"I'll eat my hat if that isn't Einstein" (Einstein as seen by another scientist, Norbert Wiener)

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16 points·hhm··5 comments

'Renewed war in Europe, he predicted, would pass the "leadership of civilization...to America and ultimately to Asia ."'

That is an astoundingly accurate prediction for 1925.

I know, he's a regular Einstein.

That was a rare time when he hinted at some knowledge gained using his ultra secret temporal telescope.

Personally he is simple, direct, unaffected and rather winning. His enormous intellectual energy, his clear vision and sense of physical reality, and his enthusiasm strike the most casual observer. He is aware of his great position, but not in the least conceited. He does not expect relativity in its present form to last many decades, and hopes that further work will soon go beyond it.

A good example of how received opinions can effect our assessments of people. Had Einstein been an important but un-famous scientist, no one would ever write shmaltz like that about him on a casual meeting.

Actually that's fairly indicative of personal letters of the well-educated of that era. People often used such terms when writing about those they had met who they were on friendly terms with or admired. The world was smaller then, and every person you met took on more significance.

It is not at all surprising that a prodigy and professor of mathematics would have a high opinion of another professor or scientist who impressed him with his intelligence or character, whether famous or not.

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