Some of you who have being following my Blog since the beginning of this month may still be wondering why I decided to analyze Einstein's thoughts and their emotional source. You may be wondering where all this is leading to.
Ok, so no more riddles, no more hidden intentions, the time has come to reveal the meaning of all this analysis.
The last few posts reflect a recent developing interest ; my interest in the human mind. More specifically my interest in reverse engineering the process of thought to discover its roots, and perhaps one day figure out a way to mimic the same processes artificially. Yes, you guessed it, I'm talking about Artificial Intelligence.
I believe the link between emotion and thought is an essential one. The two are inseparably linked, and so if we were to produce a conscious being capable of thinking like us, we would also have to give it emotions like us. Consciousness is a feeling, an emotion or a mixture of emotions all resulting in thought. All these properties ; consciousness,emotion, thought, sensory inputs and outputs, are all connected in a cyclical manner that we are yet to fully decipher.
However, today we are closer than ever to the final answer. Our computers have grown in power, speed and functionality. They control our manufacturing processes, they link us all through the Internet, they control virtually every aspect our lives. However, we are still at the beginning of this chain of command, we tell the computer what to do and it does it. You may think I'm an idealist, but I believe the time has come to complete this computerized chain of command, the Age of Conscious computers is very nearly upon us.
The Dangers and ethics of such a development are quite obvious and have been the subject of a few hollywood movies. Ignoring these would be like madness. However, I think such technological developments are inevitable, all we can do is ensure that such technology is introduced in the right manner, in ways that will not prove to be apocalyptic.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Einstein's lost thoughts
The time has come to analyze Einstein's emotional mind. But wait a second , wasn't this blog supposed to be about my Universe ? My life and my mind ? Why am I going on about Einstein so much ? If these are the kind of questions you are asking yourself at this moment, I will ask you to be patient and read on, I will answer these questions in due time.
So we now have quite a solid understanding of Einstein's equations, his physical concepts and the radical ideas he used to shake the very foundations of Physics. So what remains ? We are left with Einstein's emotional mind. But why should we query Einstein's emotional mind ? What good will it do to analyze and understand Einstein's emotions ? To answer this question we have to allow our minds to take a little dip in neuroscience and psychology.
The question to be answered is : ' What is the importance of emotion ?'
To answer this question, I would like you to imagine a world without emotion. What would this world be like ? Let me tell you what such a world would be like ; it would be senseless and without principles. There would be no good or bad, no fear, no passion, no curiosity and ultimately, and this is the point I want to bring to the forefront, there would be no thought. Emotions are that bubbling broth from which thoughts emerge.
So now I hope you can appreciate the importance of understanding emotion, and by understanding Einstein's emotions, we can trace the source of all his wonderful equations and contributions to science.
Lets not waste anymore time, lets dive straight into Einstein's mind and discover the secret, lost thoughts behind one of the greatest minds of all time. In order to carry out this daunting task, we have to BE Einstein, we need to try to relive his memories and see where they take us.
Imagine the young boy Einstein, he dislikes discipline and is an average student. But with such a great mind why would he remain average ? Also let us note that Einstein was a quiet child and kept away from his peers. At the age of eleven, Einstein went through a phase where he became very religious, and when he was fed up with schooling at Munich, he convinced a doctor to diagnose him with 'neurasthenic exhaustion'.
What does all this mean, how does it all add up to produce Einstein's character ? Oh and I almost forgot, he played the violin from a very early age, and enjoyed doing so. From all this, I can come to only one conclusion : Einstein was an emotional, intuitive thinker. He kept away from his peers because he was an introvert and could not connect with his peers on the same emotional level. Einstein was an independent thinker from a very early age and therefore, disliked a system of schooling that hindered his freedom of thought and expression. His brief but intense religious experiences shows that he was a strong believer in good and evil, basically that he was an emotional idealist, he believed in living by the principles he thought were correct and was not interesting in conforming to society's demands or rules. This led to him becoming isolated in thought from the rest of those around him.
The conclusion that Einstein was an independent thinker is a very important one. Eventually, I believe it is this quality that led him to his famous, abstract theories of relativity and other contributions to Quantum mechanics. Now you may be wondering how his independence of thought may lead to all his discoveries. Let me explain : To answer you're query, we must think about how a person becomes an independent thinker. You see, an independent thinker broods over the thoughts that swim past their mind, such a person often values his privacy because it is during this time that he can evaluate his life and develop principles by which he will operate. In the case of Einstein we can imagine all of this, and also note that strong emotions and intuition were the source of his thought and principles. Intuition and this quality of independence led him to create his theories. I think we can now understand why the job at the Swiss patent office proved so fruitful for him ; there was plenty of time for brooding over thoughts and independent thinking.
It is also interesting to note that Einstein once chose to become a high school Physics and Math teacher. The reason is simple, he wanted to share his independent, self made thoughts with others, and try to stimulate similar thought processes in others. By the time he chose to do a course in teaching, his confidence had grown and was therefore, no longer shy to share his thoughts.
All in all, Einstein was a deeply emotional individual and a very independent thinker. He was passionate about his work, and it is the vigor of his passion that summoned his great ideas. His own realization of this is probably best summoned up in his famous quote "I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious".
With that, I end my little Einstein discussion. However, I never mentioned how all this connects to my own life. Or perhaps I already have !
So we now have quite a solid understanding of Einstein's equations, his physical concepts and the radical ideas he used to shake the very foundations of Physics. So what remains ? We are left with Einstein's emotional mind. But why should we query Einstein's emotional mind ? What good will it do to analyze and understand Einstein's emotions ? To answer this question we have to allow our minds to take a little dip in neuroscience and psychology.
The question to be answered is : ' What is the importance of emotion ?'
To answer this question, I would like you to imagine a world without emotion. What would this world be like ? Let me tell you what such a world would be like ; it would be senseless and without principles. There would be no good or bad, no fear, no passion, no curiosity and ultimately, and this is the point I want to bring to the forefront, there would be no thought. Emotions are that bubbling broth from which thoughts emerge.
So now I hope you can appreciate the importance of understanding emotion, and by understanding Einstein's emotions, we can trace the source of all his wonderful equations and contributions to science.
Lets not waste anymore time, lets dive straight into Einstein's mind and discover the secret, lost thoughts behind one of the greatest minds of all time. In order to carry out this daunting task, we have to BE Einstein, we need to try to relive his memories and see where they take us.
Imagine the young boy Einstein, he dislikes discipline and is an average student. But with such a great mind why would he remain average ? Also let us note that Einstein was a quiet child and kept away from his peers. At the age of eleven, Einstein went through a phase where he became very religious, and when he was fed up with schooling at Munich, he convinced a doctor to diagnose him with 'neurasthenic exhaustion'.
What does all this mean, how does it all add up to produce Einstein's character ? Oh and I almost forgot, he played the violin from a very early age, and enjoyed doing so. From all this, I can come to only one conclusion : Einstein was an emotional, intuitive thinker. He kept away from his peers because he was an introvert and could not connect with his peers on the same emotional level. Einstein was an independent thinker from a very early age and therefore, disliked a system of schooling that hindered his freedom of thought and expression. His brief but intense religious experiences shows that he was a strong believer in good and evil, basically that he was an emotional idealist, he believed in living by the principles he thought were correct and was not interesting in conforming to society's demands or rules. This led to him becoming isolated in thought from the rest of those around him.
The conclusion that Einstein was an independent thinker is a very important one. Eventually, I believe it is this quality that led him to his famous, abstract theories of relativity and other contributions to Quantum mechanics. Now you may be wondering how his independence of thought may lead to all his discoveries. Let me explain : To answer you're query, we must think about how a person becomes an independent thinker. You see, an independent thinker broods over the thoughts that swim past their mind, such a person often values his privacy because it is during this time that he can evaluate his life and develop principles by which he will operate. In the case of Einstein we can imagine all of this, and also note that strong emotions and intuition were the source of his thought and principles. Intuition and this quality of independence led him to create his theories. I think we can now understand why the job at the Swiss patent office proved so fruitful for him ; there was plenty of time for brooding over thoughts and independent thinking.
It is also interesting to note that Einstein once chose to become a high school Physics and Math teacher. The reason is simple, he wanted to share his independent, self made thoughts with others, and try to stimulate similar thought processes in others. By the time he chose to do a course in teaching, his confidence had grown and was therefore, no longer shy to share his thoughts.
All in all, Einstein was a deeply emotional individual and a very independent thinker. He was passionate about his work, and it is the vigor of his passion that summoned his great ideas. His own realization of this is probably best summoned up in his famous quote "I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious".
With that, I end my little Einstein discussion. However, I never mentioned how all this connects to my own life. Or perhaps I already have !
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Einstein's Role in my Universe
Albert Einstein was arguably the greatest physicist in the history of mankind. He died in the year 1955 at the age of 76. So now you may ask, if he died in 1955, how in the world did he affect my life, my Universe ?
The answer is simple, he affected my Universe through the numerous equations, concepts and philosophies he left behind.
The significance of his equations and concepts have been widely discussed by almost every physicist after him. Therefore, this is an area that I will not delve deeper into, instead I will focus on the philosophies and principles he developed and applied to his own life.
One such philosophy is the idea of visually constructing experiments in one's mind, for the purpose of logically reasoning out situations ; his so called 'Thought experiments'. The most famous example of a thought experiment carried out by Einstein is the one that talks about the young Einstein ridding on a beam of light. I've found this method of thinking very useful ( even though I may perform it in my own unique way !).
But lets step away from all that Einsteinian line of thought that ultimately results in solutions for Physics problems. What are we left with ? We are left with a bag of quotes relating to thoughts of self reflection and his analysis of society. Is that it ? Some of you may think so, but I challenge you to think again !
I believe his quotes ( that reflect his analysis of society) provide us with great insight into the emotional Einstein. They offer us an angle to analyze the emotional level of his mind. Einstein often claimed that no one could understand him, yet everyone loved him. Was he referring to his equations and his logic when he said this ? I don't think so ! He was referring to something even deeper, the part that makes us all human, our emotions. He found that he was not able to connect to others at the same emotional level, and therefore, he concluded that no one understood him. Perhaps the time has come that we crack the final Einsteinian puzzle, the part of him that no one was ever able to solve.
I shall pursue this in my next post.
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