“I want to oppose the idea that the school has to teach directly that special knowledge and those accomplishments which one has to use later directly in life. The demands of life are much too manifold to let such a specialized training in school appear possible [...] The development of general ability for independent thinking and judgement should always be placed foremost.”
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Albert Einstein
“Knowledge of what is does not open the door directly to what should be.”
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Albert Einstein
“Children don’t heed the life experiences of their parents, and nations ignore history. Bad lessons always have to be learned anew. ”
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Albert Einstein
“Science can only ascertain what is, but not what should be, and outside of its domain value, elly judgments of all kinds remain necessary.”
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Albert Einstein
“The strongest force in the universe is Compound Interest.”
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Albert Einstein
“The most amazing thing about the world is that we understand it.”
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Albert Einstein
“I am not more gifted than anybody else. I am just more curious than the average person and I will not give up a problem until I have found the proper solution.”
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Albert Einstein
“If I were to remain silent, I'd be guilty of complicity.”
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Albert Einstein
“This topic brings me to that worst outcrop of herd life, the military system, which I abhor. That a man can take pleasure in marching in fours to the strains of a band is enough to make me despise him. He has only been given his big brain by mistake; unprotected spinal marrow was all he needed. This plague-spot of civilization ought to be abolished with all possible speed. Heroism on command, senseless violence, and all the loathsome nonsense that goes by the name of patriotism—how passionately I hate them! How vile and despicable seems war to me! I would rather be hacked in pieces than take part in such an abominable business. My opinion of the human race is high enough that I believe this bogey would have disappeared long ago, had the sound sense of the peoples not been systematically corrupted by commercial and political interests acting through the schools and the Press.”
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Albert Einstein
“I do not believe in the God of theology who rewards good and punishes evil. My God created laws that take care of that. His universe is not ruled by wishful thinking, but by immutable laws.”
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Albert Einstein
“It would be possible to describe everything scientifically, but it would make no sense; it would be without meaning, as if you described a Beethoven symphony as a variation of wave pressure.”
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Albert Einstein
“Peace is not merely the absence of war but the presence of justice, of law, of order —in short, of government.”
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Albert Einstein
“The fear of death is the most unjustified of all fears, for there's no risk of accident for someone who's dead.”
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Albert Einstein
“Scientific research is based on the idea that everything that takes place is determined by laws of nature, and therefore this holds for the action of people. For this reason, a research scientist will hardly be inclined to believe that events could be influenced by a prayer, i.e. by a wish addressed to a Supernatural Being.
- Albert Einstein, 1936, responding to a child who wrote and asked if scientists pray; quoted in: Albert Einstein: The Human Side, edited by Helen Dukas & Banesh Hoffmann”
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Albert Einstein