Einstein was a genius, there’s no doubt about it. Without him, the world would be a very different place, as he helped the Allies win WWII.
Most of his contributions were in the fields of physics, math, statistics and politics, but there are at least a couple of interesting footnotes about his life,
besides the fact that his brain was indeed removed before he was cremated, so it could be studied, without permission from his family.
One of them is his interest in vegetarianism. Here are some quotes that are known to come from him:
“So I am living without fats, without meat, without fish, but am feeling quite well this way. It always seems to me that man was not born to be a carnivore.”
“I have always eaten animal flesh with a somewhat guilty conscience.”
It is my view that the vegetarian manner of living by its purely physical effect on the human temperament would most beneficially influence the lot of mankind.”
“Although I have been prevented by outward circumstances from observing a strictly vegetarian diet, I have long been an adherent to the cause in principle. Besides agreeing with the aims of vegetarianism for aesthetic and moral reasons, it is my view that a vegetarian manner of living by its purely physical effect on the human temperament would most beneficially influence the lot of mankind.”
I would love to know what Dr. Einstein thought of yin and yang, the antagonistic and complementary forces that are widely accepted in Asia as
the cause of all movement in the Universe.
As Einstein’s theories often required very complicated math, and unknowns, assumptions and revisions, and some have been discredited due to errors and recent observations,
there is room for the simplicity of yin and yang to guide us in our lives, whether we are studying the stars or the cause and cure of disease.
I studied engineering for my undergraduate degree, and my head was spinning with the complexity and failure of theories to predict outcomes with accuracy, although they are the basis
for some pretty cool inventions, many of which have improved our lives.
But since then, I have studied yin and yang and I’m amazed by the simplicity and the elegance of these basic forces. The conclusion one draws is that our cells are a microcosm of our bodies,
and our bodies are a microcosm of the universe, with expansion and contraction as the driving forces.
I intend to keep studying yin and yang for the rest of my days, as my entire life is lived through them. I find it stimulating. Perhaps you will too.