Layan - Ordinary Genius The Story of Albert Einstein

Ordinary Genius The Story of Albert Einstein

MLA Citation:

McPherson, Stephanie S. Ordinary Genius The Story of Albert Einstein. Minneapolis: Twenty-First Century Books, 2006. 5-87. Print.

Summary:

Albert Einstein was born March 14, 1879 in Germany, in the city of Ulm.  Albert was not like any other child he was different. First of all, he had a very big head and a pointed skull. Albert was a genius since he was young; his father gave him a compass that always pointed to the North. Albert would sit and listen to his beloved father clarify, what had made the needle in the compass point North. Albert always thought of the compass as a mystery, but at the same time as a miracle. Albert has a younger sister called Maja. In school, Albert was always distracted because he never seemed interested in what the teachers taught him. He was interested mostly in Mathematics. He loved solving and figuring out problems. Albert’s Catholic school was very tough, the students weren’t allowed to ask questions and if they did, they’d get hit. Albert was a Jewish German, but not religious. His parents always wanted him to play an instrument, but he didn’t want to. Eventually, he was forced into playing the violin, but later on it became his ‘meditation and free time’. Max was Albert’s older friend that used to come for dinner and teach him math. Albert studied the whole book that Max gave him, when finally Max couldn’t catch up/understand any more of Albert’s astonishing logical problems that were beyond human ability. He was still bored in class, but now he’d show his boredom even more. At this point, Albert was asking his teachers questions that cannot be answered by a normal human brain. Albert was fifteen when he was expelled from school. When he was expelled, he was so relieved because his family moved to Italy and left him behind to finish his education. Albert finally followed his parents to Italy, and gave up his German citizenship at the same time. He hated Germany. But Albert didn’t give up on his studies, his father sent him to a Polytechnic School in Zurich. He loved his new school and loved his teachers. Albert was always wondering about light and how it travels. Instead of becoming an electrical engineer, he wanted to become a science teacher/professor because was interested in physics. He was very stressed in his new school and was thinking of giving up on science. His friends gave him their notes to study for the exams, and he passed.  He had no job, and no money. Albert married Mileva Maric a friend from his school, and luckily found a job at the patent office. Albert finally decided not to give up on physics, and he was endured/persevered to get his Ph.D. degree in the University of Zurich. He was always curious and wanted to learn new things, especially space and light. He would always jot down his ideas on a notebook. In year 1904 he got his first son Hans Albert Einstein. Albert was working on the photoelectric effect and never gave up on finding the answers to his questions. He found out that there were molecules that existed. He compared light with things that move. He figured out the Brownian motion and created the equation E=mc2 .  Also Albert is known for his famous theory of relativity. Albert got another son from Mileva year 1910, Eduard. Albert officially became a professor, and moved to Prague. He moved countries a lot in his life. Albert started loving Elsa his cousin, and moved to Berlin where she lived. He was also working as a professor at that time. Mileva decided to leave Berlin with her children, and she did. This was the beginning of World War I. Albert and Mileva decided to get divorced for good, and Albert then married his cousin Elsa. Finally, year 1916 Albert finished his theory of relativity even though he had all this weight put on his back. He never gave up on finishing his theory! Albert kept working non-stop without food and water, night and day until his bad habits made him very sick. There was an ulcer that formed in his stomach, when he was only thirty-eight. Albert stayed strong, and thought to himself; if he died he would die relieved because he had finished the General Theory of Relativity and all its papers. Elsa stayed by Albert’s side and nursed him until he became good as new. Albert Einstein became the most famous scientist of the twentieth century. He traveled the world to get interviewed by people, and his belief in the Jewish religion got stronger. He started meeting with Jewish leaders, and discussing with them certain issues. He was pulled into the movement that Zionists were organizing. Albert never gave up on his work. Hitler begins World War II killing all Jews. The Nazis threatened Albert, so he left with his wife to America. He wanted to save all the Jews suffering in this mayhem. Albert refused his German citizenship once more. The Nazis burned Albert’s papers for the theory of relativity and many other important papers. Elsa passed away before Albert did, and even after her death Albert didn’t stop working on physics and other theories. Albert loved playing with kids and had a kind heart. He died on April 18, 1955 in Princeton, New Jersey. Albert shows perseverance in many different ways. Albert overcomes divorce, sickness, war, and the death of his wife/cousin, but he never gave up and kept moving forward. He also couldn’t see his own children most of the time.

During what historical time period does the autobiography/biography take place?

This biography takes place during the nineteenth and twentieth century. The historical time period of this biography is during World War I and World War II.  It is during World War I, as stated on page 44, “ The outbreak of World War I settled the matter. On June 28, 1914, Archduke Francis Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary was assassinated by a terrorist from Serbia. Within weeks most of Europe was at war”.  Evidence that this time period is during World War II: “Hitler blamed the Jews for everything that had gone wrong in Germany. He believed that Germans with a northern European background, which didn’t include Jews and other minorities, were superior to others. Horrified, Albert and Elsa knew that they could never go home while the Nazis controlled Germany” (Pages 68-69). This happened in the nineteenth and twentieth century because Albert was born, “March 14 1879” (page 8), and passed away on “April 18, 1955” (page 87).

MLA Citation:

• ·      McPherson, Stephanie S. Ordinary Genius The Story of Albert Einstein. Minneapolis: Twenty-First Century Books, 2006. 44. Print.

• ·      McPherson, Stephanie S. Ordinary Genius The Story of Albert Einstein. Minneapolis: Twenty-First Century Books, 2006. 68-69. Print.

• ·      McPherson, Stephanie S. Ordinary Genius The Story of Albert Einstein. Minneapolis: Twenty-First Century Books, 2006. 8. Print.

• ·      McPherson, Stephanie S. Ordinary Genius The Story of Albert Einstein. Minneapolis: Twenty-First Century Books, 2006. 87. Print.

How did/do ideas of the time influence the individual/events? Or how did the individual influence ideas and events around him/her?  

            The time period mostly influenced the events that happened to Albert in the book. For example, because of World War II, Albert was threatened and had to leave the country. He was threatened by the Nazis because he was Jewish. As stated on page 67, “However, recent events in Germany had cast a threatening shadow over the Einstein’s and the country’s entire Jewish population.” Also the time period influenced Albert in some way. After the Nazis burned all his papers and theories on relativity as specified on page 71, “ While thousands of people watched and cheered, copies of some of the most powerful books ever written were thrown away into flames, including Albert’s works on relativity.” This made Albert very furious, but this didn’t sop him from working on his other theories and papers. Albert influenced the events and ideas around him in many ways.  He influenced the events around him because he made theories that no one had ever created (like the theory of relativity). He also created the equation E=mc2, as shown on page 35, “Einstein expressed this idea in what has been called the most famous equation of the twentieth century: E=mc2. It means that if you multiply the mass of a body by the speed of light, then multiply your answer by the speed of light again, you will know how much energy is locked inside that object”. This is how the time period influenced Albert, and how he as a person influenced events and ideas around him.

         MLA Citation:

• ·      McPherson, Stephanie S. Ordinary Genius The Story of Albert Einstein. Minneapolis: Twenty-First Century Books, 2006. 67. Print.
• 
  
• ·      McPherson, Stephanie S. Ordinary Genius The Story of Albert Einstein. Minneapolis: Twenty-First Century Books, 2006. 71. Print.
• 
  
• ·      McPherson, Stephanie S. Ordinary Genius The Story of Albert Einstein. Minneapolis: Twenty-First Century Books, 2006. 35. Print.

Vocabulary:

1.     Patent

Page: 25

Part of Speech: Noun

Definition: The right to advertise inventions/inventions that are safe and controlled by a patent/director.

Sentence from the book: Whenever the patent director walked by, Albert would shove his paper into a desk drawer.

Sentence: While we were doing experiments in chemistry, the patent director walked past us, to see if everything is ok.

2.     Confide

Page: 29

Part of Speech: Verb

Definition: Say a secret

Sentence from the book: Other times he grew excited before the conclusion was in. “I hope this works out, the answer would be lovely,” he might confide to his friends.

Sentence: I felt that she was going to confide the secret of her parents’ divorce this year.

3.     Prejudiced

Page: 41

Part of Speech: Adjective

Definition: To show hatred/dislike because of the other persons’ sect or color.

Sentence from the book: Many of the Germans acted as if they were more important or better than others, and both the Czechs and the Germans were prejudiced against the large Jewish population.

Sentence: Many prejudiced against the people in the Middle East because they were Arab.

4.     Strain

Page: 43

Part of Speech: Noun

Definition: Stress

Sentence from the book: The move might put more of a strain on their already troubled marriage.

Sentence: Because I had too much work during the week, I had a lot of strain put on my back.

5.     Ailing

Page: 65

Part of Speech: Adjective

Definition: Bad health

Sentence from the book: At first Helen Dukas was nervous when she met the ailing scientist.

Sentence: When I entered the room I saw the ailing children dying of hunger.

Reflection:

This book matters because it is a striking example of a person that demonstrates perseverance and determination throughout his/her life. The ‘so what’ of this book is never give up because life will beat you down to your knees. For example, Albert passed through a lot of pressure in his life, but he never gave up, and stayed strong. He didn’t let life affect anything, or stop him from doing anything. I really liked Albert Einstein because he did something in life. I loved how he was curious to find out new things, and think about ideas that were outside the box. I loved how he gave up his German citizenship because he wasn’t proud of being German. At the end of the day it’s his right to choose whether he wants, no one can force him to do anything. I also liked that he followed his dream, and when he started something he wouldn’t stop until it was done. He couldn’t speak until he was around four, but didn’t mind that at all. Yes I would recommend it to a friend because it is very interesting to learn about what Albert Einstein has accomplished in his life. I would recommend it especially for the people that like reading biographies about determination or perseverance. Albert Einstein is important for us to think and talk about because he had accomplished things in life that no one had ever done. He created theories, and found the answers to the questions that he was curious about. All this, is because of his perseverance, and smartness. I saw myself in the person I read about because when I start something I stay focused on it until it’s done. I never give up, and I don’t let life beat me down on my knees. I am also very curious to learn new things just like Albert! I would rate this book a 10/10! I really enjoyed reading it!