Einstein’s Brilliant Pieces of Advice For Students
Einstein’s thoughts and scientific wisdom
Einstein is one of the most popular scientific figures of all time best known for his works on relativity theories, his unique hairstyle, and his thought experiments. Einstein never conducted a single experiment in his life, all his discoveries were the results of complicated thought experiments as he believed in the power of imagination rather than relying on the facts from the books. He has stated many such important lessons that are still relevant and crucial today. I shall share some of Einstein’s thoughts that are important for learning, especially for students.
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
I couldn’t find the original source of this quote. So I’m not sure if Einstein actually said this. However, Einstein did say something similar in the Russel-Einstein manifesto- to learn how to think in a new way. Sometimes using a different approach to solve a problem can be a great help. Let’s say you’re solving a physics problem by using a specific method. You get a wrong answer. You watch your steps and don’t find out where exactly you went wrong. You repeat the same process over and over again without trying out a new method. You get frustrated. The key point is to try and approach a problem with different thinking, with a different method, a method that might or might not resonate with the one you used while you created them. That way, you can improve upon your problem-solving skills and reduce errors in your understanding of things.
“I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious.”
Einstein mentioned this statement in a letter he wrote to Carl Seelig in 1952. Curiosity is the key to knowledge. Knowledge is the key to intelligence. Intelligence is the key to wisdom. Wisdom is important to make rational decisions. The very purpose of human existence, I believe, is to understand the world around us. To understand the world around us, questioning is very crucial. Unfortunately, this is one of the most important skills that isn’t taught in modern schools- how to question. The students are just taught how to memorize the information and spit it out during exams thriving to achieve academic perfection, but no one is taught how to doubt, raise questions, and critically think about anything. Curiosity is the fundamental aspect of discovery.
“It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.”
As quoted in The Quotable Einstein. We often consider the toppers of our schools and colleges are exceptional extraordinary people who spend 18 hours a day studying. While for some people this can be true, for a lot of them it is not. There is this one thing common among all these students- they do not leave the problem until they solve them. This is the case with most of the scientists and prolific thinkers out there. Usually, most of us tend to get irritated when we can’t solve any problem after multiple attempts, and that results in poor performance. To stick with it and try it with another approach leads to success.
“A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.”
This quote is attributed to Einstein along with many others including Benjamin Franklin but is crucial in every sense. If you are afraid of failure, you are bound to fail again. Fear is the greatest enemy of success. Learn how to embrace it. Making mistakes is not a bad thing, making the same mistake over and over again and not learning from them is. Whenever you try to learn something that you have never tried before, you are bound to fail. You cannot learn how to ride a bicycle without falling off it. You cannot learn how to code without making mistakes. You cannot learn how to create art without making mistakes. Mistakes are important when they are taken as lessons, and not as failures.
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