Einstein Revealed

In a brief time (which is, of course, relative), we learn a great deal about a modern genius, the man that TIME magazine called the "Man of the Century."

The narrations, the impersonation of Einstein, and the illustrations are all very well done. What I find particularly enlightening and touching is a short sequence I use in teaching a class on study skills aimed at making students more likely to succeed in college. Einstein explains why he was what others considered a genius. He very simply points out that he kept the mind of a child and asked the simplest questions.

What is space? What is time? Why is the grass green? Why is the sky blue? These are questions children ask. Adults don't bother with such questions either because they think the questions are silly or because they think they know the answer or because they think there are no answers. Yet childlike minds such as Einstein's work on such questions. All human beings could use their minds to such purposes instead of for greed, killing, and destruction.

The world might be a better place if people used childlike qualities to seek enlightenment rather than mundane dreck.