Surprising Science — April 9, 2014

Einstein’s Last Desk

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

Albert Einstein passed away on April 18, 1955. A photographer from LIFE snapped his desk at Princeton hours after Einstein had died. Einstein gave new meaning to the saying, cluttered desk, cluttered mind. Perhaps genius requires a little disorder.

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

An older man with white hair and a suit receives a document from another man in a robe during an event, as several people look on in the background. In the age of viral misquotes, capturing such moments accurately becomes ever more crucial.

High Culture

Einstein didn’t say that: How viral misquotes evolve and replicate

From Einstein to Twain, Garson O’Toole investigates the truth behind your favorite — and often misattributed — quotes.

Starts With A Bang

Einstein: The lone genius is pure mythology

Many mavericks look to Einstein as a unique figure, whose lone genius revolutionized the Universe. The big problem? It isn’t true.

A person reminiscent of Daniel Dennett, known for his critical thinking, stands with raised hands, sporting a beard and glasses. He wears a gray blazer over a blue shirt against a neutral background.

The Learning Curve

3 brilliant critical thinking tools used by Daniel Dennett

The late philosopher suggested adding a couple of “Occam’s heuristics” to your critical thinking toolbox.

Fractal pattern with a bright white center and symmetrical, radiating lines on a black background, resembling an intricate dance of math and physics.

Hard Science

Why physics is unreasonably good at creating new math

The secret sauce is the real world.

Starts With A Bang

Time: Yes, it’s a dimension, but no, it’s not like space

The fabric of spacetime is four-dimensional, with three for space and only one for time. But wow, time sure is different from space!

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Words of Wisdom

Khalil Gibran on Work

“Work is love made visible.” – Khalil Gibran