Einstein was wrong. I know it’s hard to believe but the research doesn’t lie. He was off on a few things. He believed the expansion of the universe was slowing down, when actually it is speeding up. He made seven big mistakes when proving his theory of relativity. In fact here is a list of 23 things that Einstein got wrong.
All of this is to be expected from someone taking on such monumental tasks. But in my opinion, his biggest blunder didn’t happen in an equation or formula. It was a quote. Perhaps it was a passing sentence that has been repeated over and over again, in books, and movies, and podcasts, and shows until I can’t stand to hear its wrongness any more. In fact I would assume that many of us have even repeated it. I know I have, before I actually thought it through. In an attempt to sound intelligent, I rattled it off, wearing a jacket with pads on the elbows, holding a pipe in one hand and swirling brandy in a tumbler with the other. (Okay, I don’t really do any of those things, but that’s how I feel when I feel smart.) Sitting on the edge of a very expensive armchair from the 19th century in a huge library full of important books, discussing philosophy with associated intellectuals, (again, more lies) I have said,
Well, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.
Then we all laughed through our noses, like Thurston Howell from Gilligan’s Island, and admired our own brains. (Again, not true.)
How did this become such a staple quotation in society, when it is so wrong? It is tossed about like a piece of common sense that everyone should know. The funny thing is, that Einstein himself said this about common sense,
Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen.
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If doing the same thing over and over, and expecting different results were truly the definition of insanity, they would have to lock up anyone who learned that diet and exercise plans have to be modified as our bodies adapt. Eventually we can continue doing the exact same thing, over and over and stop losing weight or gaining muscle. They would also have to release Al (not his real name) from the psychiatric ward. Al knows that wearing his robe, taking his meds and being nice to the other patients will make his day very simple. But he kicked a homeless man to death and spends his days incarcerated, heavily medicated, and happily doing the same thing, expecting the same results.
Time and technology have caught up with some ideas that seemed insane. The thought of smartphones was so farfetched in 1926 that no one could imagine it. Or could they?
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The strange dichotomy of the industry of psychiatry was explored by Jon Ronson in his book The Psychopath Test. In it he explores the shocking reality of how definitions of things like ADD, OCD and psychopathy originate. He discovered that it is simply a massive guessing game where boundaries and definitions are really just lose thoughts and anecdotes thrown out by those who profit most from the disease they “discover” or define.
But insanity is not simple to define.
Often times the line between insanity and genius is blurred. Time and technology have caught up with some ideas that seemed insane. The thought of smartphones was so farfetched in 1926 that no one could imagine it. Or could they?
Nicola Tesla, the man who brought us the electrical grid we use today, was reported to have invented the first electric car and was credited with the invention of the radio after his death said this almost 100 years ago.
When wireless is perfectly applied the whole earth will be converted into a huge brain, which in fact it is, all things being particles of a real and rhythmic whole. We shall be able to communicate with one another instantly, irrespective of distance. Not only this, but through television and telephony we shall see and hear one another as perfectly as though we were face to face, despite intervening distances of thousands of miles; and the instruments through which we shall be able to do his will be amazingly simple compared with our present telephone. A man will be able to carry one in his vest pocket.
And yet, despite his intellect and inventions, Tesla died broke. His ideas were much too big for his time and people had a hard time taking him seriously. He was a genius, wrapped in the conception of lunacy.
Yet, sometimes it takes a lunatic to create a masterpiece.
The Oxford English Dictionary had an incredible contributor named W. C. Minor who is considered the main contributor to the original version. His massive grasp of the English language, and huge collection of notes on individual words made him a perfect fit. Unfortunately the brilliant surgeon did his work from a psychiatric prison because he murdered the father of a man who Minor thought was out to get him. While in prison he also committed a horrible act of self-mutilation that doesn’t warrant repeating.
Insanity and genius are not opposite ends of some intelligence measurement. They are brothers, occupying the same space in our minds; the space outside the box.
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So were these men insane, geniuses, both or neither? When you imagine the impossible are you being unrealistic or dreaming big? What is the line between insanity and genius? Is it success? Elon Musk has made amazing cars that are fast, beautiful and considered much better on the environment. But his company is a failure in the eyes of stockholders. It is the modern day version of the man after which the company is named. Tesla.
Insanity and genius are not opposite ends of some intelligence measurement. They are brothers, occupying the same space in our minds; the space outside the box. The space where dreams are made and nightmares are born. It seems to be difficult to quantify either or disassociate them from each other. Perhaps success is what determines insanity or brilliance. It seems there is one quote that accurately describes the line between insane and genius. It is the quote which Megan Fox had tattooed on her side. It reads,
“Those who dance are considered insane by those who can’t hear the music.”
–Friedrich Nietzche (who died in an insane asylum.)
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