Chapter 2 Chapter 1 Munich

the charm of music On March 14, 1879, in the small town of Ulm, Germany. On this day, on the earth we live, how many lives are born with a blank look?have no idea.But history is destined to make this day extremely sacred.If there are indeed countless intelligent planets in the vast universe, and one day communicated with the human beings on the earth to communicate with the information of civilization, they will also take off their hats for this day. The glory of this day comes from a man named Albert.Einstein's baby's first cry. Unfortunately, when human beings experience great moments, they can't always feel great.Ordinary, ordinary, without noise or excitement, Einstein's birthday initially only brought ordinary joy to his parents.

Einstein's parents were Jewish.As early as the sixteenth century AD, Einstein's Jewish ancestors wandered from unknown places to Germany.For unknown reasons, they suddenly gave up the ancient tradition of Jewish migration, and instead fell in love with the mountains, rivers and forests of the German land, and began a settled life.To the generation of Einstein’s parents, except for some religious habits, they have actually become authentic Germans, speak German, love Germany, regard Germany as their motherland, and take themselves as Germans for granted. Einstein's father Hermann.Einstein and his mother Pauline.The Kok family has always settled in Ulm, Germany.After they got married on August 8, 1876, their small home was first in Musterplatz, and then moved to Bahnhofstrasse.In 1944, when the dying Third Reich was about to be destroyed, Einstein's birthplace was also used as a funeral object. Continuous air raids by the Allied forces left the residence of Einstein's parents in ruins.

The Jewish tradition of being good at doing business and making money did not exist in Herman.Pride is reflected in Einstein, or he is careless, or he is not good at speculation, Hermann.Mr. Einstein's performance in the business field was mediocre, and he barely maintained his family's livelihood.But he is a spiritual optimist with a peaceful mind, honesty and gentleness, and the cultural charm of the German nation's pursuit of noble personality and free spirit fascinates him.Herman.Einstein was originally very talented in mathematics, and he was eye-catching in middle school, but his parents had no money for him to go to college, so he had to give up his studies and start a business.The desire for knowledge and spiritual enrichment made him hate books. Every night, he always accompanied the works of his beloved poets Schiller and Heine, and recited them aloud in the living room.When he read a wonderful place, he would suddenly stop and take off his pince-nez with an exaggerated movement, with a very innocent childlike smile on his face, staring at his dear wife with kind eyes, and saying:

Listen, listen, dear Pauline, what a beautiful poem! Einstein's mother, like most Jewish women, was virtuous and capable.Her family is well-off, well-educated, highly cultured, loves literature, and loves music even more.The common hobbies made the relationship between Einstein's parents very harmonious. They not only created a warm and harmonious house of love, but also fostered a highly tasteful cultural atmosphere for the birth and growth of Einstein. No matter how great Einstein is, he should also thank his parents.The father's mathematical talent and the mother's musical talent perfectly synthesized a great Einstein.Extraordinary thinking ability and rich imagination ability are the proof that Einstein inherited the talents of his parents.

There are always some extraordinary stories in the childhood of a genius.When Einstein was born, the back of his head was unusually large and his skull had an angular shape, an abnormality in his skull that would later become a permanent characteristic of Einstein.Einstein's mother was frightened by the abnormal skull of the first son. Einstein's grandmother saw her grandson and murmured in a low voice: too heavy!too heavy!She didn't mean the grandson's weight, but the grandson's big and strange head shape made her uneasy. How could a weak body support such a huge head?Of course they have not yet realized: what a great consciousness will be born from this big and strange mind.

Not long after Little Einstein landed, Hermann.Mr. Einstein's small business in Ulm was in trouble.At the suggestion of their brother Jacob, they decided to move to Munich and jointly start a small business installing gas and water pipes.With a longing for the future, the Hermann family came to Munich in 1880, where they declared their household registration on June 21, and opened their new business on October 11.In the first period of time, business was relatively prosperous.At that time, it was the era of gas incandescence, and these new technology products seemed to have broad market prospects.Herman.The two Einstein brothers took out almost all their savings, and with the support of Pauline's father, they opened an electronic technology factory to manufacture electrical equipment such as generators, arc lamps, and test instruments.The business was officially registered on May 6, 1885.Since then, Einstein's father has struggled to run the business for ten years, and there have been brilliance, but in the end it still ended in failure.In 1894, Hermann.Mr. Einstein once again had to lead his family to Italy to seek a new way of making a living.

In Hermann.In Mr. Einstein's experience, the fourteen years in Munich were miserable and full of bitter taste; but for little Einstein, these fourteen years were warm, peaceful and happy.From an ignorant baby to a teenager who has just acquired knowledge and a little personality, and even the reason why Einstein can shock the world in the future, the time in Munich is always worth recalling. Munich is the third largest city in Germany and the capital of Bavaria.In Upper Bavaria, about 519 meters above sea level, 48 kilometers away from the edge of the Alps in the south, the Isar River passes through the city center.Munich is called Mingxing in German, which means the hometown of monks.A monastery was established around AD 750, marking the beginning of the city.In the second half of the 12th century, monks were allowed to establish a market at the junction of the local salt trade road and the river, and then built a bridge fortress.During the reign of Elector Maximilian I (1597-1651), the city expanded in size and financial resources, and many Renaissance-style buildings were built with various styles and charming scenery. It has always been considered the most beautiful city in Europe. one.Einstein's childhood and youth coincided with the period of great development in Munich. The vigorous spirit of the times and the pioneering personality will infiltrated the heart of little Einstein through various channels.

On the outskirts of Munich, there are fresh fields and secluded forests.The residence of the Einstein family is located in the Lindling area on the outskirts of Munich, in a shaded area surrounded by greenery.The naturally romantic Herman.Outside of business, Mr. Einstein's favorite thing to do is to take the whole family on an outing.Little Einstein seems to be fascinated by nature by nature. He often stares with two curious eyes, closes his lips, silently follows his parents, and silently watches the natural scenery in front of him.The beauty and mystery of nature collided with Einstein's heart again and again.The tranquility of nature fostered Einstein's life and research style of contemplation alone, and also gave him endless inspiration and enlightenment, and gave him the comfort to eliminate the troubles of the world.Until later, Einstein always sought to live in the countryside away from the bustling cities.In Berlin he found it most comfortable to live on the banks of the Happel.Furthermore, his favorites were the North Sea Islands and the East Sea coast of Germany, especially the islands of Ahrenschöb and Heidun.After he went into exile, he lived in Princeton, USA. Surrounded by a large garden, his house was like an isolated island in a sea of ​​green.People often think that this is a manifestation of Einstein's solitary and unsociable nature, but it is not.As far as the cultural background is concerned, the Einstein father and son's fascination and appreciation for the simple and natural scenery in the outskirts of Munich have a strong sense of the times.

One hundred years before Einstein was born, the cultural spirit of the German nation had prepared an excellent cultural personality substrate for Einstein.It is no exaggeration to say that Einstein's unparalleled creative thinking in the future came from his induction and awakening to the endless nature.Just like the German classical gardens have no creativity, only poor imitation, without the freedom to breathe in the original natural scenery, it is difficult for people to let their personality freely expand and their thinking burst into creative sparks. The natural scenery on the outskirts of Munich sowed the seeds of freedom and eclecticism in Einstein's young mind, and at the same time, it also brought him a kind of loneliness that was not commensurate with his age too early.But this kind of loneliness is not the kind of pain in life, but a free and creative character with strong personality connotations.Such an emphasis on independent personality not only gave birth to Einstein's creative thinking in the field of physics, but also made Einstein's lifestyle show many eccentricities in the eyes of ordinary people.In 1946, the 67-year-old Einstein still had no scruples in his "Self-Report":

Even as a fairly precocious teenager, I was acutely aware of the worthlessness of the hopes and endeavors that most people spend their lives chasing endlessly.Moreover, I soon discovered the cruelty of this pursuit, which was then more carefully disguised in hypocrisy and beautiful words than it is today.Everyone is destined to participate in this chase simply because he has a stomach.Moreover, it is possible for his stomach to be satisfied by participating in this pursuit; but a thinking and feeling man cannot be satisfied thereby. Of course, this is not superficial self-promotion, or even spiritual enlightenment to all living beings. He will always judge everything according to his own personality and his own understanding of life.Therefore, he is not lonely because he wants to stand out from the crowd, but he has never been able to understand, let alone imitate the way of life of most people.Just like when a group of people are groping for a way out in the dark, all the people are going in one direction, but Einstein is going in another direction alone, and he firmly believes in the correctness of his choice.The firm belief made Einstein never afraid of the pain of loneliness. He just wanted to tell people with his success: Look, this is the right way out.

Of course, it was impossible for Einstein in his childhood to explain the connotation of his personality to the world.He walks alone, often deliberately avoiding his friends and classmates, even if he is with his relatives, he is just a silent listener.If someone destroys his mood of being alone, he who has always been calm will suddenly burst into violent emotions.Einstein's sister later recalled: At such moments, he would become pale, the tip of his nose would turn white, and he could not control himself.On several occasions, Einstein lost his temper by throwing things at his sister who was two years younger than him.When Einstein was five years old, his parents hired a governess for him.During the first class, Einstein probably found that he would lose his free personal world. He lost his temper again and threw a chair at the teacher in protest. Einstein's parents had to end this first education that had not yet begun.Little Einstein, who doesn't like to socialize with people, prefers games that require patience and tenacity, such as building a house with thin pieces of paper, and he will never give up if he fails. For Einstein in his childhood, independent personality was just an empty basket, which needs to be enriched with spiritual and cultural connotations.What was the first thing that went into this empty basket?It's music.When Einstein was three years old, one day, his mother Pauline sat at the piano, gently stroking the keys, and the beautiful melody flowed out from under her fingers like a gurgling stream.Suddenly, she felt someone was behind her, and when she looked back, little Einstein was tilting his head, listening intently to the beautiful music.The young mother was happy, and she said: Look at you, you are serious, like a big professor!Hey, dear, why don't you talk?Einstein didn't answer. He was only three years old, and he couldn't tell what the music that aroused the telepathy was. His big, shiny, brown eyes were clearly shining with joy.The piano sounded again, it was Beethoven's sonata.With shaky steps, little Einstein rushed silently to a new world, where there is only beauty, harmony and sublime. The quiet little Einstein was fascinated by music and started playing the violin at the age of six.A few years later, Einstein's only pastime was music, and he was soon playing sonatas by Mozart and Beethoven, accompanied by his mother. Speaking of the story of Einstein and music, people will never forget a famous cartoon: Einstein's face is drawn as a violin with notes on the strings and the famous physics formula: . Music accepted Einstein with its gentle and profound embrace, let him suck the sweetest milk of human culture, gave him a peaceful spiritual home, and also gave him the extraordinary imagination as a master of physics in the future.In 1931, Einstein said in his essay "On Science": Research efforts in the fields of music and physics differ in origin but are linked by a common goal, the quest to express the unknown.Their responses are different, but they complement each other.As for creativity in art and science, here, then, I fully agree with Schopenhauer that the desire to escape from the drudgery of everyday life and to find refuge in a world full of images created by us is essential. is their most powerful motive.The world can be made up of notes of music, or formulas of data.We try to create plausible images of the world in which we feel at home and can achieve a level of stability that we cannot achieve in our daily lives. Einstein is not just science, and science is not irrelevant to art.For great scientific discoveries, abstract logical thinking is always a tool for testing extraordinary imagination.Therefore, Einstein has never been a slave to mathematical formulas, I believe in intuition and inspiration.Sometimes I feel that I am on the right track, but cannot account for my confidence.I was not surprised when the solar eclipse of 1919 confirmed my speculation.I'd be very surprised if this didn't happen.Imagination is more important than knowledge, because knowledge is limited, while imagination summarizes everything in the world, drives progress, and is the source of knowledge evolution.Strictly speaking, imagination is the real factor in scientific research.The complementarity and unity of science and art made music Einstein's second career.No matter where he travels, he never leaves his violin. He even takes a violin case with him when he attends a meeting of the Berlin Academy of Sciences, so that when he visits Planck and Bohr after the meeting, he can play together.In the days when he was thinking about the light quantum hypothesis or the general theory of relativity, once Einstein encountered difficulties and got stuck in thinking, he would involuntarily put down his pen and pick up the bow.The beautiful, harmonious and imaginative melody will invisibly open up his thinking on physics and guide him to have free and creative reverie in the realm of mathematics.Music often catalyzes Einstein's scientific ideas and sparks of thinking.In the free flow of music, profound theoretical physics has a beautiful melody. Einstein played the violin at a very high level, and he could also play the piano well.He had many theoretical quarrels with his contemporary physicists, and he also had a profound friendship fighting side by side.In their intercourse, music often plays an indescribable role.Einstein and Ehrenfest, professor of physics at Leiden University in the Netherlands, are lifelong friends, but they always argue endlessly on the issue of relativity.Since 1920, Einstein accepted the invitation of the Netherlands and became a guest professor at Leiden University. He came here for a few weeks every year and lived in Ehrenfest’s house. Discussions and debates were naturally inevitable. thing.Ehrenfest was quick in thinking and outspoken, and his criticism was sharp and merciless.This point coincides with Einstein's rivalry, and after the rhetoric, everyone is happy to be able to unify their views.When encountering a dispute that cannot be unified, two good friends will automatically truce.Ehrenfest is an excellent pianist, he likes to accompany Einstein.As long as Einstein is accompanied by Ehrenfest, the violin performance must be full of brilliance.Sometimes, in the middle of a piece of music, Einstein would stop suddenly and strike the strings with his bow to stop the accompaniment from playing.Perhaps a beautiful melody touched the inspiration, and the debate started again.Fighting and fighting, Einstein would suddenly stop again, go straight to the piano, play three clear chords with both hands, and strike these three chords forcefully repeatedly. Those familiar with this allusion know the three chords: It's like knocking on God's big iron door: Boring!Boring!Boring! It seems to be asking the nature: how|how|do? Bounce and bounce, the door of God opened, and the silent nature connected the information channels with these devout explorers.The two good friends laughed, and the cheerful and melodious music sounded again. At the Berlin Academy of Sciences, Einstein and Max Planck played Beethoven's works together, which is also a widely circulated story.The piano player is Planck, the founder of quantum theory, and the violin player is Einstein, the founder of relativity theory.Quantum theory and relativity constitute the two pillars of physical science in this century.In science, they have jointly painted a beautiful and magnificent picture of physics, and in music art, they can also play exciting music.In the minds of these two masters of theoretical physics, the beauty of science and the beauty of art are interlinked and complementary, and they are the highest and most beautiful aspects of the spiritual world.Only the beauty of science, without the beauty of art, is incomplete; the beauty of art, without the beauty of science, is also incomplete. Einstein was obsessed with music all his life, especially western classical music, and loved the works of Bach, Mozart and Beethoven.Once, someone asked him what he thought of Bach, and Einstein replied that, regarding Bach's works and life, we only have to listen to them, play them, respect him, and love him, instead of discussing them.Indeed, throughout his life, Einstein made many discussions about the world beyond physics, but he never talked about music. He just felt it with his own heart, thousands of times, as if music was the gospel from heaven . The answer that should be drawn is that Einstein, who has been in love with music since childhood, has long regarded music as the resting place of the soul, which is harmony and perfection.Harmony and perfection are the basis of truth and the purpose of life.Incredibly, Einstein's epoch-making discoveries in the field of physics were based on an ancient aesthetic principle. In February 1979, the famous contemporary physicist Dirac delivered a long speech entitled "Why We Believe in Einstein's Theory" at the Princeton Memorial Einstein Conference in the United States.Dirac said: Einstein promoted the idea that whatever is beautiful in mathematics is likely to be valuable in describing fundamental physics.This is really a more fundamental thought than any thought before.There must be beauty in the mathematical equations that describe fundamental physical theories, and I think that owes first and foremost to Einstein and no one else.When talking about special relativity, Dirac said: The reason why we believe in special relativity is because it shows the importance of these beautiful Lorentz transformations in mathematics.There is of course no general philosophical basis for this, and we cannot say that it is supported by experiment.Speaking of general relativity, Dirac said: "Since Einstein first proposed general relativity, we have made so many observations.Every observation has confirmed Einstein's theory, and it has passed all the tests with flying colors. I am convinced that the basis of this theory is much stronger than we can get support from experimental data alone.The real basis comes from the great beauty of this theory.These foundations arise from the fact that the new spatial ideas introduced by Einstein are so exciting, so beautiful, that they are bound to live on no matter what future circumstances we may face.Dirac even said: In my opinion, the real reason for believing in this theory lies in the intrinsic beauty of this theory.This beauty must rule the entire future of physics.Even if there are inconsistencies with the experiment in the future, it cannot be destroyed. Einstein regarded music and theoretical physics as the embodiment of beauty and truth. His persistent pursuit of music and his assiduous pursuit of physics can neither be explained by entertainment nor measured by ordinary careerism. He is already the need of spiritual life, that is, the concrete reproduction of his outlook on life and world outlook.His independent personality has also been concretized into a solo tasting in the world of music and a lonely struggle in the field of physics. Fortunately for Einstein, he found his soul roots in music and physics, and he was sure of the ideality of his way of life.Therefore, whenever his independent personality conflicts with the external world, he either speaks out loudly and fearlessly judges the world, or sticks to his solitude silently, never wavering in the slightest.In this regard, Einstein made a strong confession in the article "My World View": To inquire into the meaning or purpose of one's own existence, or that of all living things, has always seemed to me foolish from an objective point of view.But everyone has certain ideals, which determine the direction of his efforts and judgments.In this sense, I never regard ease and enjoyment as the ethical basis of the purpose of life itself. I call it the ideal of a pigsty.The ideals which light my way, and which continually give me new courage to face life cheerfully, are goodness, beauty, and truth.Life would seem to me empty if there were no cordial feeling among like-minded people, if there were no preoccupation with the objective world, which is never attainable in the field of artistic and scientific work.The vulgar aims of possessions, vanities, and luxuries to which men strive have always seemed to me contemptible. My strong sense of social justice and social responsibility has always contrasted oddly with my apparent indifference to direct contact with other people and society.I am truly a lonely traveler, I have never belonged wholeheartedly to my country, my family, my friends, or even my closest kin; in the face of all these relationships, I always feel a certain distance and need to remain alone And this feeling is increasing with each passing year.One will clearly find that there are limits to mutual understanding and harmony with others, but this is not to be regretted.Such a person no doubt loses a little of his innocence and unconcern; on the other hand, he is largely independent of the opinions, habits, and judgments of his fellows, and can resist temptation to Build his inner balance on such unreliable foundations. Einstein, the giant of science, the Einstein of giant character, was conceived in this way by the giant-like musical character.