New Features Found in Einstein's Brain

Ok, that's just creepy.

The idea is that what made Einstein a genius has more to do with the structure of his brain, than it's [sic] size.

Is it really that difficult to use 'its' correctly?

Like any great achievement it is 99% persperation and 1% inspiration. He worked extremely hard. I heard that Einsteins wardrobe consisted almost exclusively of duplicates. That way he did not waste thought time on what to wear.



I think some people try to look for some physical gift because they can't comprehend what hard work is let alone how to do it.



I knew a physics student at college who memorized every single page of lecture notes. He did not have a photographic memory. This dedication of 100% of his time both astonished and humbled me. Almost every second of his time was spent revising pages in his head. Once he had them dialed in, he could revise the pages purely using thought. Waiting for a bus, doing the laundry were all revision opportunities as the data was all in his head.



If I had never met anyone like this I would probably never realize that there are regular people 100% dedicated to a goal.

If they had any sense at the time they would have frozen his brain in LN2 and left it to a later period where the technology wasn't stone age. Might even have been able to upload him at some point.

The greatest discovery was that it was about average! He showed all of us what you can do with a average brain if you just USE it! By the way, he had a deep belief in God! ("The OLD ONE")

Hmmm, yeah, I was just thinking about all of the heads in jars on the show Futurama, and I don't remember seeing Einstein in a jar. Now I know why: They diced him up into little pieces, ewwww.

Seriously though, it could be a combination of things: Unique brain structures, hard work and dedication to a task, being in the right place at the right time. It's all adds up. Maybe one day we will know where genius comes from. In the mean time, let's just hope there are plenty of geniuses out there. Will the real T.O.E. please stand up?

No, Earnheardt. No, he didn't.

Yes, Earnheardt. Yes, he did.

To what extent are you influenced by Christianity?
"As a child I received instruction both in the Bible and in the Talmud. I am a Jew, but I am enthralled by the luminous figure of the Nazarene."

Have you read Emil Ludwig's book on Jesus?
"Emil Ludwig's Jesus is shallow. Jesus is too colossal for the pen of phrasemongers, however artful. No man can dispose of Christianity with a bon mot."

You accept the historical Jesus?
"Unquestionably! No one can read the Gospels without feeling the actual presence of Jesus. His personality pulsates in every word. No myth is filled with such life."

George Sylvester Viereck, "What Life Means to Einstein", The Saturday Evening Post, 26 October 1929.

Who really cares if he believed in a God or not? You guys keeping score?

This is funny. We barely know anything about the brain and we are trying to analyze his...

Kinda like a cave man trying to understand a computer by breaking it into smaller pieces.

But I guess it is still fun to do anyway. Now where did I put my club?

By the way, he had a deep belief in God! ("The OLD ONE")

"The word god is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of honourable, but still primitive legends which are nevertheless pretty childish. No interpretation no matter how subtle can (for me) change this."

Oh and how could I forget:

"It was, of course, a lie what you read about my religious convictions, a lie which is being systematically repeated. I do not believe in a personal God and I have never denied this but have expressed it clearly. If something is in me which can be called religious then it is the unbounded admiration for the structure of the world so far as our science can reveal it."

Can we put the god crap to rest now?

too true Arikin

Thank you Soylent.

Yes Arikin, but there's a clear difference between smashing something into pieces and carefully dissecting it.

Thanks Soylent for data.
I do agree that his brain should have been Cryo frozen. Circa 2045 we will be regretting that mistake (Kurzweil et al). Although ultimately it won't matter as computerized human level thought will become so cheap in the next 50 years. I only hope that it happens in the US. However it is more likely to happen in China or India. The US is in a massive trade,financial and education deficit. We need thought automation to spur the next tech revolution and claw us out of the caveman dark ages.

It seems like they're looking for something or anything that can explain his brilliance and anything that is different has to be the explanation.

The fact that people are still researching his brain after all this time should reflect poorly on the individuals doing so. There are SO many other more important matters to attend to.

I protest funding for wasteful efforts such as this!

"I protest funding for wasteful efforts such as this!"

Einstein claimed that the reason he worked on his Unified Field Theory (even though the work was going nowhere for so long) was because he wanted to show that it was a dead end and so no one else would have to go down that barren road.

Thanks Soylent for data.

I do agree that his brain should have been Cryo frozen. Circa 2045 we will be regretting that mistake (Kurzweil et al). Although ultimately it won't matter as computerized human level thought will become so cheap in the next 50 years. I only hope that it happens in the US. However it is more likely to happen in China or India. The US is in a massive trade,financial and education deficit. We need thought automation to spur the next tech revolution and claw us out of the caveman dark ages.

Why do people immediately go to cryo as a way to save people? Cryo-statis results in total cellular damage. Water, main component of the human body, and all cells found in nature, expands drastically when frozen. Everyone of those people frozen are long gone, permanently.

Presumption.

Cause: Big brain =>

result: Intelligence.

Deception: Small brain.

result: Huuu must be ehh. the big frontlobes then.

There are so many other options.

Cause: Big effort in spatial science =>

Result: Front lobes increased size. We have seen the brain adapting.

Maybe the intelligence was in the use of his hairstyle. With all those antennas in the free Fresnel zone he must have picked up the thoughts of God. Huh. :)

Whats the big deal.
He was not that smart.

Whats the big deal.

He was not that smart.

And of course you would be judging Einstein comparing to your own contributions, which must be immeasurable.

Why do people immediately go to cryo as a way to save people? Cryo-statis results in total cellular damage. Water, main component of the human body, and all cells found in nature, expands drastically when frozen. Everyone of those people frozen are long gone, permanently.

While, ice crystals which form certainly do significant damage, it's still by far the best method of preserving life, there are substances which can be used to substitute for some cellular water and reduce damage during freezing, trehalose (a kind of sugar) is one example.

Human cells are routinely being frozen and thawed in lab practice and while many do die in the process the vast majority is able to survive.

Freezing animals is way more challenging but it should eventually be possible to freeze a human and then bring him back to life. Still the process will likely result in some permanent damage to the individual.

Modern cryonics has become very effective at limiting crystal damage. Even if the level of damage in the cell is beyond biological revival, only enough information for network reconstruction is required.



Synaptic weights and inter-cellular connections as far as I know are more or less preserved, even though cell membranes are ruptured and molecular processes potentially unresumable as they are.



I suspect that if they have the pieces, even if poorly preserved, his chances for recovery are decent.

Thanks Soylent for data.
I do agree that his brain should have been Cryo frozen. Circa 2045 we will be regretting that mistake (Kurzweil et al). Although ultimately it won't matter as computerized human level thought will become so cheap in the next 50 years. I only hope that it happens in the US. However it is more likely to happen in China or India. The US is in a massive trade,financial and education deficit. We need thought automation to spur the next tech revolution and claw us out of the caveman dark ages.

Why do people immediately go to cryo as a way to save people? Cryo-statis results in total cellular damage. Water, main component of the human body, and all cells found in nature, expands drastically when frozen. Everyone of those people frozen are long gone, permanently.

IMHO the primary goal of cryo is not resuscitation or saving people. It is to enable future scan and upload of their minds into a simulator. This virtual restore of the brain should be available c. 2050. Although the exact date doesn't really matter :).

You're joking. Einstein wont recover, nobody will be resuscitated unless preparations to preserve the brains are made ahead of time.

You're joking. Einstein wont recover, nobody will be resuscitated unless preparations to preserve the brains are made ahead of time.

I'm guessing vulvox has solved this problem?