Albert Einstein online papers exposes the ordinary side of Extraordinary Scientist

sortedAlbert Einstein left nearly 80,000 documents after his passing, and they were all given to the Princeton University Press, and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. On Friday though, Digital Einstein was introduced and at that point – anyone with an internet connection, or desire to read what one of the most brilliant humans in our history – can read his work, letters, and other assorted documents. They’re organized chronologically, starting in his early years and include personal letters to his wife, mistress, and even to his children who all shared a sordid past.

Some of the more interesting years that he lived were his early years as he developed his craft. While he was originally turned down for his dream job – to become a professor – due to his poor performance in school as a student – being labeled as “average” or subpar – he used that to motivate him to push his intellect to the limit. While only 5,000 documents are online, approximately speaking, the grouping of papers and documents describe his work, personal life, and even personal interests.

Albert-Einstein-Papers-Online

Interestingly, another one of the really curious moments throughout his life was when he cheated on his wife, and eventually divorced her – only to marry her mistress, which was also his cousin. The only edition though is somewhat limited compared to the raw – hard copy that does actually exist. The next update, or the 14th update as it is in relation to the rest of the collection will be released in January and includes an additional 1,000 documents.
Even more interesting is the fact that visitors will be able to choose the language that they desire to read Einstein’s letters in. One option gives readers the opportunity to read in English, while another version allows readers to read the documents in German – which was his native language.

This is one of the greatest accomplishments as it relates to getting a massive amount of data and information onto the internet – as many people have wanted to get this type of collection up online for those looking to read the work of one of the most brilliant men to ever live. Also, it’s interesting to see a very human side of a man who otherwise was seen as a very focused, stringent, and talented human being – as far as his intellect was concerned.

Here are five things you probably didn’t know about Albert Einstein though, as it compared to his life.

  1. He was turned down for the job he really wanted – and it really was because Einstein was regarded as lazy, and not that intelligent.
  2. He was an ordinary guy, who liked hanging out with the guys – and even enjoyed a beer, or two. He references that in a few of his pieces.
  3. Einstein had a lot of issues in his personal life when it came to keeping his relationships from unraveling.
  4. His letters to his children were very interesting. One of them served as the family financial advisor in his absence, while the other suffered from schizophrenia after being diagnosed at 20 years old.
  5. He skipped the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony to go on his trip to the “Far East” which was thoroughly documented in the letters.

7 Comments

Click here to post a comment
  • “If happiness is A, then A=X+Y+Z. X is work, Y is play and Z is keeping your mouth shut.” Albert Einstein

    • He certainly had a few things to keep his mouth shut about, lol.

  • Something of a nearly-literate article, this. Shared a “sorted” past? I should hope so, great minds are often well organized and would not be expected to have a randomly-mixed past. He married his ex-wife’s mistress? And a few other chuckles.

  • Bad editing. Read it again.

    “… include personal letters to his wife, mistress, and even to his children who all shared a sorted past. …”

    Sorted? Not sordid?

    ” … when he cheated on his wife, and eventually divorced her – only to marry her mistress, … ”

    He married his wife’s mistress?

  • “It would be my greatest sadness to see Zionists (Jews) do to Palestinian Arabs much of what Nazis did to Jews.” – Albert Einstein

    • Given all the Civil Rights abuses carried out by Israel against Palestinians, still, it’s hardly the case that Israel and Israelis want to do or are doing to Palestinian Arabs what Hitler wanted to do and made all-too-much headway doing to the Jews–that is, exterminate them.