The Unforgettable Albert Einstein

A professor remembers his encounters with Albert Einstein, and pays a glowing tribute to the man’s genius and his many accomplishments

- BANESH HOFFMANN

HE WAS ONE OF the greatest scientists the world has ever known, yet if I had to convey the essence of Albert Einstein in a single word, I would choose ‘simplicity’. Perhaps an anecdote will help. Once, caught in a downpour, he took off his hat and held it under his coat. Asked why, he explained, with admirable logic, that the rain would damage the hat, but his hair would be none the worse for its wetting. This knack for going instinctively to the heart of a matter was the secret of his major scientific discoveries—this and his extraordinary feeling for beauty.

I first met Albert Einstein in 1935, at the famous Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey. Einstein had been among the first to be invited to the Institute and was offered carte blanche as to salary. To the director’s dismay, Einstein asked for an impossible sum: It was far too small. The director had to plead with him to accept a larger salary.

I was in awe of Einstein and hesitated before approaching him about some ideas I had been working on. My hesitation proved unwarranted. When I finally knocked on his door, a gentle voice said, “Come”—with a rising inflection that made the single word both a welcome and a question. I entered his office and found him seated at a table, calculating and smoking his pipe. Dressed in ill­fitting clothes, his hair characteristically awry, he smiled a warm welcome. His utter naturalness at once set me at ease.

As I began to explain my ideas, he asked me to write the equations on the blackboard so that he could see how they developed. Then came the staggering—and altogether endearing—request: “Please go slowly. I do not understand things quickly.” This from Einstein! He said it gently, and I laughed. From then on, all vestiges of fear were gone.

BURST OF GENIUS