The private and public lives of Albert Einstein
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The private and public lives of Albert Einstein
1–10 of 36 posts
Re: The private and public lives of Albert Einstein
#2should private lives be made public post morteum?
Re: The private and public lives of Albert Einstein
#3i read these rules he had for this 1st wife years ago "A. You will make sure:
1. that my clothes and laundry are kept in good order; 2. that I will receive my three meals regularly in my room; 3. that my bedroom and study are kept neat, and especially that my desk is left for my use only.
B. You will renounce all personal relations with me insofar as they are not completely necessary for social reasons. Specifically, You will forego:
1. my sitting at home with you; 2. my going out or travelling with you.
C. You will obey the following points in your relations with me:
1. you will not expect any intimacy from me, nor will you reproach me in any way; 2. you will stop talking to me if I request it; 3. you will leave my bedroom or study immediately without protest if I request it.
D. You will undertake not to belittle me in front of our children, either through words or behavior."
http://www.openculture.com/2013/12/albert-einstein-imposes-o... and I try and be nicer.
Re: The private and public lives of Albert Einstein
#4i read these rules he had for this 1st wife years ago "A. You will make sure: 1. that my clothes and laundry are kept in good order; 2. that I will receive my three meals regularly in my room; 3. that my bedroom and study are kept neat, and especially that my desk is left for my use only. B. You will renounce all personal relations with me insofar as they are not completely necessary for social reasons. Specifically,…
The truth is you would not want to be married to the vast majority of “great” people in history.
Re: The private and public lives of Albert Einstein
#5i read these rules he had for this 1st wife years ago "A. You will make sure: 1. that my clothes and laundry are kept in good order; 2. that I will receive my three meals regularly in my room; 3. that my bedroom and study are kept neat, and especially that my desk is left for my use only. B. You will renounce all personal relations with me insofar as they are not completely necessary for social reasons. Specifically,…
This is frankly one of the most absurd and saddest things I've read - and I'm surprised to see it attributed to Einstein.
Re: The private and public lives of Albert Einstein
#6i read these rules he had for this 1st wife years ago "A. You will make sure: 1. that my clothes and laundry are kept in good order; 2. that I will receive my three meals regularly in my room; 3. that my bedroom and study are kept neat, and especially that my desk is left for my use only. B. You will renounce all personal relations with me insofar as they are not completely necessary for social reasons. Specifically,…
This is pretty standard stay-together-for-the-kids stuff
Re: The private and public lives of Albert Einstein
#7i read these rules he had for this 1st wife years ago "A. You will make sure: 1. that my clothes and laundry are kept in good order; 2. that I will receive my three meals regularly in my room; 3. that my bedroom and study are kept neat, and especially that my desk is left for my use only. B. You will renounce all personal relations with me insofar as they are not completely necessary for social reasons. Specifically,…
This is frankly one of the most absurd and saddest things I've read - and I'm surprised to see it attributed to Einstein.
Not only was he abusive to his first wife, he then got married to his cousin, and almost proposed to her daughter. Beyond that, he had a great deal of affairs.
Einstein may have been smart, but he was a really awful person.
Re: The private and public lives of Albert Einstein
#8i read these rules he had for this 1st wife years ago "A. You will make sure: 1. that my clothes and laundry are kept in good order; 2. that I will receive my three meals regularly in my room; 3. that my bedroom and study are kept neat, and especially that my desk is left for my use only. B. You will renounce all personal relations with me insofar as they are not completely necessary for social reasons. Specifically,…
This is taken out of context somewhat, so I'll offer it just to try to keep things balanced. This appears to come from Walter Isaacson biography on Einstein. At the time, Einstein's first marriage had deteriorated and they were already living apart. This was an offer to move back in together for the sake of their children. His wife didn't accept these terms and they divorced in 1919.
Also we're talking about 100 years ago in Berlin. It's a bit perilous to judge their relationship by our modern standards. I would say things have changed vastly for the better. I shudder to think how people in 100 years would view my lifestyle.
Re: The private and public lives of Albert Einstein
#9i read these rules he had for this 1st wife years ago "A. You will make sure: 1. that my clothes and laundry are kept in good order; 2. that I will receive my three meals regularly in my room; 3. that my bedroom and study are kept neat, and especially that my desk is left for my use only. B. You will renounce all personal relations with me insofar as they are not completely necessary for social reasons. Specifically,…
The truth is you would not want to be married to the vast majority of “great” people in history.
The fact he had to make a rule for her not to belittle him in front of the children makes me think I wouldn't want to be married to his wife either. We're only seeing one half of the picture here, but she doesn't sound like a saint.
Re: The private and public lives of Albert Einstein
#10i read these rules he had for this 1st wife years ago "A. You will make sure: 1. that my clothes and laundry are kept in good order; 2. that I will receive my three meals regularly in my room; 3. that my bedroom and study are kept neat, and especially that my desk is left for my use only. B. You will renounce all personal relations with me insofar as they are not completely necessary for social reasons. Specifically,…
This is taken out of context somewhat, so I'll offer it just to try to keep things balanced. This appears to come from Walter Isaacson biography on Einstein. At the time, Einstein's first marriage had deteriorated and they were already living apart. This was an offer to move back in together for the sake of their children. His wife didn't accept these terms and they divorced in 1919. Also we're talking about 100 year…
Nah, it was not normal by standards of 100 years ago either.
Edit: the "it was different time" is popular retort, but it rarely takes into account actual customs and realities of the time back. People just tend to assume that whatever someone else criticizes was unopposed standard back at the time, because it would feel good and was convenient. Societies back at time were as complicated as ours, often had strong standards of behavior - which just like in ours was often not followed in practice or lead to problems.
They were not "just like us except worst". Case in point, even if intra-family violence was way more common, both against kids (I don't mean light spanking I mean actual sever abuse) and women, it was criticized and seen as wrong too (and as such meant to be in-family secret).