Albert Einstein: A Life From Beginning to End (Biographies of Physicists Book 1); by Hourly History.

................................................................................................

Albert Einstein: A Life

From Beginning to End

(Biographies of Physicists Book 1)

by Hourly History.

................................................................................................

Amongst other things, repeatedly author emphasises on Albert Einstein having been not a practicing Jew.

Finally one must ask, why? Is there anything specially redeeming in that not practicing? Exactly which particular religious practice of a practicing Jewish person is supposed to reassure one about this non-practicing by Albert Einstein?

Moreover, when six million Jews were murdered in extermination camps, did any nazi bother ask if thry were practicing Jews? On the contrary.

Racial purity laws enforced by nazis treated any grandchildren of a Jew, practicing or otherwise, exactly as they'd every other Jew, destined for gas ovens. Even if the said grandchild had three non-Jewish, perfectly blond and blue eyed grandparents, and the grandchild were baptised - even if that were right in Vatican.

So why this seeming defense of Albert Einstein against implied guilt of bring Jewish by ancestry?

Because the author and the publishers share nazi beliefs and thinking?

................................................................................................

"The year 1905 would prove to be a most productive year for Albert Einstein. At the end of April, he completed his thesis and was awarded a Ph.D. from the University of Zurich. His dissertation was entitled “A New Determination of Molecular Dimensions.”

"Later that year, Einstein would publish four papers that electrified the academic world. One was on the photoelectric effect, the second was about Brownian motion, the third was special relativity and the fourth on the equivalence of mass and energy. He was a mere 26 years old."

And, in that last paragraph, is everything that defines the glory of the name.

"Trying to wrap your mind around these four theses is quite a trick, especially if you are not scientifically minded. But Richard Panek, a writer who has received a Guggenheim fellowship and written for many periodicals summed it up best when he said “Over four months, March through June 1905, Albert Einstein produced four papers that revolutionized science. One explained how to measure the size of molecules in a liquid, a second posited how to determine their movement, and a third described how light comes in packets called photons – the foundation of quantum physics and the idea that eventually won him the Nobel Prize. A fourth paper introduced special relativity, leading physicists to reconsider notions of space and time that had sufficed since the dawn of civilization. Then, a few months later, almost as an afterthought, Einstein pointed out in a fifth paper that matter and energy can be interchangeable at the atomic level specifically, that E=mc2, the scientific basis of nuclear energy and the most famous mathematical equation in history.”"

Well summed.

................................................................................................

"How do you change time? According to Einstein, time is not constant. Suddenly it becomes a variable, depending on many factors; how you and whatever you're observing move in relation to each other. No longer would the universal clock that kept time for all to observe, be true.

"If you were sitting on the dock and watching the light beam, it would take longer than a second to go from the top of the mast to the base. This looked like the time on board the ship was passing more slowly than on the dock. In order for this to be entirely true, the reverse would have to work as well. For a sailor on the ship observing a beam of light sent from, say, a tall building on land, it would appear to the sailor that the light travels farther than you saw on the dock. The sailor would observe that time was passing slower on the dock than on the ship.

"And so, there was the new principle of relativity. Viewing space by itself and time by itself would begin to fall by the wayside. All that separates the two is math. ... "

Really, did it have to be an illiterate from US, employed to write on Einstein?

"All that separates the two is math" - "math"??????

Why, it was going to cost a zillion bucks to use the proper term, mathematics?

And it's not correct, either.

It isn't mathematics that tells one of relativity. Else every mathematical professional of past, present and future would understand relativity automatically, and Einstein would be no different from a writer of limericks- or of this particular book.

" ... Einstein knew that these ideas or perceptions were all we could ever fathom in the world. That being true, they were all we could ever know. As far as the measure of the universe was concerned, they were all that mattered."

That makes no sense whatsoever, and is worse as an attempt to write about his work, than the opening where author describes Einstein as 'creative' person with 'Imagination', as if it was not Einstein but a kindergarten toddler and a drawing of sun were being complimented.

................................................................................................

"In 1911, Einstein had proposed that light from another star should be bent by the sun's gravity. This would be proven right in 1919, by Sir Arthur Eddington in an eclipse of the sun on May 29. When these observations were published, they made Einstein world famous.

"The London Times had published a headline declaring: “Revolution in Science – New Theory of the Universe – Newtonian Ideas Overthrown.” All based on the theories of Albert Einstein. ... "

So far, true. But then author returns to stupid comments.

" ... It seemed as if there was nothing this man couldn't imagine."

There's that stupid comment, thinking physics is about imagination!

But then, perhaps that's all that this author can "imagine" thought, mind, etc., are.

................................................................................................

"Even before the war began, there were hints that the Nazi's were up to no good. They had driven the Jews out of Germany or into hiding by 1939, and those who had waited until then to go were finding it impossible. Subsequently, the threat of an atomic bomb loomed in the distance."

Extermination camps murdering six million Jews is termed "driven the Jews out of Germany or into hiding" by this author?

Is there no decency, no limit to lies?

"In July, two months before the war was officially underway, the Hungarian scientists, Szilard and Wigner visited Einstein to explain how do-able the bomb would be for the Germans. They asked for his support in writing a letter to President Roosevelt and top Washington officials, recommending that the U.S. start paying attention to the Nazi's and that America should begin its own nuclear weapons research.

"Roosevelt knew he could not risk letting Hitler get an atomic bomb first. Because of Einstein's letter and his meetings with the president, suddenly the race was on; to develop a nuclear weapon before any other country. After all, the U.S. had immense financial and material resources, not to mention a well-established scientific community."

That makes it sound like it was only about money. But Germany was putting money into raising military and arming it, aiming to conquer and subjugate all of Europe and the rest of the world. That wasn't exactly a business of a monk starving and meditating in a monastery, but needed huge financial investment too.

No, the reason US succeeded was because everyone else believed it was necessary, and cooperated, including UK and therefore Canada.

That Germany failed wasn’t because of shortage of finances, but largely due to German scientists not arriving at solutions to problems, and being confident that if they couldn't, Noone else could, because they were superior due to being German.

When informed of Hiroshima, they outright dismissed it as US propaganda.

"This would be known as the Manhattan Project. In 1938, two German scientists had discovered nuclear fission, which made the development of an atomic bomb theoretically possible. ... "

Author attempts to divert credit, in which case it must go to aunt of Hans Bethe, who was a scientist in her own right.

" ... The project was under the direction of Major General Leslie Groves of the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, and J. Robert Oppenheimer directed the entire project."

................................................................................................

"The world had barely landed in the 20th century, and the year 1905 was an impressive one worldwide. In the Russo-Japanese War, Port Arthur surrendered to the Japanese, and the Russians suffered other defeats. The Russian Revolution of 1905 began on “Bloody Sunday” when troops fired into defenseless demonstrators in St. Petersburg. This would lead to more riots and strikes all across the country. The Russian Tsar Nicolas II would try to appease the mobs with little success. This same tsar would be executed along with his entire family in the Russian Revolution in 1918."

That last bit had cousin Willy's hand behind it, in getting Lenin deep into Russia on a sealed diplomatic train, across from Germany.

Cousin Willy had axes to grind against most of his cousins amongst the Royal Mob, as his famous grandmother termed the royal relatives gathered at various occasions for events celebratory or otherwise, from all corners of the continent.

................................................................................................

Author describes events proceeding around the world at the time, perhaps because he cannot possibly describe what tremendous work was done by Einstein - or anyone else in scientific fields.

"It was into this world that Albert Einstein stepped. Walking home from work one day he caught up with a friend Michael Besso, also a physicist working in the patent office. Their discussions led them to a theory put forth by Galileo in 1632, which involved sitting on a dock observing a ship moving along the water. If someone dropped a rock from the top of the mast, where would it land? Would it fall at the base of the mast or further back to correspond to the distance the ship was traveling?"

This was the experiment Hypatia had conducted in Alexandria, off the coast, on a sailboat.

"Einstein took this one step further. He asked, what if the object wasn't a rock but a beam of light? Einstein agreed with Galileo that the beam of light would land at the base of the mast. From anyone sitting and observing on the dock, the base of the mast will have moved out from the top of the mast during the light's descent; from the sitter's point of view, the distance the light has traveled has lengthened.

"Einstein posited that the speed of light is always 186,282 miles per second. Speed is nothing more than distance divided by a length of time. So, when you are observing a beam of light, the speed will always be 186,282 miles per second. If you change the distance that the light travels, you have to modify the time.

................................................................................................

Author seems disposed towards generally disparaging Einstein, every possible way, after beginning with an attempt at laudatory writing that's actually offensive in its inadequacy to the tune of someone capturing everest in a thumbnail.

In this effort, he doesn't spare the first wife, either, attacking her for almost everything until she's divorced.

"Einstein and Maric were finally married in January 1903. Just before this, Einstein’s father was stricken ill while living with his family in Milan, Italy. Einstein loved his parents deeply, even after the trouble they had given him about Mileva, and when his father died at the age of 55, Einstein was tremendously distressed. Adding to this, Maric was never the happy homemaker. She didn't like being a housewife and felt that she had much more to give in scientific circles. However, in May 1904, their son Hans Albert Einstein was born. This birth made his parents ecstatically happy."

At this point this account begins to not only differ significantly from all other known accounts of life of Albert Einstein, but strangely enough, omits mention of his having written his famous papers on relativity, jumping to other things.

Perhaps the dissected narrative suits the agenda of Hourly History, going into painful details of the family first and throwing dirt at the image of the man whose work is still beyond comprehension of most professional Physicists, too, not just ordinary people.

But one has to wonder, is this dirt throwing because of Albert Einstein and his family being Jewish, thereby missing the usual laudatory remarks about, say, James Clerk Maxwell and others who were repeatedly certified as faithful to church, including even Galileo?

Nothing else is so strongly indicative of the common foundation of church and nazis as this muck splashed at Albert Einstein, only because he was Jewish by birth. Not even the huge role played by Vatican in escape of nazis, including war criminals, across South Atlantic.

................................................................................................

Who selects authors for this series? Why pick someone with no clue about what, who, they are supposed to compile material about, mostly? Why the uncomprehending, inane comments, in an effort to prove oneself equal to commenting on Einstein?

"Creativity was the fuel which sparked life as we know it. Some say it's more important than intelligence. Others speak of it as the catalyst for our very being. It is what makes us human. Lower animals don't have creativity; they rely on patterns and what is ingrained in their species.

"If ever there was a human being who defines the idea of creativity it would have to be Albert Einstein. From the frizzy, wild hair to those twinkling eyes which seemed so alive, to his way of engaging students and scientists alike, Einstein was blessed with an imagination that lit up not only his world but would set the world on fire with ideas and realities never before seen."

'Creativity'???? 'Imagination'?????

Are we supposed to be reading judgements about a kindergarten talent by the nanny who failed high school?

Why not pick, if not an equal, at least a would be physicist, say someone in process of finishing ones own doctorate and willing to do something different one summer? At least that could be someone capable of an intelligent compilation and commentary.

Why not pick someone with best effort, say from a competition, where anyone of that level can take part?

................................................................................................

"The modern era could be said to have begun in Albert Einstein. Without him immigrating to the United States, much of his work would have laid undiscovered. ... "

Does this author have no clue? Nazi thugs burnt contents of his office as soon as it was discovered that he'd left, and couldn't be murdered by them personally. Who writes this inane 'laid undiscovered' about what would have happened to his work if he hadn't migrated? He'd have been finished off at one of the extermination camps, and his intellectual property burnt in toto, is a certainty.

" ... It was his passion for freedom that set his mind alight. Combining that with all that his imagination would provide him ... "

Freedom is a necessity for a thinker, not 'passion', and this is true of every artist, every writer, every scientist. Imagination? Are we talking about an advertisement campaign? What garbage writing!

................................................................................................

" ... Einstein literally opened up new horizons and universes to the world.

"The world was about to change when Einstein was born. He stood along with everyone else on the precipice of a time in history which would rival no other. Grand things were coming.

"Albert Einstein believed that harmony was the foundation of the laws of the universe. His life work would be to unlock the mechanics behind the harmonious facade. He would only do this by breaking free of conformist thought; by letting his imagination think beyond the present.

"Einstein would envision it all. From the infinite to the finite, from nuclear power to fiber optics, from semi-conductors to space travel, from supernovas to atom bombs, his face would become one of the most recognizable in history. His life would truly mirror all that creativity and imagination can do for any one person."

That last sentence is total crap.

For genius of this level, there's very little that the world can offer, except making it possible for the person to survive without worry about wherewithal - and let them alone. Thence, it's upto this genius to proceed. The world can only benefit, and bow in gratitude.

Einstein might not be the only person in that category, there indeed have been many, but his name is the most known, and with good reason. Few can understand his work.

................................................................................................

More garbage writing follows.

"Before Einstein, the universe and all its powers seemed beyond human understanding. ... "

Does the author have any delusions regarding humanity having now suddenly understood it all, universe, Einstein and his work? It'd seem so.

" ... Because of the wit and wisdom of this remarkable man, much of deep space was lassoed in to be taught and understood in all its glory. Come along to see what made Albert Einstein tick."

................................................................................................

"When Albert Einstein was born, Germany had been a country for nine short years. For centuries, Germany had been a collection of nation-states, little principalities, free cities, and small duchies. It wasn't until a new chancellor known as Otto von Bismarck was elected that he finally united the German regions into one country.

"In one of these areas, called Swabia, lived the Einstein family. Albert was born in the city of Ulm, which lay in the Baden-Württemberg region of southwest Germany, on the Danube River. ... "

Baden and Württemberg were united much later, post WWII. The specific separate identities still are a matter of pride. Baden hates being seen as clubbed with Württemberg, and let's you know so if you are unaware.

Ulm is in Württemberg, almost at border of Bavaria, another state that has a great self-conscious identity. On some roads entering Germany from Switzerland, sign welcoming travellers to Bavaria repeats welcome into Germany in much smaller letters below.

" ... This Swabia region was known to be the home of many Jewish settlements.

"Einstein's parents were Hermann Einstein, a salesman and engineer, with a keen interest in mathematics, and Pauline Koch. His parents were married in 1876, and on March 14, 1879, Albert first saw the light of day. The following year, the family moved to Munich, where Einstein's father and uncle founded a small company which manufactured electrical current.

................................................................................................

"In his early years, Einstein was a quiet baby. He spoke not a single word. This puzzled and worried his parents, and it wasn't until a younger sister, Maria, nicknamed Maja, was born two years later, that the young Einstein began talking.

"Today, there are those who have speculated that Einstein may have been autistic. However, when he died in 1955, and his brain was dissected, it was found that the parietal lobes in his brain were at least fifteen percent larger than the average person's; leading to a cautious conclusion that he did not suffer from autism, as autistic people have smaller parietal lobes in their brains.

"Whether or not Albert Einstein had a lot to say in his toddler years, by the time he was five years old, he was enrolled in a Catholic elementary school in Munich, Germany. His parents were Jewish but did not observe or go to the temple. Einstein remained in the Catholic school for three years, when he was transferred to the Luitpold Gymnasium. He was enrolled here for the next seven years. Little did he know, that the school would later be renamed to Albert Einstein Gymnasium."

Wonder how the Germans take it.

................................................................................................

"While lodging with one of his professors, Jost Winteler, Einstein fell in love with his daughter, Marie. In 1896, Einstein renounced his German citizenship in order to avoid military service. It was from this point on that Einstein ceased to think of himself as German.

"He did well on his high school exam, with top grades in mathematics and physics. At age 17, he enrolled in the four-year program at the Zurich Polytechnic in order to receive a teaching diploma. Marie Winteler, his girlfriend, was also a teacher and moved away to assume a teaching post.

"One of the other students at the Polytechnic that year was a young woman named Mileva Maric. Of the six students in the mathematics and physics diploma program, she was the only woman. Einstein and Maric grew closer by studying together, and after a few years, a romance had blossomed. In 1900, Einstein was awarded his teaching diploma, but Maric failed her exams. Nonetheless, she was destined to become Einstein’s wife."

"Nevertheless"??? It wasn't an advertised post open yo winners of academic competition, was it?

................................................................................................

"“The difference between genius and stupidity is; genius has its limits.”

"—Alexandre Dumas"

................................................................................................

"Einstein was both German and Jewish. But, throughout his lifetime, he never considered himself either one. Germany had been founded on a militaristic philosophy; just before his birth, Bismarck had provoked a war with France which gave him enough proof that the German states needed to band together into one country, which they did in 1870.

"All through Einstein's youth, Germany continued its militaristic ways. Bismarck, under Kaiser Wilhelm I, did seem military-mad. This only led to Einstein becoming increasingly disheartened with all Germany stood for."

Cousin Willy certainly did manage to put off even close relatives, including most of the Royal Mob as they were termed by his famous grandmother, nicknamed 'grandmother of Europe'.

"By the time the year 1900 rolled around, Einstein spent two years looking for a job. Frustrated at every turn, he had approached professors in universities in Europe. Finally, in 1901, he was granted Swiss citizenship; without it, he couldn't hold any teaching post in the country. The downside of the citizenship being that he could have been declared fit for military service, but luckily, he was turned down on the basis of flat feet and varicose veins.

"With the help of a friend's father, Einstein secured a position at the Federal Office for Intellectual Property, the patent office in Bern. His new career was that of a level III assistant examiner where he evaluated patent applications for a variety of devices. In 1903, his position became permanent.

................................................................................................

"Einstein would remain at the patent office for seven years, contented with his work as a patent inspector. It wouldn't be until after he published his papers on relativity, which would revolutionize physics, that he would be offered a position at the university."

"In 1900, Einstein published a paper titled “Conclusions from the Capillarity Phenomena.” Capillary action is the ability of a liquid to flow in narrow spaces, without the assistance or the opposition to gravity. This phenomenon was first recorded by Leonardo da Vinci, and it falls under continuum mechanics, which deals with the mechanical behavior of materials.

"This was the first paper ever published by Albert Einstein. What happened next would come to astound the scientific world."

................................................................................................

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

"—Albert Einstein"

................................................................................................

"Albert Einstein was to have two wives during his lifetime. While he studied at the Zurich Polytechnic Institute, he had close friends, unlike his solitary upbringing at home. One of these friends was Marcel Grossman, who was one year older than Einstein. Grossman was a top student, and Einstein always relied on his notes when it came time to study for exams. Later on, it would be Grossman who would get him his patent office job, and the same assisted Einstein with his mathematical calculations for his general relativity theory.

"Another good friend was Michele Angelo Besso, a mechanical engineer who lived in Zurich. Einstein would join in Besso's musical group, where he would play the violin. Besso encouraged Einstein to read the works of Ernst Mach, a contemporary Austrian philosopher. Mach's philosophies would go a long way in impacting Einstein's special relativity theory.

"In these early years at the Institute, Einstein became enamored with his future wife, Mileva Maric. She was Hungarian, and three years older than him. Einstein did have other girlfriends along the way, but it was Maric whom he was drawn to. Maric found herself equally attracted to Einstein, but when she was finished at the Institute, she moved on to Heidelberg University, one of the most famous learning institutions in all of Europe. She wasn't allowed to take classes, but she could sit in on them, and audit them."

Was she not allowed due to her gender, and the prevalent misogyny of academic institutions of Europe, US, and so forth?

................................................................................................

"Maric wrote Einstein long letters, and eventually, he encouraged her to come back to Zurich, which she did in April 1896. She moved into a room not far from Einstein's, and by then they were considering themselves a genuine couple. By the summer of 1900, their relationship had heated up.

"Mileva Maric was a small and frail woman, she walked with a limp from a hip displacement, and she was often in ill health. Einstein's mother was horrified that he had taken up with a girl who was, in her estimation, beneath them and not particularly bright. After all, his mother was hopeful that Einstein would have pursued his relationship with Marie Winteler, but, nothing came of it. Einstein always regarded the young Maric as his equal in intelligence; someone he could partner with and discuss his theories with.

"Curiously, when they both sat for their examinations, they received the two lowest grades of everyone. Maric did so bad she didn't qualify for a teaching diploma. She would have to wait a year and take the exams again."

There's been whispers that relativity was her ideas, written up by him.

................................................................................................

"In January 1902, Mileva gave birth to a daughter, Lieserl. Once little Lieserl Einstein was born, her father, Albert, sent letters asking for details as to what the baby looked like and how Maric was progressing after giving birth.

"From this point forward, there was no word of a daughter born to Einstein and Maric. Had the patent office found out, they surely would have terminated Einstein's employment, so secrecy was of the highest regard. The letters between the new parents concerning their daughter were kept hidden. The world never knew of Lieserl until the 1980s. What became of little Lieserl is uncertain; she was most likely adopted by close friends, and then in 1903, she came down with scarlet fever only nineteen months old. It is thought that she died from the illness.

................................................................................................

"It seemed as if the Einsteins were headed for brighter times, what with one son born and Einstein himself procuring a teaching position at the university. By the time the couple was in Prague, they were enjoying a higher standard of living, but Maric continued to feel like an outsider in the country. She was miserable living there."

Author seeks to make the wife look bad for being miserable, rather than exploring the misogyny of people and institutions in Europe, and women being discouraged from working in science, which has been true of West even as of much later through the twentieth century, if not still going on.

"One of the people that Einstein was particularly close to was his first cousin Elsa Lowenthal. By 1909, Einstein was a famous personage in the scientific world and was offered a professorship in Zurich. He and Maric were happy to be leaving Bern, and it was about this time that Maric found she was pregnant again.

"The Einstein's returned to Zurich and were surrounded by good friends and happy times. In July 1910, a second son Eduard was born. His parents would affectionately call him Tete. When he was a young man, Eduard studied medicine, wanting to become a doctor. However, at the age of 20, he suffered a schizophrenic breakdown. It is not known how severe Eduard’s illness was or whether prevailing treatments of the time were doing him any good, but by the time he was in his twenties, he could no longer live by himself. Eduard was committed to an institution where he remained for the rest of his life. His mother would visit him frequently. His father, not so much. By the time Einstein moved permanently to the United States in 1933, he never saw his son again. Eduard would live until 1965."

Perhaps Einstein wasn't safe visiting Europe even long after WWII, nazis still proliferated across Germany even through later decades, and Einstein was maligned in Germany to visitors, although not officially so.

As for bringing the son to US to be closer to his father, that would have taken him away from the mother, who had divorced Einstein by then.

................................................................................................

"By 1912, Einstein would return to Berlin for a while, and his marriage was collapsing. It was here that he became involved with his cousin Elsa. Elsa was Einstein’s first cousin on his mother's side and second cousin on his father's side. She was also three years older than Einstein, divorced, with two daughters Margot and Ilse.

"Despite this, Einstein didn't find it hard to fall in love with Elsa. His marriage to Maric was increasingly challenging, and he sought solace in someone else. In many ways, Elsa was the complete opposite of Maric; sweet, not very educated and loved her role as a housewife. Where once Einstein loved having a partner who was his intellectual equal, now he was looking for someone who didn't have those lofty aspirations."

When it comes to a woman, intellectual life is "lofty aspirations"?

Because church deplores women being not yoked to household slavery, in any way they could escape it, except for royalty, aristocracy, et al?

There are several things wrong in the next paragraph.

"By the end of 1912, the Einstein family was vastly discontented. The younger son, Hans Albert, could remember the tension between his parents which seemed to grow by the day. Einstein wanted to stay in Prague, but the family ended up in Zurich where they had begun. The whole family appeared to be suffering ailments of one type or another, but Maric was happy to be back in the city she loved most."

For one, hasn't the author stated that Hans Albert was the first among sons of Einstein? His elder sister, besides, is mentioned by the author as having probably died, before he - Hans Albert - was conceived.

For another, the last sentence is constructed in a way as to cast aspersions against Maric Einstein for being happy to be back in Switzerland, by clubbing it with the family being unwell.

Does the author automatically condemn every woman if she's happy, unless she's stupid, illiterate, and strongly adherent of church?

................................................................................................

"Nonetheless, Maric's health problems were getting worse. Her hip ailment was added to by severe rheumatoid arthritis, and she was often in severe pain. Once back in Switzerland, Einstein and Elsa kept in touch through letters. At one point, he even asked her to come to Zurich for what nowadays would be termed a “wild weekend.”

"At the time, Einstein was offered a full professorship at the University of Berlin, but Maric was understandably unhappy about making a move to Germany. Einstein himself, however, was ecstatic; he would be living in the same city as Elsa. Once the move to Berlin became a reality, the Einstein's marriage rapidly disintegrated."

Now, having painted Einstein as a Casanova, author seeks to tar Maric with the same brush.

"Einstein was caught up in his academic life, and Maric was left to her own devices. She also managed to have an affair of her own, with a Serbian mathematics professor. Finally, by July of 1914, one month prior to World War I breaking out, the Einsteins’ marriage was over."

If one weren't as filled with misogyny as this author and his obvious background, church, one might have noticed that Maric had this supposed affair- if author is at all telling the truth - with a 'Serbian mathematics professor', someone who shared a lot with the woman, what with her background of Hungarian roots and her having not only studied the same subjects in the same academy as Einstein, but also repeatedly sat for the same exams, where both had done equally well, although he didnt wish to better his results, she did.

Her affair, then, was with a 'Serbian mathematics professor', not a French artist who'd be expected to routinely do so, or a Rockstar from US.

So that sheds some light on her own personality, as someone who more than one academic person, in mathematics and physics, found an equal and an attractive one.

................................................................................................

Author proceeds to tar both, now.

"Maric took the boys and moved in with a good friend in Berlin. She still wanted to get their marriage back on track. Einstein wasn’t as willing, but he agreed to stay together for the children, contingent on a list of domestic conditions that he wanted Maric to fulfill. Maric was to launder his clothes, give him three meals a day in his room, leave his room alone, to renounce all relational duties that included going out with friends and all sexual involvement, to not talk to Einstein if he didn't want it, and that she should not belittle or talk against him to their children. Surprisingly, Maric agreed to them all."

So he's painted as explicitly demanding that the wife act as a housekeeper by day who's a bedfellow at night (do wives lauded by church behave any differently?), while she's deprecated for accepting it, even though it's for children's sake?

"Einstein wanted the marriage to end, but Maric didn't seem to grasp his desire. ... "

So she's wrong to be involved with anyone else even though author painsts him as a Casanova, she's wrong to accept his terms for keeping the marriage going, and now she's wrong because he wants to throw her out and she 'didn't seem to grasp his desire'?

" ... Finally, when he impressed on her that they were to have nothing more than a business relationship, she relented. They agreed to a separation, prior to getting a divorce.

"Maric moved back to Zurich, and Einstein sent her money every month for the boys. He was not happy to see his children move so far away, but he did have Elsa waiting patiently for him. Patience was a virtue all women who were involved with Einstein would learn to have."

Even after he had this double cousin in his life, he had "all women who were involved with Einstein"? Or is this about just the two author mentions? And, isn't this true of every woman whose husband has any work he's serious about?

"This time Einstein's mother, Pauline, was overjoyed even though Maric didn't consent to a full divorce initially. It is not known if she knew of the affair between her husband and Elsa, but even if she did, Maric would have known that she had little power in the matter."

Perhaps, having gotten his way marrying maric despite family opposition, the guy was only trying to please his family after all?

................................................................................................

"By 1916, Elsa was pressuring Einstein to be married. After all, her relatives were all Einsteins too. Finally, that year, Einstein asked Maric for the full divorce. He wished to visit his sons occasionally, and he increased his support for them. In the meantime, illness pre-empted any thoughts of divorce, and it wasn't until the end of the war, that Einstein's marriage would legally end.

"Before the court in Zurich, Einstein pled guilty to having committed adultery, so the blame was put on him and not Maric. Once the decree came through, Einstein returned to Germany where six months later he married Elsa in June 1919."

One, it wasn't a sacrifice on part of a husband as author insinuates, but standard practice of the day, even those men who, unlike mentioned about Einstein by this author, have never had affairs.

Two, in that era, a woman divorced for having had an affair might not get custody of the children, and this would inconvenience the husband who was looking forward to either freedom to dally or had a future wife who might not wish to be further encumbered and merely replacing another prior wife.

Situations such as erstwhile Lord Spencer were different, what with plenty of servants.

................................................................................................

"They would stay together through the rest of Einstein's life. They slept in separate bedrooms, but both seemed to enjoy the arrangement. Elsa's daughters lived with them, and she herself was comfortable living in Berlin. She would prove to be a cheerful companion as the years progressed.

"In letters that surfaced in 2015, it was revealed that Einstein had written to his former love Marie Winteler in 1910. He admitted he still had strong feelings for her and continued to say that “I think of you in heartfelt love every spare minute and am so unhappy as only a man can be.” This was all while his wife Maric was pregnant with their second child. Einstein believed his love was misguided and there was a “missed life” without Marie. Einstein’s personal life was indeed a tangled one."

................................................................................................

Author begins chapter four with a quote by Stephen Hawking, who probably did not intend it against Einstein, but quoted here, seems pointed.

"“Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change.”

"—Stephen Hawking"

Author does seem to insinuate the author's barb at Einstein, about intelligence being ability to adapt to circumstances, and an indictment for not adjusting to - what? Nazi Germany? Theres no ther point really to that quote here.

Was there ever a possibility of anyone other than a German being able to "adjust" or adapt to nazi regime? Without being a slave worked and starved to death, or murdered immediately, that is?

Or perhaps the author wanted Einstein to obry Gandhi and die loving his murderers, happily, as Gandhi insisted Jews and Hindus and Sikhs must do, in Germany and Pakistan respectively, without resorting to flight?

But let's say author isn't insinuating anything about Einstein, merely quoting Hawking for decorative effect purposes.

By that rule, most women must be brilliant, as must all poor, slaves, Africans, and other people born into any disadvantage, including all victims of nazis. Equally, opposite are the royalty and church authorities, by the same logic.

................................................................................................

And, in that last paragraph, is everything that defines the glory of the name.

Well summed.

................................................................................................

"Keep in mind that at the time Einstein wrote these papers he didn't have Google to help him out. Colleagues available to discuss all of his findings were few and far between, and he didn't even have easy access to scientific reference materials. The Olympian Academy of which Einstein was its star member, and his wife Mileva Maric did have a hand in his writings; how much influence they had is anybody's guess."

Again an extremely badly written paragraph.

Research in fundamental science, especially in physics and even more so in mathematics, is not done by googling, and has more to do with mind and the science. It's really beyond comprehension of those who have stopped short of regions beyond an M.Sc. in these subjects, just as understanding climbing Everest is beyond comprehension of those who've not stood at base of these peaks - or taken only a funicular to the top.