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How Einstein Learned Physics

Einstein was a student long before he became a celebrity. There is a lot to glean
from his education and unique approach to learning.

Scott Young |

Wanting to understand how Einstein learned physics may, at first, seem as

pointless as trying to fly by watching birds and flapping your arms really
hard. How do you emulate someone who is synonymousManage
with genius?
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Einstein did to learn, he clearly did something right, so there’s merit in

trying to figure out what that was.

How Smart Was Einstein? (Did He Really Fail Elementary

Mathematics?)
One of the most common stories about Einstein is that he failed grade
school math. I think this is one of those ideas that sounds so good it has to
get repeated, regardless of whether it is true or not.

Unfortunately, it’s not true. Einstein was a strong math student from a
very young age. He himself admits:

“I never failed in mathematics. Before I was �ifteen I had

mastered differential and integral calculus.”

While the story about Einstein being an early dullard is certainly false, it’s
not the case that he was universally regarded as a genius, either.

In college, Einstein o�ten struggled in math, getting 5s and 6s (out of a

possible 6) in physics, but getting only 4s in most of his math courses
(barely a passing grade). His mathematics professor, and future
collaborator, Hermann Minkowski called him a “lazy dog” and physics
professor, Jean Pernet, even flunked Einstein with a score of 1 in an
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The difficulty Einstein had was

undoubtedly due in part to his
non-conformist streak and
rebellious attitude, which didn’t
sit well in an academic
environment. This would follow
him in his future academic
career, when he was struggling to
find teaching jobs at universities,
even a�ter he had already done
the work which would later win
him the Nobel prize.

Einstein’s discoveries in physics

were truly revolutionary, which
certainly earns him the title of
“genius” by any reasonable
Einstein’s grades (highest grade = 6).
standard. However, the early
picture of Einstein is more
complicated than that. All of this indicates to me, at least, that it can o�ten
be very easy to judge the genius of someone a�ter the fact, but perhaps
harder to predict in advance.

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worthwhile to ask how he learned it.

Throughout the biography, I took notes whenever his methods of learning

and discovery were mentioned. Then, I tried to synthesize these
observations into several methods or behaviors that appeared to have
enabled both Einstein’s revolutionary discoveries and his deep
understanding of the subject matter.

1. Learning comes from solving hard problems, not attending classes.

One thing that becomes apparent when looking at Einstein’s early

schooling was both his distaste for rote memorization and attending
classes. The physics professor that flunked him, did so, in no small part,
because Einstein o�ten skipped class. As he claims, “I played hooky a lot
and studied the masters of theoretical physics with a holy zeal at home.”

This habit of skipping classes to focus on solving hard problems in his

spare time was one cultivated by his uncle, Jakob Einstein, who first
introduced him to algebra. By the time he was 12, Einstein already had a,
“predilection for solving complicated problems in arithmetic,” and his
parents bought him an advanced mathematical textbook he could study
from during the summer.

Einstein learned physics, not by dutifully attending classes, but by

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How do you know when you

really understand something?
Einstein’s method was to try
prove the proposition himsel�!
This began at an early age, when
Uncle Jakob, challenged him to
prove Pythagoras’s Theorem:

“After much effort, I

succeeded in ‘proving’ this
theorem on the basis of the
similarity of triangles,”
Einstein recalled.

Isaacson explains that Einstein,

Einstein as a boy.
“tackled new theories by trying to
prove them on his own.” This
approach to learning physics, which came naturally to Einstein, was
driven by a strong curiosity both to know how things actually work, and a
belief that, “nature could be understood as a relatively simple
mathematical structure.”

What’s important to note here is not only the method of proving

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3. Intuition matters more than equations.

Einstein was a better intuitive physicist than he was a mathematician. In

fact, it was only when he struggled for years in developing general
relativity, that he became more enamored with mathematical formalisms
as a way of doing physics.

An early influence which encouraged this intuitive approach to physics

was a series of science books by Aaron Bernstein. These books presented
imaginative pictures to understand physical phenomenon, such as, “an
imaginary trip through space,” to understand an electrical signal and even
discussing the constancy of the speed of light, a matter which would later
underpin Einstein’s discovery of special relativity.

Einstein’s later education in Aarau, Switzerland, was heavily influenced by

the philosophy of Swiss educational reformer, Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi.
Pestalozzi claimed, “Visual understanding is the essential and only true
means of teaching how to judge things correctly,” adding, “the learning of
numbers and language must definitely be subordinated.”

Were these early influences causal factors in Einstein’s later preferred style
of visualization to solve physics problems, or were they merely a welcome
encouragement for a mind that was already predisposed to reasoning in
this way? It’s hard to tell. Whatever the case, I think it can be argued that
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“intuition is nothing but the

outcome of earlier intellectual
experience.” Einstein’s hard work
building understanding through
proofs and solving problems
undoubtedly supported his ability
to visualize as much as it
benefited from it.

4. Thinking requires a quiet

space and deep focus.

Einstein was a master of deep

work. He had an incredible ability
to focus, his son reporting:

Swiss education reformer Pestalozzi “Even the loudest baby-crying

emphasized learning through images, not by
didn’t seem to disturb Father,”
rote.
adding, “He could go on with
his work completely
impervious to noise.”

Although overlooked for academic positions, it was his intellectually

unstimulating job at the Bern patent office, which gave him time and
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The obsessive focus Einstein

applied to solving problems as a
young boy, eventually served him
well in cracking general relativity,
culminating in an “exhausting
four-week frenzy.” This intensity
sometimes impacted his health,
with him developing stomach
problems in his strain to unravel
the difficult mathematics of
tensor field equations.

Einstein’s ability to focus,

combined with a reverence for
solitude, allowed him to do some
Einstein in his home o�ice. of his best work in physics. Even
as he aged, he still spent many
hours on his boat, idly pushing the rudder seemingly lost in thought,
interrupted by bursts of scribbling equations in his notebook.

5. Understand ideas through thought experiments.

Einstein’s most famous method for learning and discovering physics has to
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Well, it would have to freeze.

This, to Einstein, seemed
impossible by his faith in
Maxwell’s electromagnetic
equations. But if the light doesn’t
freeze, what must happen?

These thought experiments were

built on his intuitive
understanding of physics, which
in turn was built on his
experience with working through
theories and problems. Their
strength, however, was to draw
attention to contradictions or
confusions that may have been
missed by a less intuitive
Books such as this were Einstein’s �irst
introduction to the power of thought physicist.
experiments.
His ability to engage in thought
experiments even served him when he ended up being wrong about the
underlying physics. It was exactly this type of thought experiment that he
suggested to refute the current understanding of quantum physics in what
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mechanical systems do behave in such bizarre ways—which is now known

as quantum entanglement.

6. Overturn common sense … with more common sense.

Special and general relativity stand out as being some of the most mind-
bending scientific discoveries of all time. With special relativity, Einstein
discovered that there is no absolute time—that two people moving at
different speeds can disagree about the passage of time—with neither
being right or wrong. With general relativity, Einstein went further,
showing that gravity bends space and time.

It would be reasonable to assume,

therefore, that to overturn such
commonsense principles would
require some departure from
common sense. However,
Einstein’s genius was to reconcile
two commonsense principles
—relativity and the constancy of
the speed of light—by discarding
a third (the idea of absolute
measurements of space and
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he thought were the most reasonable ideas, even if that meant discarding
ones which had a longer tradition of being thought to be correct.

This skill of overturning commonsense with other intuitions may have

also eventually been behind his inability to accept quantum mechanics, a
very successful theory of physics that he himself helped create. His
intuitions about strict determinism, led him to champion an unsuccessful
and quixotic quest to overturn the theory for much of his life.

This practice also suggests a method for learning the many, counter-
intuitive principles of math and physics—start by building off of a
different commonsense premise.

7. Insights come from friendly walks.

While solitude and focus were essential components of how Einstein

learned and did physics, it was o�ten conversations with other people that
provided his breakthroughs.

The most famous example of this was a walk with longtime friend Michele
Besso. During his struggles with special relativity, he walked with his
friend trying to explain his theory. Frustrated, he declared that, “he was
going to give up,” working on the theory. Suddenly, however, the correct
insight came to him and the next day he told Besso that he had,
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technique of discussing tricky

problems with friends and
colleagues, even if they were
merely a sounding board rather
than an active participant in the
discussion.

8. Be rebellious.

Einstein was never much of a

conformist. While his rebellious
Albert Einstein with Michele Besso. streak probably hurt his earlier
academic career when he was
struggling to find work in physics, it is also probably what enabled his
greatest discoveries and accentuated his later celebrity.

This rebelliousness likely helped him in learning physics as he pushed

against the traditions and orthodoxy he didn’t agree with. He hated the
German educational system, finding in Isaacson’s words, “the style of
teaching—rote drills, impatience with questioning—to be repugnant.” This
rejection of the common educational method encouraged him to learn
physics on his own through textbooks and practice.

Later, the same rebelliousness would be essential in revolutionizing

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mathematical contrivance. He was less attached to the predominant

theory of the time that light was a wave in the ether.

Where many students would have been happy to conform to predominant

educational and theoretical orthodoxies, Einstein wasn’t satisfied unless
something made sense to him personally.

9. All knowledge starts with curiosity.

“Curiosity has its own reason for existing,” Einstein explains. “One cannot
help but be in awe when one contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life,
of the marvelous structure of reality.”

This curiosity is probably

Einstein’s most defining quality,
a�ter his intelligence. His love of
physics started as a boy when he
was given a compass and
fascinated by the idea that the
needle moved because of an
unseen force.

Einstein, curious until the end.

Curiosity was his motivation for
learning physics. Einstein, who
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own mind, the greatest reason for his accomplishments.

Einstein believed that, “love is a better teacher than a sense of duty.” Love
of learning and knowledge is, perhaps, a more important skill to cultivate
than discipline.

Learning as Einstein Did

Einstein’s approach towards learning cannot be entirely separated from
who he was. Was his obsessive focus a result of his intelligence or his
curiosity? Did his ability to easily visualize thought experiments come
from encouragement in an unusual Swiss education system, extensive
practice or natural ability? Was his revolution in physics a product of
genius, rebelliousness, luck or maybe all three? I’m not sure there are clear
answers to any of those questions.

What is clear, however, was Einstein’s reverence for nature and the
humbled attitude to which he approached investigating it. As he wrote:

“A spirit is manifest in the laws of the universe—a spirit vastly

superior to that of man, and one in the face of which we with
our modest powers must feel humble.”

And, so even if Einstein’s genius may lay outside the reach of most of us,
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This post originally appeared on Scott Young and was published March 4, 2017. This
article is republished here with permission.

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