Albert Einstein, Master of Wonder
An Original Wonder magician
A poetic exploration of Einstein and his mind bending work of understanding the Universe. How does wonder connect to physics? How does the creative mind aid the rational mind? Explore the discoveries of one of the greatest thinkers of our times and how wonder was a part of it all!
How did Einstein imagine chasing a ray of light? I wonder if he was inspired in the new inventions of that era (1900), since he got to know the mechanics of this new technology in his job at the Office of Parents in Germany.
One of the persons I most admire is Albert Einstein. His creative mind together with his hope in human kindness made him the ultimate master of wonder. Curiously, his intuitive visual mind was the seed of his two great theories of special and general relativity.
The first theory of relativity came out of a dream or mental image where he saw himself chasing a ray of light. Evocative, right?
From such a powerful visualization, his famous formula E=m*c2 came to life. And we learnt that movement, space and time is relative to the system of reference where we are... except for the light, whose speed is not only the fastest possible, but also constant in any reference system.
Imagine falling into the void and feeling absolutely no weight in your body. How relaxing! This gravity that pulls us to Earth is a bit heavy sometimes
His second theory, the general theory of relativity, added the aspect of acceleration to the first one, and came about from another vivid mental image where he imagined falling into the void and losing the sense of weight during the fall.
The work that followed this visualization taught us fundamental discoveries such as the non existence of gravity when we are falling in the void. Actually, we feel something very close to non gravity when we jump on a trampoline, skydiving or (don’t try this) as we fall into the void in a broken elevator. Another fascinating scientific finding from this theory is that gravity doesn’t actually act on matter, but rather on the time and space around it. Wow… we really don’t need any more wonder than what the Universe has itself.
The Science
What does E= mc2 mean in simple terms?
The famous equation E = mc2 means "energy (E) equals mass (m) times the speed of light squared (c2).
Mass is a measurement of the quantity of matter. This formula reminds us that matter becomes energy and energy becomes matter. They are interchangeable, just different forms of the same thing.
The formula also means that the mass increases with speed: as an object (matter) moves faster, its mass increases. This is true if “faster” is measured relative to an observer who is also the one measuring the mass. If the person measuring the mass is moving right along with the object, s/he will not observe any change in mass.
Perhaps the most important implication is that the speed of light is the fastest speed that can exist. As an object approaches the speed of light, its mass approaches infinity, but matter can never reach the speed of light, because as it moves faster and faster, its mass increases with speed, and therefore it requires more and more energy to accelerate its speed.
That’s why light is the speed winner, because it is made of photons, that are particles with no matter, that is, with a mass of zero. They are actually quantum particles, a bundle of electromagnetic energy that makes up light.
The Poetry
And what does quantum mechanics have to do with The School of Wonder?
E=mc2 is the key connector between the physical world and the quantum physical world laying underneath. To my eyes, this formula not only explains the order of the Universe, but can also give us the starting point to the science behind “wonder”, as well as to other creative and behaviorial skills relevant for children’s development and human progress.
The truth is that I cannot answer this question scientifically, yet. But I can tell you that the creative and social emotional skills that we teach at The School of Wonder are as complex and mysterious as energy is!
In a poetic exercise, I can see some interesting similarities between quantum particles and wonder (and the creative and emotional skills related to it), that perhaps can one day inspire a real scientist. For example, like quantum particles, wonder, creativity and empathy skills:
Are needed to understand the whole picture of the human being/ universe.
Do exist and take place at a metaphysical level, that is, outside of human sense perception. Just as quantum particles are not part of the physical world, but of the underlying quantum physical reality. (Could these two be the same reality? Perhaps! ).
Are waves, not particles .The emotions and intuitions involving wonder, creativity and SEL skills are also created by our neurons with information in the form of electrochemical waves from our nervous system.
Deal with a reality, beyond the physical. Professor Catherine Lecuyer, a subject-matter expert in creativity and wonder, states that “wonder is at the origin of reality-based consciousness, thus of learning”. Similarly, creative and social emotional skills can only evolve and activate in connection with the real world. Expanding our consciousness of the non physical systems, whether in the Universe or in the human body, draws another parallel.
Live in the realm of different possible events. The emotional and intuitive skills we are talking about represent many versions of ourselves (still not physically manifested, but latent), and can lead us to diverse choices and different ways to manifest in the physical world. Likewise, quantum objects can be in several states at the same time. When not measured, quantum systems truly exist as a fuzzy mixture of all possible realities/ possibilities.
Present difficult challenges in their measurement and, just like the quantum particles, they also get interrupted and corrupted as soon as they are observed and measured (at least for now, as we keep applying traditional measurement approaches that work well when there is content or matter).
Wonder is also what puts our brain to work in the mysterious reality that has yet to be awoken. It is the connector between the physical and non-physical realities of exploration. Wonder opens the door to some of our most magical skills, such as curiosity, ingenuity and initiative. It awakens us, and becomes the first step on the journey of new discoveries, resolved mysteries and innovative solutions that will help bring about human progress.
I wish Einstein was alive to help us with this one. I love playing with the poetic idea that Einstein also left us some clues to understand the quantum mechanics behind the human being. Actually, in the next article, I will be writing about a special formula that Einstein left us regarding play, work and creation.
Awesome videos and books from my research:
Book: Einstein Theory of Relativity, Space is a Matter of Time, b y David Blanco Laserna and RBA, 2012 (2020)
Youtube videos:
Sean Carroll (Twitter: @seanmcarroll)
A brief history of quantum mechanics :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hVmeOCJjOU&t=935s
Jim Al- Khalili
Gravity 1st video: https://youtu.be/2_p2ELD7npw
How Gravity affects Time: https://youtu.be/QQRj78jOxWo
Veritasium
Parallel worlds probably exist: https://youtu.be/kTXTPe3wahc
Quantum Entanglement and the Spooky action at a distance: https://youtu.be/ZuvK-od647c
During the quarantine I’ve been doing some research about Einstein, his life and theories. Inspired by his work and the subsequent scientific discoveries in quantum mechanics, I plan to write a children’s book about it when I’m ready. In this post I am presenting some insights from this research.
Please note I made a special effort to be extremely rigorous with the explanation and selection of words, while portraying my own interpretations in the section named The Poetry. If any scientist has any feedback, please let me know in the comments or via e-mail, so I can learn and correct any misinterpretation. My main sources are presented at the end of the article.