I had never come across this Einstein quote and as I read it I thought it was great and had a deep meaning. On reading it over and over again I’ve come to the conclusion that it doesn’t really make sense. How can you get simpler than simple?
I did some digging around and it would seem that Einstein never really said those words exactly. It may have been paraphrased from one of his lectures and, he being German, perhaps something was lost in translation.
I don’t think that this confusion should detract from the quote; even if Einstein didn’t say it. In the end it was inspired by his teachings and therefore has its place as an Einstein philosophy. The quote must have a mathematical connotation yet I believe it can apply to anything really, considering that physics and mathematics are what the universe is reducible to, not taking into account esoteric forces outside our cognitive state of being.
My take on the quote is that simple = pure. If something is in its purest state then we cannot expect to make it simpler. Perhaps Einstein wanted the scientific community to work upwards from a pure state rather than take something complex and try to reduce it to a simpler formula.
Having said this I’m still confused. If we apply this theory to an atom; we know it has a nucleus surrounded by protons and neutrons so according to Einstein we should start from there and not try to reduce it further. History teaches us that it doesn’t end there; the atom was “split” with all the devastating consequences that followed [Atomic Bomb]. Splitting the atom was not the last station of research either because quantum physics delves even further inwards to find a whole new world within a world and we enter the subatomic realm.
I don’t need this kind of mental confusion on a lazy Sunday afternoon. Does anyone have a different understanding of the quote?
I had never come across this Einstein quote and as I read it I thought it was great and had a deep meaning. On reading it over and over again I’ve come to the conclusion that it doesn’t really make sense. How can you get simpler than simple?
I did some digging around and it would seem that Einstein never really said those words exactly. It may have been paraphrased from one of his lectures and, he being German, perhaps something was lost in translation.
I don’t think that this confusion should detract from the quote; even if Einstein didn’t say it. In the end it was inspired by his teachings and therefore has its place as an Einstein philosophy. The quote must have a mathematical connotation yet I believe it can apply to anything really, considering that physics and mathematics are what the universe is reducible to, not taking into account esoteric forces outside our cognitive state of being.
My take on the quote is that simple = pure. If something is in its purest state then we cannot expect to make it simpler. Perhaps Einstein wanted the scientific community to work upwards from a pure state rather than take something complex and try to reduce it to a simpler formula.
Having said this I’m still confused. If we apply this theory to an atom; we know it has a nucleus surrounded by protons and neutrons so according to Einstein we should start from there and not try to reduce it further. History teaches us that it doesn’t end there; the atom was “split” with all the devastating consequences that followed [Atomic Bomb]. Splitting the atom was not the last station of research either because quantum physics delves even further inwards to find a whole new world within a world and we enter the subatomic realm.
I don’t need this kind of mental confusion on a lazy Sunday afternoon. Does anyone have a different understanding of the quote?