studied. I watch people's eyes glaze over when I tell them that a dollar is only worth 30 cents on a good day. Nine out of ten people have no understanding of the concepts behind our physical world.

Somebody who reads only newspapers and at best books of contemporary authors looks to me like an extremely near-sighted person who scorns eyeglasses. He is completely dependent on the prejudices and fashions of his times, since he never gets to see or hear anything else. And what a person thinks on his own without being stimulated by the thoughts and experience of other people is even in the best case rather paltry and monotonous. - Albert Einstein's Ideas and Opinions.
When I see a person on the train reading a daily newspaper I think about what a teacher once told me, that the tabloids are written at a 5th grade level and the broadsheets are written at an 8th grade level. What would entice an adult to read something so useless as a daily paper except habitual behavior. What ever most people learn in elementary school is what they perform their whole lives. I watch 30 year old women reading street literature and wonder how she can live on the planet for 30 years and find anything interesting in literature written for urban teenagers. What kind of advice can she give her own children? Then it all comes back to me that a person can be old on the outside and a child in their heads. As a matter of fact it is possible for a person to live a long life, die of natural causes, and still have the mind of a 10 year old.

There is much more to Einstein than what the public generally knows/perceives. Einstein's writings provides a close, personal, and touching insight to a celebrated genius and, even, celebrity. These writings provide a fascinating insight to the man and his philosophy and beliefs.