Easy as Pi.

There are so many places in this world … to see, to explore, to enjoy.  To the ends of the earth and back again.  Despite that, there are days when  I have nothing to say here.  I really have to ferret out content.  Like discussing the markings on the underbellies of warthogs in years ending with the number three.  You know.  Those sorts of things.

But today was chock full of content.  To the rim.  To the edges, full.

For one, it is Albert Einstein’s birthday.  And by now, many of you know how much I admire Albert and his thinking cap.

Yep.  That guy was born on March 14, 1879 in Ulm, Württemberg, Germany.   He grew up in a secular Jewish family.  His father was Hermann Einstein and his mother was Pauline Koch.   He had one sister, Maja, born two years after him.  The Einstein Klan, there in Deutschland.  I wonder what he was like as a little boy?  Did he play in the mud puddles like other kids, or sculpt planets out of that mud while considering gravitational conspiracies?

Einstein’s theories of relativity drastically altered man’s view of the universe.  Seriously.  AND…. his work in particle and energy theory helped make possible quantum mechanics.  Of course, from there, followed the atomic bomb.

In 1919, astronomers studying a solar eclipse verified predictions Einstein made in the theory of relativity, and he became an overnight celebrity. Later, other predictions of general relativity, such as a shift in the orbit of the planet Mercury, and the probable existence of black holes, were confirmed by scientists. He was scoring big.

He became politically active, and…. after Nazi leader Adolf Hitler became chancellor of Germany in 1933…..  Einstein renounced his German citizenship and left the country.   I told you he was smart.

He later settled in the United States, where he accepted a post at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton.  And Albert stayed there the rest of his life.  He continued the work on his unified theory.   He became an American citizen in 1940.  And he died in 1955.  Albert.  There is no doubt, he was one of the most creative minds in human history.

Now, I never put this together before, BUT he was born on Pi Day.  Another favorite celebration of mine.  Pi. Good old Pi.  I could write a book about the history there.  But maybe another time. Just remember…..  3.14159265358979323846264338327950288419716939937510582097494459230781640628620899862803482534211706798214808651328230664709384460955058223172535940812848111745028410270193852110555964462294895493038196442881097566593344612847564823378678316527120190914564856692346034861045432664821339360726024914127372458700660631558817488152092096282925409171536436789…. and on and on and on….

If that isn’t enough, you can find your birthday in Pi.  [http://time.com/4697605/pi-day-2017-birthday/?xid=newsletter-brief]  My date of birth turns up at digit… 1230.  And if that isn’t more fun than chocolate cake, I don’t know what is!

There was so much more about this day.  But… tonight, our oldest grandson Levi came over for dinner.  Mary made Pork Stew. And after dinner, we looked through a big jar of old buttons she bought for Levi, at an auction.  We spent the better part of the evening going over those buttons…. sorting… searching…  making up stories, Googling, and exploring.

Life can be full of splendor sometimes.  Albert Einstein’s Birthday.  Pi Day.  And dinner with our grandson.   This day was WAY better than Warthog Bellies.   You know, I can’t imagine any place on earth I would have rather been.  Bet your buttons on that.

 

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“The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion that stands at the cradle of true art and true science.” – Albert Einstein

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“Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.”  – Albert Einstein

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“Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value.”  – Albert Einstein

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“Peace cannot be kept by force. It can only be achieved by understanding.”   – Albert Einstein

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