LETTER EINSTEIN WROTE TO HIS SON REVEALS THE KEY TO LEARNING
Living in war-torn Berlin in 1915, 36-year-old Albert Einstein worked tirelessly to develop the theory of general relativity, which would go on to become one of the most fundamental truths in the world. At that point, the young scientist had spent almost eight years developing his ground-breaking hypothesis, which he had eventually distilled into only two pages. A few days later, he would write a heartfelt letter to his son Hans Albert, who was residing in Zurich with his other son, Eduard "Tete," and Einstein's estranged wife.
Einstein starts by saying, "You informed me when I was in Zurich that it is unpleasant for you when I come." "In any event, I will strongly recommend that we spend a whole month together every year to demonstrate to you that your father loves and cares for you."
Einstein can consider the joy of learning despite his grousing and longing, stating that Hans may learn from him "many good and beautiful things."
Einstein writes, "What I have accomplished through so much hard effort must not just be there for outsiders but also for my own boys." "I will tell you about one of the most exquisite pieces I have ever finished when you are older."
The first part of the letter talks about Einstein's relationship with learning, while the second part talks about his son's. Einstein commends Hans for his developing love of the piano, a "passion" that is among the "best" for a person his age, along with carpentry. Even if the teacher does not assign those," he demands that Hans play the music that "pleases you." Einstein muses, “That is the way to learn the most, that when you are doing something with such enjoyment that you don’t notice that the time passes.”
Einstein summarises the key to effective learning in one sentence: fully committing to intellectual and creative pursuits. That being said, he had other recommendations regarding existential issues as well. "Why are we alive?" was the question Marion Block Anderson, a freshman at Oberlin College at the time, wrote to Einstein in 1951. In his answer, he summed up his thoughts on the meaning of life clearly and eloquently. "In the human realm, the answer to the question 'Why' is straightforward: to make ourselves and others happy," he wrote.