Who do you think of when someone refers to the most excellent minds that have ever lived? Perhaps, you might think of Albert Einstein, the inventor of the theory of relativity, Dr. Robert Jarvik, the inventor of the artificial heart, or Thomas Edison, the inventor of many things including the light bulb. Two of these great minds, Albert Einstein and Thomas Edison, are comparable in their education, in their contributions, in their secret journals, and in their important lesson. How could such prominent minds do so badly in school?
Having as brilliant minds as they did, both Albert Einstein and Thomas Edison did poorly in school. Thomas Edison’s teacher said he wouldn’t make it past the fourth grade, amazing for someone who went on to think up the telephone, light bulb and telegraph. Albert Einstein, an accomplished theoretical phycist, his childhood teacher said he was a dunce in math; he even failed a college entrance exam. Their teachers criticized them about their low level of accomplishments in school, and they, in turn, showed the world what their brains could put out.
In showing the world what they could use their minds to do, Einstein thought up the theory of relativity and Edison thought up inventions like the telegraph, the telephone, and the light bulb. Such inventions miraculously transformed the world and are still used today. Edison received his idea of the light bulb when his mother’s appendix ruptured at night. The doctor couldn’t operate in the dark, so Thomas Edison took a kerosene lamp and a mirror and adjusted the mirror so that the light spread throughout the room. This idea saved his mother’s life.
Now, Einstein, on the other hand, didn’t think of his idea in a life-threatening situation, but his new ideas of the theories of relativity were just as vital to change the world. His general theory of relativity explained gravitation as a manifestation of the underlying structure of space and time. He was a man of great concepts of understanding our universe. He also initiated the study of the Manhattan Project, consisting of studying splitting apart atoms to make an atomic bomb; this project saved the United States in later years.
With their minds wandering 200 thoughts per second, they needed to keep a journal or a log to write all their ideas in. This is exactly what both Einstein and Edison did; they kept them a secret until they were discovered after their deaths. Thomas Edison’s collection turned out to be at least 4 million pages of a tour through an overloaded brain, full of knowledge. Being equally successful, Einstein completed an astonishing range of theoretical physics publications dealing with the electromagnetic theory, special theory of relativity and statistical mechanics; he also wrote books, Hilbert and Klein, of his success in his field of study.
The greatest similarity between Einstein and Edison is that they, together, teach us a lesson. No matter what someone thinks about you, if they think you are mentally retarded, handicapped or just plain stupid, you should always be determined and be a hard worker and everything will turn out for the better. You, too, may some day make a great contribution to the world that will turn it around, as did Einstein and Edison. These two men, Albert Einstein and Thomas Edison, were the most brilliant scientists around.
It is easy to think of one and then start thinking of the other because of the great similarities. Their teachers didn’t think they would amount to anything. They contributed wonderful thoughts, ideas and inventions to transform the world. Neither of them wanted anyone to know about their thought and ideas and accomplishments until they were dead. Finally, they teach us a great lesson. All of these items add up making Albert Einstein and Thomas Edison two of the most comparable scientists around.
