![]() In his autobiographical notes, Einstein gives no indication of any desire to become part of the “Kultur” of Germany. One cannot make assumptions about the aspirations of another without evidence. He states that Einstein’s library of books is “what an aspiring member of the culture-carrying class would want to know about” (Holton, 19). It is in his discussion of Einstein’s “selective reverence for tradition” that Holton makes a point that I cannot agree with. There is no question that Einstein is audacious and on this point I agreed with Holton. Holton notes this and states, “s to Einstein’s rebelliousness, that is easily summarized in its various forms – where ‘rebelliousness’ is a shorthand term for such traits as disobedience or insubordination to authority, a tendency to be revolutionary, obstinately nonconformist, dissident, defiant, and, in a phrase he applied to himself, ‘stubborn as a mule.’ ” In his autobiographical notes, Einstein also states that “dogmatic rigidity prevailed in matters of principle,” emphasizing the fact that his views were different from the prevailing ideas (Einstein, 17). He continued on, often choosing to do things, such as quitting school and changing his nationality to avoid military service, and think in a way that is both unique and revolutionary, such as imagining riding on a beam of light (Kumar). ![]() Until he was seven, he would repeat his sentences softly to himself until he was satisfied that it was perfect (Kumar, 34). From childhood, Einstein was obviously different from most people. However, the topic of Einstein’s childhood and his development into academia is one of the shorter sections of the paper. “Einstein and the Cultural Roots of Modern Science” has a wide berth, covering many aspects of Einstein’s life before finally drawing its conclusion. This understates how truly radical his ideas of relativity, the quantum, and Brownian motion were and exaggerates Einstein’s compliance with cultural patterns. While Holton’s conclusion discounts the early signs of revolution in Einstein’s youth. In his paper “Einstein and the Cultural Roots of Modern Science”, Gerard Holton claims to resolve the paradox through examination of Einstein’s contemporary milieu, tracing his nonconformist nature to a socially acceptable form of elitist innovation, and ultimately concluding he was not a pure rebel. In another, Einstein remained within identifiable limits of rebellion and maintained an appreciation for cultural norms. In one respect, he was a revolutionary going against all forms of conventions in science with his work on the photoelectric effect, special theory of relativity, and other fields in physics. Much has been established about his life and work but there remains an apparent unanswered paradox in his personality (Holton, 3). Physicists and laymen alike know of Albert Einstein and his famous contributions to the world of physics. ![]()
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