"When Einstein was in primary school and middle school, his homework was normal. Because he is slow and doesn't like people, his teachers and classmates don't like him. The teachers who taught him Greek and Latin hated him even more. He once publicly scolded him: "Einstein, you will never be a successful person when you grow up." "
1900, Einstein graduated from Zurich University of Technology. He was refused to stay in school because he was not enthusiastic about some courses and indifferent to the teachers. He couldn't find a job and made a living as a tutor and substitute teacher. After a year and a half of unemployment, Marcel Grossman, a classmate who cares about and understands his talent, extended a helping hand to him. Grossman managed to persuade his father to introduce Einstein to the Swiss Patent Office as a technician.
Einstein thanked Grossman for his lifelong help. In his mourning letter to Grossman, he said that when he graduated from college, he was "suddenly abandoned by everyone and faced with life at a loss." He helped me. Through him and his father, I later went to Haller (then director of the Swiss Patent Office) and entered the patent office. It's kind of like saving my life. Without him, I probably won't starve to death, but my spirit will be depressed. "
So smart people are sometimes stupid?
Einstein was not lively when he was a child, and he couldn't speak when he was over three years old. His parents were worried that he was dumb and took him to see a doctor. Fortunately, Einstein was not dumb, but he didn't become fluent until he was nine years old. Everything he says must be carefully thought over. Einstein Jr. is an honest boy. He never does anything against his will or cheats. To this end, he was laughed at by his classmates and nicknamed him "honest John". Ordinary children like to play competitive games, but he doesn't like to participate. The child likes war games and watching soldiers drill, but he didn't like anything related to the army since he was a child. He is a pacifist and doesn't want to see human beings killing each other.
There is a garden around Einstein's house. He often squats in the bushes in the corner of the garden for a long time, stroking small leaves with his hands or staring at ants running in a hurry. He likes meditation since he was a child and wants to know the secrets of nature. On a picnic by the Hisard River, a relative said that little Einstein was very serious. When other children were playing together, he sat there alone and looked at the other side of the lake. Pauline's mother affectionately defended her child: "He is quiet because he is thinking. Wait, he will become a professor one day! " The relative thought it was ridiculous, but he also understood his mother's feelings. Professor! In people's minds, only those smart people can get this honorary title. Can this silly boy who can't even speak well become a professor?
At the age of four or five, Einstein was once ill in bed, and his father gave him a compass. When he found that the compass always pointed in a fixed direction, he was very surprised and felt that there must be something hidden behind this phenomenon. He happily played with the compass for several days, pestering his father and uncle Jacob to ask a series of questions. Although he can't even say the word "magnetic" well, he stubbornly wants to know why the compass can guide the direction. This deep and lasting impression was vividly recalled by Einstein until he was 67 years old.
When Einstein was in primary school and middle school, his general homework was normal, only his math score was far above the whole class. Because he is slow and doesn't like people, his teachers and classmates don't like him. The teacher who taught him Greek and Latin was very disgusted with him and once publicly scolded him: "Einstein, you will never be a successful person when you grow up." And I want to kick him out of school for fear that his class will affect other students.
Einstein's uncle Jacob is in charge of technical affairs in the electric appliance factory, while Einstein's father is in charge of business dealings. Jacob is an engineer. He loves mathematics very much. When Einstein came to ask him questions, he always introduced his mathematics knowledge to him in very simple and popular language.
One day, Einstein came to ask his uncle, "What is algebra?" ? My uncle explained it this way: "There are many problems in arithmetic that are not easy to solve, and it is very difficult to calculate. Algebra is a' happy' math, which can easily help people solve difficult calculations. We call the number we don't know X and catch it. You take it as something you already know, build some relationships, and finally you can get it easily. " Then his uncle gave him a pamphlet with algebra problems, and Einstein soon learned to solve the problems inside.
Uncle Jacob once told him a beautiful theorem in geometry ── Pythagoras theorem: the square of the long side of any right triangle must be equal to the sum of the squares of the two short sides. Uncle didn't tell him the proof of this theorem, but Einstein was very surprised to find that this relationship was established after drawing many right triangles.
My father's business is not good, but he is optimistic and kind. Inviting poor students from Munich to dinner at home every night is tantamount to helping them. One of them is a pair of Jewish brothers Max and Bernard from Lithuania. They are all medical students. Both of them like reading and have a wide range of interests. They were invited to eat at Einstein's house and became good friends with shy little Einstein with black hair and brown eyes.
Max can be said to be Einstein's "first teacher". He borrowed some popular natural science books for him, discussed with Einstein after reading them, and continued to provide him with new books. Max ignited Einstein's interest in self-study and constantly tutored him.
Max gave Einstein a plane geometry textbook by pirk when he was twelve years old, which immediately caught Einstein's heart. Einstein recalled this sacred little book in his later years and said, "There are many conclusions in this book. For example, although they are not obvious in themselves, they can be reliably proved, so any doubt seems impossible. This clarity and reliability left an indescribable impression on me. "
Then Einstein remembered Pythagoras theorem and wanted to prove it independently. It took him three weeks to finally find a way to take the vertex facing the longest side of a right triangle as the vertical line here, so he divided the triangle into similar triangles and proved this theorem easily. Although this is an ancient theorem with a history of more than two thousand years, Einstein finally got the result after some efforts, and he felt the joy of scientific discovery for the first time.
Max will help him correct some exercises and solve some difficult problems when he comes every week. Soon after, he was led to study advanced mathematics. When he was thirteen, he taught himself calculus. While his classmates were frowning at simple problems such as plane geometry and cyclic fractions, Einstein had entered the beautiful and magical "infinite world" of infinite series through self-study.
Soon Einstein Jr. surpassed Max in mathematics, and medical students eleven years older than him couldn't keep up with children twelve or thirteen years old. In order to have a topic to talk about in the future, Max began to lend him philosophy books. Einstein could understand Kant's Critique of Pure Reason at the age of thirteen. For many adults, this is a boring book. At this time, Einstein read books about mathematics, physics and many philosophers. He doesn't read novels, and his only pastime is playing the violin.
Max thinks he has found a child prodigy. He said, "Great scientists or philosophers will grow up from Einstein."