Synopses & Reviews
"[A] clear picture of how the scientific and cultural worlds of early twentieth-century Europe influenced Einstein's theories about physical phenomena. The reader plunges deeply into Einstein's life and discovers the fundamental forces that shaped his achievement."--John Boccio, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Swarthmore College "This is a wonderful book, entertaining, informative, full of interesting material. I think everyone will enjoy reading it."--David Goodstein, California Institute of Technology "With his usual clarity, Ohanian brings to life an important era in the development of physics. He underscores the human strengths and frailties of the protagonists and demonstrates how bumpy the road to scientific discovery really is."--Kevork Spartalian, Department of Physics, University of Vermont "Einstein's scientific mistakes are so masterfully presented and thoroughly analyzed that reading the book will enrich the knowledge of the specialist and the general reader alike about fundamental aspects of Einstein's real and attempted contributions to twentieth-century physics."--Vesselin Petkov, Concordia University, Montreal, and author of "Ohanian makes one big mistake himself: the title of the book. This book tells us a lot more than 'Einstein's Mistakes.' It is a wonderful and insightful description of how science, and all creative work, really takes place. To paraphrase Kepler, it reveals the wondrous and twisted roads that lead us to knowledge."--Stephen Krashen, professor emeritus, University of Southern California, and author of "A wonderfully interactive and unusual biography of Einstein: each of Einstein's 'mistakes' challenges us to try and follow the workings of his incredible mind."--Wolfgang Rindler, professor of physics, University of Texas at Dallas, and author of
Review
"Recounts [Einstein's] chronicle of errors in clear and engaging prose, giving us in the process a short course in the history of modern physics and a witty and provocative account of the subject's life." Darrin M. McMahon
Review
"The book's quixotic approach--retelling Einstein's story by homing in on his blunders--makes for good intellectual entertainment. . . . [It] kept me eagerly turning the pages." Wall Street Journal
Review
"A wonderful story that is well worth taking the time to read....We get a short course in this history of modern physics, one that is well-written and entertaining as well." George Johnson Los Angeles Times
Synopsis
Although Einstein was the greatest genius of the twentieth century, many of his groundbreaking discoveries were blighted by mistakes, ranging from serious errors in mathematics to misconceptions in physics and failures to grasp the subtleties of his own creations. This forensic biography dissects Einstein"s scientific mistakes and places them in the context of his turbulent life and times. Hans C. Ohanian paints a fresh, insightful portrait of the real Einstein at work, in contrast to the uncritical hagiography of many biographies.
Synopsis
Of the approximately 180 original scientific papers that Einstein published in his lifetime, about 40 are infested with mistakes. For instance, Einstein s first mathematical proof of the famous formulaE = mc2 was incomplete and only approximately valid; he struggled with this problem for many years, but he never found a complete proof (better mathematicians did). Einstein was often lured by irrational and mystical inspirations, but his extraordinary intuition about physics permitted him to discover profound truths despite and sometimes because of the mistakes he made along the way. He was a sleepwalker: his intuition told him where he needed to go, and he somehow managed to get there without quite knowing how. As this book persuasively argues, the defining hallmark of Einstein s genius was not any special mathematical ability but an uncanny talent to use his mistakes as stepping stones to formulate his revolutionary theories. "
Synopsis
Never before translated into English, the Manimekhalai is one of the great classics of Indian culture.
Synopsis
Although Einstein was the greatest genius of the twentieth century, many of his groundbreaking discoveries were blighted by mistakes, ranging from serious errors in mathematics to bad misconceptions in physics and failures to grasp the subtleties of his own creations. This forensic biography dissects Einstein's scientific mistakes and places them in the context of his turbulent life and times. In lively, accessible prose, Hans C. Ohanian paints a fresh, insightful portrait of the real Einstein at work, in contrast to the uncritical celebrity worship found in many biographies. Of the approximately 180 original scientific papers that Einstein published in his lifetime, about 40 are infested with mistakes. For instance, Einstein's first mathematical proof of the famous formula was incomplete and only approximately valid; he struggled with this problem for many years, but he never found a complete proof (better mathematicians did). Einstein was often lured by irrational and mystical inspirations, but his extraordinary intuition about physics permitted him to discover profound truths despite--and sometimes because of--the mistakes he made along the way. He was a sleepwalker: his intuition told him where he needed to go, and he somehow managed to get there without quite knowing how. As this book persuasively argues, the defining hallmark of Einstein's genius was not any special mathematical ability but an uncanny talent to use his mistakes as stepping stones to formulate his revolutionary theories.
Synopsis
Fresh insights into aspects of Einstein we don't usually consider: his mistakes and the role they played in the discovery of his theories.
Synopsis
"A thought-provoking critique of Einstein's tantalizing combination of brilliance and blunder."--Andrew Robinson,
About the Author
Hans C. Ohanian received his B.S. from the University of California, Berkeley, and his Ph.D. from Princeton University, where he worked with John A. Wheeler. He has taught at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Union College, and the University of Vermont. He is the author of several textbooks spanning all undergraduate levels: Physics, Principles of Physics, Relativity: A Modern Introduction, Modern Physics, Principles of Quantum Mechanics, Classical Electrodynamics, and, with Remo Ruffini, Gravitation and Spacetime. He is also the author of dozens of articles dealing with gravitation, relativity, and quantum theory, including many articles on fundamental physics published in the American Journal of Physics, where he served as associate editor for some years. He lives in Vermont.