Einstein: His Life and Universe - By Walter Isaacaon - My Review

I read this book a couple of years ago and just didn't like it at all.  Re-reading it has caused Walter Isaacson to grow on me, immensely. 

Isaacson offers an glimpse into Albert Einstein's life that is both intimate and profound. This biography helps me to appreciate just the power of Einstein's contributions to Physics and moreover his impact on so many of the conveniences and technological advancements modern life offers to the unsuspecting.  

And yet, his Humanity, his imperfections, and personal failings help me to realize that we are all flawed in some way or another.  We are in fact just ordinary people who do extraordinary things.  Einstein's talent lay in his ability to navigate complexities in purely the world of the mind.  His ability to posit difficult concepts was unhindered by his inability to perform the complex mathematical computations until which time he was forced to recon with his lack of mastery in the discipline.  

To me, that is probably the most fascinating idea I took away from this biography; if you don't have an answer, you seek solutions by formulating questions and seeking out the answers in a methodical, intelligent way.  This is the genius of Einstein.  What I would like to read about next is a book by someone like Malcolm Gladwell who explores the 'how' behind Einstein's metacognitive capacities.

I come away from this biography with a sense of wonder about Einstein the Human Being. I have always been awed by Einstein's capacity to conduct thought experiments and to visualize mathematical concepts in his mind.  Because of the insights offered in this tome, I carry away a deeper appreciation for Walter Isaacson, the researcher, writer and perhaps even student of Physics.  His capacity to vet out complex theories and concepts is to be commended.  This is not an easy read, but it certainly is worth the effort to keep up.

I can't really say why, but I felt a tinge of sadness when I finished this book.  I regret not having ever met Einstein.  While there is no chance that would ever have had the opportunity to do so even if he were alive, I am nonetheless touched by his Humanity.  I feel richer for knowing about Albert Einstein the man, and I cannot help but wonder how many lives were senselessly destroyed in the holocaust.  

I often shake my head wondering just how many brilliant young minds fall through the proverbial cracks in the educational world.  Perhaps, because of that, I find myself even more disappointed that fine minds are lost every day to the poverty and inertia created by greed, xenophobia and intolerance.  I find ironic that we, as a society  are appalled at the wholesale destruction of human intelligence in concentration camps, and yet, we suffer from this collective blindness when it comes to the children that we leave to fend for themselves in an educational system that cares so little about whether they learn or not.

It drives the point home for me that every Human Being has an intrinsic value.  Because of that, I am grateful for having the opportunity to work for young people, and helping them to master abstract concepts which will one day serve them to understand complex phenomena.