Einstein’s Love Life

Dr. Gill:

This is a real change in pace for you and also a very interesting article, of course, because you discuss the personal side of Einstein – something that most people hardly know! Similar insights into other scientific (as well as other historical) figures will be welcome.

Obviously, for Einstein, Physics was the first (and for all practical purposes, the only real) love of his life. The same is probably true of many geniuses, not just scientists, who really accomplish in their chosen field but sometimes come up desperately short in their personal ones, perhaps thinking that the rules for simple folks do not apply to them. For example, Gandhi neglected his children. Ben Franklin and his son became bitter enemies, etc. There is always a lot of “chiraag tale andhera” with some of these geniuses.

To sum it all up in janitorial terms:

This dude may have been rude and crude – but he was no prude – and for sure not a dud as a stud!!

Notes:
[“A genius but you wouldn’t want to marry him.”]
I knew there IS a space for simple janitors – not just geniuses – in the scheme of things!

[Einstein’s mother wanted him to marry Marie although she hadn’t seen her yet.]
Just a little matter of cosmetic details, of course!

[Marie did his laundry and other little things as token of her love for him.]
Just a bit of his dirty laundry, I guess!

[He took his women for granted because even after dumping Marie, he continued sending his laundry to her, which she did willingly.]
Either he took his women for granted, or his laundry VERY seriously – or perhaps he made no distinction between his women and used dirty laundry!

[In Berlin, he grew friendly with his cousin Elsa with whom he slept while he was still married to Maleva.]
(More than) kissing cousins, I suppose!

[Before marrying Elsa, he had considered marrying her daughter, Ilse, instead.]
A true do-gooder who never discriminated based on age!

[Elsa permitted Albert to see his mistress twice a week in exchange for keeping a low profile. He grew bored with her within a year and looked elsewhere for sex.]
Ah the good old days when wives were SO very understanding! Those creative juices needed a lot of stimulation to flow. (It perhaps gives a new and literal meaning to the popular phrase – “behind every successful man, there is a woman!” Einstein was of course more than just “successful”, so he would need a suitably extrapolated higher number of women. (I knew there was an explanation! (I wonder if it would work in reverse?)))

``.....This is a real change in pace for you and also a very interesting article....``

It is due to Cayenne and to some extent my constant ribbing.........we give Mr Gill...........it had the desired effect.........and the credit goes to Cayenne for putting Mr Gill in the right direction........though the manzil is yet at a distance......


The language used to describe Einstein`s Love life is pretty scientific/dry.........juicy details.....and some flowery and sexy lingo..........a la those `romance novels`........would`ve been better.........

This was your most interesting topic to date.

This article seems to have been written in haste, perhaps appropriate given its gossipy and salacious subject. I found at least two errors on a quick first scan: Hans Albert Einstein was a Professor at UC Berkeley (not Caltech); and Einstein’s secretary in Princeton was Helen Dukas (not Dukakis) – so there are probably several more, in addition to obvious typos.

Mohammad Gill
I work in the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department, Detroit, and hold the position of Assistant General Superintendent of Engineering.

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Methinks someone is spending too much time down there, kaura`s kind remarks about me not withstanding.Sure enough, he has to write about the love life of a brilliant JEW!!.This is what Albert Einstein said about India,``
We owe a lot to the Indians, who taught us how to count, without which no worthwhile scientific discovery could have been made``.

I`m on Einstein`s side on this one and i don`t speak ill or rake up `dirt` of the dead.

That`s nice to know about Einstein`s love life. :)

Good.

So I take it the film IQ is a work of fiction? ;))))

**For the uninitiated, IQ is a Hollywood chick- flick-if-I-ever-saw- one in which a retired, elderly Einstein (that dude who played Mr. Wilson in Dennis the menace) fondly facilitates the romance of his niece (Meg Sugaryan) with a local mechanic (Tim-what am I doing in this movie- Robbins). He is shown as happily single in the flick, with only a handful of jovial old scientists for company.

Anyway, to come to this piece, like someone says, looks hastily written, but a nice read nevertheless. I qalso feel Dr. Gill is a little harsh on Poor Albert :)))

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all he did was date someone at sixteen, marry someone else and have kids when he slightly older and divorced and remarried in middle-age. That seems par for the course in American at least these days! So the most you can say is that Einstein was ahead of his time, and not just specking scientifically!

Would have liked some more elaboration on the alleged affairs, with or without the juicy details kaura seeks, for that might have given some more insight into the kind of man he REALLY was!!

PS>> ``Mundane`` and ``lacklustre`` are not typically words you use to describe a love life, unless it were virtully non-existent, and old Al seems to have led quite a merry one!

Also, your column would be better off being titled ``Science and Sensibility``. The double pun attempt does NOT come off (n)

Alephnull:

I stand corrected on both counts. Thanks,
Mohammad Gill

An interesting article for a change Dr Gill, thumbs up. Good to know two of the most significant historical figures of the 20th century, associated particualrly with the WW2, a la Hitler and Einstein, had an almost equally disrupted and inconsistant love life, a coincidence?
regards

I’ve always wondered why I can’t seem to have enough of women, but now I know. Maybe there’s a genius lurking inside me too ;-)

NFP please collect your shit.It`s falling on my head.

alephnull:

what is your understanding of the us-india nuclear pact?

vajapyee had this to say...``it is difficult to resist the feeling that while India has made long-term and specific commitments in the Joint Statement, the US has merely made promises``

which goes with

``What is significant about the agreement (inked on June 18 between India and the US) is that New Delhi committed itself in public, very specifically to a series of actions to which it had not previously committed itself,`` the senior US official said. ..``

on the other hand, several reports in the indian media seem to be quite upbeat.

A `low-brow` essay by a `low-brow` person.Dr.Gill you have far exceeded yourself.

I won`t agree on one thing though..
[Probably highly creative persons need all their time and minds for their creative work and marriage and steady relationships are only a bothersome appendage; that probably was the reason that Newton remained unmarried all his life]
Not necessarily! Sir Isaac Newton was a member of UK parliament twice, and i don`t think politics is any lesser trubulent and distracting a business than marriage.
One thing that probably best distinguishes an ordinary person form a genius or a `highly creative` person, is that while an average person would be either a jack of all or a master of one, a genius or a consummator would excell in every skill he cherishes and get as close as possible to mastering in all that he engages himslef into. Marriage is a differnet business altogether, it`s more about emotions than genius/intelligence.