Did Einstein suck at mathematics?

8/26/2018

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Science Story: Did Einstein suck at mathematics?

No.

Einstein was not some uneducated savant who just happened to revolutionise physics.

He had a degree and a PhD from two of the most respected institutes in Switzerland, and his academic grades throughout his life were excellent (it is often cited he nearly failed at university - the only evidence I have found of this is he performed poorly in one math class because he found it dull - he was described as a “lazy dog” for it)

He was accepted onto a graduate course, and did exceptionally well.

And quite frankly, I dare anyone who says Einstein was bad at maths to go and look at General Relativity. The maths involved is heavy and complex - and Einstein integrated the whole mathematical machinery into the theory - not just some handwaving.

GR is pages and pages of this.

Einstein was a mathematical genius (and a university educated genius at that).

No two ways about it.

This information was taken from Quora. Click here to view the original post.

Have you ever been told that Einstein was bad at math?

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What are your thoughts on this subject?

38 Comments

Juan Maria Pablo Nanagas

I think iot was in his elementary or grade school days when the teachers thought he was dumb - in truth he was bored

Elsy O. Stromberg

Jessie Franklin, I wish I was good at math, don't need to be a genius.

Jessie Franklin

I wish I could have had the same grasp that he had with mathmatics.

tdelisi

djaiudijr, So true, about having the right instructor. My 9th grade teacher, spent extra time with me and another student who were a little slower than the rest of the class. We all skipped 8th grade and went to 9th grade, directly from 7th grade. Once I grasped the basics, i wound up with an A by the end of the year, and from then onward, Mathematics and Physics were a breeze, through advanced Calculus. But having a teacher devote just a little more time was the trick for me and I am still a decent mathematician.

Caroline Weis

I hated math in elemetray school, but when I got in high school and took bookkeeping, I did well in it. Strange thing about that.

Jun Soriao

I'm in my early 70s and math has been and will always be my obsession. One of the ways to appreciate nature and its beauty is to delve into the complexities of patterns and forms embedded in creation. Mathematics, through its abstract reasoning and precise logic, helps us, in more ways than one, to appreciate the brilliance of the Maker's mind. This enabler has a lot of explaining to do why humanity suffers from its foibles. Yet this mysterious being does not want to interfere. It just allows nature to take its course, believing that humanity would soon realize the error of its ways, correct the misgivings, learn to comprehend the essence of life, and truly understand the finite nature of needs and wants. The great Albert Einstein is probably one of his disciples.

Cheryl McMeekin

I personally was terrible at math, he's just one of the lucky ones.

Linalinda Eichin

Born Lucky I salute you

Christine Skinner

He would have school found boring. I don't know what grammar has to with it

Micheline Ratcliffe

lfs, where are the grammatical and syntactical errors, please elaborate.

Spencer Thomas Hancock III

I always figured the stuff I have read about him and math was BS, he was a genius.

Barry Crews

As far as I am concerned, Einstein was a maestro at math and physics. The proof is in the pudding of what he postulated and proved and is now being used as template by modern scholars