Walter Isaacson

His Life and Universe

Einstein

The first full biography of Albert Einstein since all of his papers have become available shows how his scientific imagination sprang from the rebellious nature of his personality. Biographer Isaacson explores how an imaginative, impertinent patent clerk-

Gavin

Physics becomes in those years the greatest collective work of art of the twentieth century.

- Jacob Bronowski


What to say about the stereotypically great? Start by scrubbing off the accumulated century of journalism and appropriations. Einstein's scientific achievements: 
-  A model of Brownian motion: the decisive argument for the existence of atoms. His model enabled experimental confirmation of Dalton's theory, after a hundred years of denial or instrumentalism. 
-  An elementary particle, the photon. The atomic hypothesis applied even to light. 
-  A law for the photoelectric effect, implying a quantum theory of all EM radiation. (A realist about quanta, unlike Planck.) 
-  So also lots of pieces of the "old" quantum theory. 
-  A theory of light and so space and time, special relativity. 
 
-  A physical constraint on metaphysics: no absolute time. 
-  A fairly consequential law, mass-energy equivalence 
 

-  A flawed but progressive theory of heat capacity, the Einstein theory of solids
-   A better method of analysing quantum systems, "EBK". An ignored semiclassical precursor to quantum chaos theory.
-   The greatest scientific theory, General Relativity. Explaining gravity and, so, the shape of the universe. 
 -  Implies the first modern cosmology 
-  Gravitational lensing (confirmed 1998) 
-  Inadvertently predicted dark energy.  
-  A crucial experiment: gravitational waves. (Confirmed 2015.) 
-  Implies a whole lot more like black holes but you can't name everything "Einstein thing". 
 

-  A general method for thermodynamics and information theory: Bose-Einstein statistics.  
-  New state of matter: the Bose–Einstein condensate 
-  Fruitful failed theory: first local hidden variable theory 
-  A profound phenomenon, quantum entanglement. (Susskind calls entanglement "Einstein's last great discovery", though he 'discovered' it by trying to reductio away Copenhagen interpretation, taking entanglement to be a disproof.) (Confirmed properly 2015.) 
 
-  A crucial experiment for a metaphysical principle, local realism is false!: EPR 
-  Inadvertently, a physical constraint on metaphysics: nonlocality. 
 
-  Thought-experiment: The content of the "Schrödinger's" cat setup 
-  Repostulation of wormholes. (Not confirmed.) 
-  Isotope separation methods for the Manhattan project. 
-  Also a nontoxic fridge 

Besides his own prize, confirmations of Einstein's theories have led to 4 Nobel Prizes (1922, 1923, 1997, 2001) so far, and first-order extensions several more (1927, 1929, 1933 at very least). We should expect a few more, for grav waves and not inconceivably for wormholes, some day.




Isaacson, like most people, portrays Einstein's post-1935 work as a dogmatic waste - he spent about thirty years straining to produce a field theory that could get rid of the spookiness and probabilism of QM. If you compare the output of the first half of his life to the second, sure it looks bad. But he was giving classical physics (determinism, continuousness, simplicity, fierce parsimony, beauty-based reasoning) a well-deserved last shake. 

Imagine the strength of will needed to maintain full-time effort over thirty years of failures, with your whipsmart peers all tutting and ignoring you. His unified field efforts are methodologically sort of like string theory: a hubristic search over mathematical forms without contact with the actually physical to help limit the formal space.

And he actually had a decent decision-theoretic argument for his doomed crusade:
 When a colleague asked him one day why he was spending — perhaps squandering — his time in this lonely endeavor, he replied that even if the chance of finding a unified theory was small, the attempt was worthy. He had already made his name, he noted. His position was secure, and he could afford to take the risk and expend the time. A younger theorist, however, could not take such a risk, for he might thus sacrifice a promising career. So, Einstein said, it was his duty to do it.


People also try to attach shame to him for his wildly stubborn anti-Copenhagen crusade: years spent thinking up tricky counterexamples for the young mechanicians, like an angry philosopher. But I think he had a good effect on the discourse, constantly calling them to order, and leaving it clear, after all, that it is a consistent view of the evidence. 

The only unforgiveable bit in his later conservatism is that he ignored the other half of the fundamental forces, the strong and weak forces, and for decades. Two forces was hard enough to unify. I suppose another point against his long, long Advanced Studies is that he could have done even more if he had helped push QM along; as late as 1946, Wheeler tried to convince him to join in. As it is we have evidence against the unified field: "Einstein failed".

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Einstein is like Bertrand Russell, only much more so: even more brilliant, even more rebellious, even more politically active, even more aloof, even more relentless, even more neglectful of his family. (Russell, on hearing relativity for the first time: "To think I have spent my life on absolute muck.") 

Along with Ibn Rushd, Leonardo, Pascal, Leibniz, Darwin, Peirce, Russell, Turing, Chomsky, Mackay*, Einstein is one of our rare complete intellectuals: huge achievements in science, beautiful writing, good jokes, original philosophy, moral seriousness. To have warmth too, as Einstein does abundantly, doesn't have much of a precedent. However much Einstein is misattributed vaguely pleasant, vaguely droll, vaguely radical statements, the fact is he actually was brilliant, pleasant, funny, radical. Believe the hype.




* The usual word is 'polymath', sure, but although we are mad keen on polymaths, their generalism is seen as a laudable extra, rather than the vital service I now think they alone can give: you want people who have proven they can discover truths to tackle your ancient ill-defined questions (beauty, justice, existence). 

And you can't do good unless you know a great deal about the targets of your morals; you want the vast imaginative search over philosophical possibilities to be aided by what we actually know. (As the noted writer against scientism, Ludwig Wittgenstein put it: 



 Is scientific progress useful for philosophy? Certainly. The realities that are discovered lighten the philosopher’s task: imagining possibilities.



)

Maxwell, Boltzmann, Schrödinger, and Feynman basically fit the above: they are as good at writing and philosophy as they are at physics, and very funny to boot. But they didn't push society forward much (...) Goethe tried admirably, but didn't achieve much science. Descartes should definitely be on there but eh. Hilary Putnam discovered important logical results and has all the other virtues, but I guess science is a stretch?. von Neumann covered perhaps the most intellectual ground of all of these people, but I'm not sure he had a moral or political life to speak of. Herbert Simon is deep and broad and fun. And Bohr is brilliant and moral but can't write.


(There's others I'd include, but won't because I know I'm a fanboy** / it is too soon to say: Scott Aaronson, David Pearce, Nick Bostrom.)



 ** A new Moore's paradox: "I know I'm a fanboy, but my thinker is still better than your thinker."








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What was so moral about him? Well, he was ahead of his time (still is): 
 
-  Denounced WWI as the senseless crap it was. 
-  Never went to the Soviet empire (despite repeated invites). 
-  Denounced the Nazis from '31, despite/because of public threats to his life. 
-  Flipped from pacifism at the right moment. 
-  Many early actions for US civil rights, including work against McCarthyism. 
-  Sold his original manuscripts for War Bonds 
 
Even his Zionism was enlightened (pro-migration, anti-state, anti-Begin):
“Should we be unable to find a way to honest cooperation and honest pacts with the Arabs,” he wrote [Chaim] Weizmann in 1929, “then we have learned absolutely nothing during our 2,000 years of suffering.”

He proposed, both to Weizmann and in an open letter to an Arab leader, that a “privy council” of four Jews and four Arabs, all independent-minded, be set up to resolve any disputes. “The two great Semitic peoples,” he said, “have a great common future.” If the Jews did not assure that both sides lived in harmony, he warned friends in the Zionist movement, the struggle would haunt them in decades to come. Once again, he was labeled naïve.





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One particularly charming bit in this book covers Einstein's long friendship with the Queen Mother of Belgium. When Szilard warns him that nuclear fission has been achieved and could give the Nazis dominion over all, Einstein's first thought is to ask Elisabeth to sort it out, by grabbing all the Central African uranium and sending it far from the Nazis. (As it happens, the Uranverein got their uranium from Czechoslovakia.)

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Isaacson read all the letters, formed a view on all the academic controversies (Maric's contribution, baby Lieserl, what sort of deist or Zionist or pacifist he was), and covers most of the papers, recasting the classic thought experiments very lucidly. This was a huge pleasure. Read with Wikipedia open, though: C20th physics and its physicists are way too deep and broad for one book.

Albert Einstein is synonymous with genius. From his remarkable theory of relativity and the famous equation E=mc2 to his concept of a unified field theory, no one has contributed as much to science in the last 150 years. As well as showing how Einstein developed his theories, Einstein reveals the man behind the science, from his early years and experiments in Germany and his struggle to find work at the Swiss patent office to his marriages and children, his role in the development of the atomic bomb and his work for civil rights groups in the United States. Drawing on new research and personal documents belonging to Einstein, this book also includes reproductions of documents that reveal more than this scientist's groundbreaking theories.

The Life of a Genius

Jowanza Joseph

Presents the life and achievements of Albert Einstein, focusing on his rise from struggling patent clerk to eminent scientist and providing descriptions of the famous personalities and political upheavals of the time period in which he lived.

garima mamgain

A remarkable story about a remarkable person. This biography is unique because it describes Einstein as a human full of flaws and yet a true genius. As always Isaacson not just writes a story about a life but also helps identify the big things and key insights . 
For all of those who are interested in knowing about this life less ordinary, this book should be what you must begin with. 
I must confess though; despite of trying my best; i am still not one of those 13 people who actually understand relativity!

Michael Friess

Absolutely fantastic. Excellent book about the greatest thinker of the 20th century. If you are interested into Albert Einstein as a person, this biography is an absolut must.

Isaacson covers all aspects of Einstein's life: his science, his world views, his religious and philosophical background, his political standpoint and activities, his private and public life. His scientific endeavour is described as understandable as possible.

I listened to the unabridged audio version. The narrator, Edward Hermann, is excellent and makes it an easy listening. Nevertheless 21 1/2 hours of listening took a while to get through!

Omar Fernandez

Having just finished this book (in audiobook format), I would reflect the following as some interesting takeaways. 

* Einstein was sociable and liked to share/discuss ideas, but he was also zealous of how he spent his time and set aside significant time to think. He enjoyed his time as a patent clerk as the workload was easy for him, which allowed him to work on his own theories for most of the day while at work. 
* Traits that were salient throughout his life: stubborn, relentless, curious. He would continue to grapple with a problem for a long time. 
* Many of his breakthroughs came after dwelling on a problem and discussing it with many people. He would refine his thinking through a mix of conversations with others and independent thinking time. 
* Both stubborn and humble, Einstein would accept the limits of the human mind, yet never back down from his guiding principle of there being a unifying theory. In what could be seen as both humble or arrogant, he'd marvel about the beauty of how the world works and agree that there must be a greater power, showing his humility. Yet, in a less humble note the way he thought about whether a scientific finding was right was by asking himself the question: "If I were God, would I have designed it this way?"
* His political ideas were often idealistic and, unfortunately, despite plenty of supporters wouldn't go far (in general). 
* He saw all people as equal and, thus, often avoided political, societal or cultural movements that would make classes or differentiate between groups based on ethnicity, race, culture, etc. As such, although at times he advocated for movements that would help the Jewish people, his general proposals were of unity -- one universal order (both in physics and in the law/government) seemed to always have been his ideal. 

Other notes about the book: Walter Isaacson is amazing at bringing a person to life in his biographies. From Steve Jobs, DaVinci's (my favorite so far), and Einstein's, each biography really goes deep into the character of the person and let's you see enough of their life, challenges, strengths and weaknesses, to comprehend how they worked. In the end, you have a coherent picture of the person as a whole, no small feat. Definitely a good read.

Jeni Enjaian

After the disaster that was "Delirium," almost anything would have sounded good. Thankfully, this book was excellent and whet my appetite for more nonfiction/biographies.
First, Walter Isaacson is fast becoming my second favorite history author. (No one will unseat David McCullough.) His biographies are excellently crafted and read almost like novels. More importantly, his books are factually accurate and well-researched.
Second, Edward Herrman is an absolutely fantastic and appropriate narrator for the book. When I first started listening I knew that I recognized the voice but it took a quick google search to figure out who it was. Mr. Herrman's voice is low and very academic sounding.
FInally, the life of Albert Einstein is absolutely fascinating. I learned an incredible amount and wet my appetite for even more.

Pierre

Kaylee Z

3.5*
Fascinating. The actual physics and math that is referenced and discussed admittedly went over my head but everything about his life was extremely interesting to learn. I'm shocked at how much of his correspondence was available.

Andreas Holmer

He was genius, rebel, humanist, and polymath. But he was also emotionally detached, an often absent father, and a womanizer. Complex through and through. I’ve got little love for the young Einstein. But I would have loved to meet the him later in life, during his time at Princeton. He had an insatiable hunger for knowledge and he never stopped searching for his elusive unified theory.

Einstein His Life and Universe

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