Happy Birthday, Albert Einstein!

Day 74

Albert Einstein (March 14, 1879 – 18 April 18, 1955) needs no introduction, but here’s a great article if you’d like to read some more about him.

Aside from his amazing contributions to science, he was a philosopher, a thinker, and a dreamer. He understood that imagination was the key to creation, and look what he did with his imagination!

He had a lot to say about a lot of things, so there are thousands of references to his sayings in every industry, and in every medium. His quotes inspire and amuse me, and very often leave me humbled and speechless. I’ve compiled some of my favorite Einstein quotes to share with you in honor of his birthday today.

Albert Einstein, in his own words:

On Science & Humor

“You can’t blame gravity for falling in love.”

“I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious.”

“Do not worry about your difficulties in Mathematics. I can assure you mine are still greater.”

On The Human Mind

“Once we accept our limits, we go beyond them.”

“Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”

“Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I’m not sure about the former.”

“I very rarely think in words at all. A thought comes, and I may try to express it in words afterwards.”

“I think and think for months and years. Ninety-nine times, the conclusion is false. The hundredth time I am right.”

On Nature

“Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.”

“Joy in looking and comprehending is nature’s most beautiful gift.”

“What I see in Nature is a magnificent structure that we can comprehend only very imperfectly, and that must fill a thinking person with a feeling of humility. This is a genuinely religious feeling that has nothing to do with mysticism.”

On Imagination

“The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination.”

“Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions.”

“The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination.”

“Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.”

“Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.”

“To raise new questions, new possibilities, to regard old problems from a new angle, requires creative imagination and marks real advance in science.”

“When I examine myself and my methods of thought, I come to the conclusion that the gift of fantasy has meant more to me than any talent for abstract, positive thinking.”

“Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.”

On Life

“A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.”

“Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.”

“The only mistake in life is the lesson not learned.”

“The most incomprehensible thing about the world is that it is comprehensible.”

“The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery every day. Never lose a holy curiosity.”

On Art & Creativity

“Creativity is intelligence having fun.”

“The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources.”

“The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science.”

“Mozart’s music is so pure and beautiful that I see it as a reflection of the inner beauty of the universe.”

On Gratitude & Character

“Every day I remind myself that my inner and outer life are based on the labors of other men, living and dead, and that I must exert myself in order to give in the same measure as I have received and am still receiving.”

“The ideals which have lighted my way, and time after time have given me new courage to face life cheerfully, have been Kindness, Beauty, and Truth. The trite subjects of human efforts, possessions, outward success, luxury have always seemed to me contemptible.”

On Consciousness

“A human being is a part of the whole, called by us ‘Universe,’ a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty. Nobody is able to achieve this completely, but the striving for such achievement is in itself a part of the liberation and a foundation for inner security.”

Thank you, thank you, thank you!