Life

30 Albert Einstein Quotes for the Relentlessly Curious Kid

This ingenious advice from the outer edges of the universe is surprisingly practical.

by Lilian Ogbuefi
black-and-white photo of Einstein in his office smoking a pipe, next to an empty speech bubble repre...
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If you’re familiar with Albert Einstein, you probably think of him as one of the greatest physicists of all time and/or as the wild-haired iconoclast whose picture is practically next to “genius” in the dictionary. But beyond his big brain, vast knowledge, groundbreaking discoveries, and subtle sense of humor, what made Einstein so phenomenal? Albert Einstein’s success was due in large part to his boundless curiosity, which spurred unending questions and released an unbridled imagination. Einstein worked way out in theoretical space, but Albert Einstein quotes are full of inspiringly practical, relatable advice: “I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious.” And curiosity, believe it or not, is a mental exercise that strengthens the mind. The next time your kid launches a volley of questions embrace it and encourage them to ask more. You’d be supporting their mental development and, perhaps even egging on the next Einstein.

30 Inspiringly Practical Albert Einstein Quotes

  1. “If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it?”
  2. “I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious.”
  3. “The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when one contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries to comprehend only a little of this mystery every day.”
  4. “All of science is nothing more than the refinement of everyday thinking.”
  5. “Once you can accept the universe as matter expanding into nothing that is something, wearing stripes with plaid comes easy.”
  6. “Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.”
  7. “All great achievements in science start from intuitive knowledge, namely, in axioms, from which deductions are then made. … Intuition is the necessary condition for the discovery of such axioms.”
  8. “It would be possible to describe absolutely 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.”
  9. “Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind.”
  10. “Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.”
  11. “A little knowledge is dangerous. So is a lot.”
  12. “The whole of science is nothing more than a refinement of everyday thinking.”
  13. “Look deep into nature and you will understand everything better.”
  14. “As far as the laws of mathematics refer to reality, they are not certain; and as far as they are certain, they do not refer to reality.”
  15. “Computers are incredibly fast, accurate and stupid. Human beings are incredibly slow, inaccurate and brilliant. Together they are powerful beyond imagination.”
  16. “No amount of experiments can ever prove me right, a single experiment can prove me wrong
  17. “A clever person solves a problem. A wise person avoids it.”
  18. “Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination circles the world.”
  19. “If you can’t explain it to a six year old, you don’t understand it yourself.”
  20. “You can never solve a problem on the level on which it was created.”
  21. “Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe.”
  22. “Energy cannot be created or destroyed, it can only be changed from one form to another.”
  23. “The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don’t know.”
  24. “When you are courting a nice girl an hour seems like a second. When you sit on a red-hot cinder a second seems like an hour. That’s relativity.”
  25. “As far as the laws of mathematics refer to reality, they are not certain; and as far as they are certain, they do not refer to reality.”
  26. “Gravitation is not responsible for people falling in love.”
  27. “The measure of intelligence is the ability to change.”
  28. “It is not that I’m so smart. But I stay with the questions much longer.”
  29. “Black holes are where God divided by zero.”
  30. “Imagination is the highest form of research.”