Albert Einstein: Creativty Trumps Brains

Daydreaming has gotten a bad wrap in society--folks tend to think that if your mind is off in a different world, then you're goofing off, wasting time, and not being productive.

Groundbreaking creative thinkers like Albert Einstein know differently though.

Einstein: Rebel With A Cause

Last week on "The Daily Show" Jon Stewart interviewed Walter Isaacson, author of the new book Einstein: His Life and Universe, and they had a fascinating discussion about the role that daydreaming played in Einstein's ability to think creatively and wrap his mind around concepts that no one had ever conceived of before.

It's interesting to note that Einstein was not respected and admired during the early part of his career. It took people around him quite a while to appreciate his unique way of thinking.

In 1905 he came up with the theory of relativity, but he still couldn't get a doctorate, and he was working as a third class examiner in a patent office. He couldn't even get an academic job, for Pete's sake! It wasn't until 1922 that he won a Nobel prize.

He actually spent many, many years as an under-appreciated outsider in his field. Not surprisingly, Einstein was also very rebellious and had issues with authority (this explains his hair :-)).

Einstein: Creativity Trumps Brains

There were many scientists during his time that were probably greater mathematicians than he was, but what set Einstein apart from the herd was his amazing imagination and his ability to think in pictures (ie--daydream).

The word "daydreaming" sounds so frivolous--Einstein actually called his daydreams "thought experiments" (love that!), and these thought experiments led him to come up with the theory of relativity, quantum theory, and a whole bunch of other concepts that make my brain hurt.

Einstein and Entrepreneurs: Kindred Souls

For the creative entrepreneurs of today, Einstein's story is affirming and inspiring. He demonstrates that the keys to success are imagination, creativity, and believing in yourself even when the rest of the world doesn't yet grasp the importance of your creation.

The most forward thinking trailblazers oftentimes feel out of place in a world where thinking and living in a different way isn't encouraged. For the most part, it seems like society as a whole feels more comfortable when people are relatively the same and when they follow the pre-made rules. Being different isn't easy and takes a lot of courage.

Visionaries instinctively know that a natural part of being creative and productive is regularly staring off into space and conducting your own "thought experiments" ;). So, the next time we find ourselves daydreaming about outlandish products, services, sites, and solutions to problems, it'll feel good to know that we're actually following in Einstein's footsteps.

Comments

[Jan]

Great article.

I found it via your post about second chances for under performing posts so I can confirm that your tips work :-)

The reason that I was drawn to this particular post is that I just yesterday published a post about Einstein myself. It strikes some of the same themes as your post and came out quite well I think. I discreetly linked to it below if you want to check it out ;-)

I enjoy your blog and will try to comment more in the future.

[Sharon Sarmiento]

Hi Jan,

Thanks so much for chiming in. And thank you for pointing me in the direction of your post about Einstein and blogging. I enjoyed it very much, and it's inspired me to not give up on this whole Einstein/business/tech angle.

I just think he's fascinating and inspiring. Maybe I'll do a post that's an offshoot of your Einstein / Blogging post.

Glad you stopped by!

[Jan]

Thank you for the kind words!

Please let me know if you do an offshot post so I don't miss it (although I do subscribe to your feed).

If you really like a particular post you wrote or theme you touched upon do I think it is always worth considering if you can somehow repeat it - without repeating yourself obviously :-)