Albert Einstein Quotes
There are two things that are infinite: The universe and human folly. And sometimes I am not sure about the universe.
Albert Einstein, 1879-1955, Nobel laureate in Physics, Quoted on The Science Channel, Morgan Freeman: Through the Wormhole, July 9, 2013
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
This is an important historical quotation because earlier most people attributed anything they did not understand to God, the Gods, devils, demons, spirits, etc. Simply admitting that the reasons are unknown was quite difficult for centuries, Even today many people find accepting temporary ignorance difficult. One basic initial step in science is identifying the unknown and studying and researching to make it known.
Teller had been a strong proponent of developing the H-bomb. Oppenheimer, however, was opposed on moral and strategic grounds. Politically, Oppenheimer had a strong following, having been the “Father of the Atomic Bomb,” and his opposition was hurting the political effort to vote the funds. The Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, Lewis L. Strauss, and some in the military decided that they would discredit Oppenheimer by claiming that he had communist leanings and his ideas were influenced by his pro-communist views. Oppenheimer was an easy victim as his brother had been a card-carrying communist and he had always known many left wing academic intellectuals in his university background. Despite the fact that all this had been known by the government security people for years and he had never let a secret leak, a hearing was held to determine whether Oppenheimer’s security clearance should be removed. The key testimony was given by General Groves, Oppenheimer’s former boss who had cleared Oppenheimer for security for years, and Teller. It was later discovered that Groves had been blackmailed into testifying against Oppenheimer. Later Teller, who defended his strong views contrary to Oppenheimer’s, regretted that he won his battle the way he did and told the world that Oppenheimer was a patriot and would never do anything knowingly to hurt his country. To the end of his career over 50 years afterward, there were still many scientists who would turn their backs on Teller at scientific meeting and would not even shake his hand.
Albert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest physicists of all time. Einstein is known for developing the theory of relativity, but he also made important contributions to the development of the theory of quantum mechanics. Relativity and quantum mechanics are together the two pillars of modern physics. His mass–energy equivalence formula E = mc2, which arises from relativity theory, has been dubbed "the world's most famous equation". His work is also known for its influence on the philosophy of science. He received the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics "for his services to theoretical physics, and especially for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect", a pivotal step in the development of quantum theory. His intellectual achievements and originality resulted in "Einstein" becoming synonymous with "genius".
