Albert Einstein: The Incorrigible Plagiarist [Paperback]

Christopher Jon Bjerknes (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 2002

The name "Einstein" evokes images of genius, but was Albert Einstein, in fact, a plagiarist, who copied the theories of Lorentz, Poincare, Gerber, and Hilbert? A scholarly documentation of Albert Einstein's plagiarism of the theory of relativity, "Albert Einstein: The Incorrigible Plagiarist" discloses Einstein's method for manipulating credit for the work of his contemporaries, reprints the prior works he parroted, and demonstrates through formal logical argument that Albert Einstein could not have drawn the conclusions he drew without prior knowledge of the works he copied, but failed to reference. Numerous republished quotations from Einstein's contemporaries prove that they were aware of his plagiarism.

"The appearance of Dr. Silberstein's recent article on 'General Relativity without the Equivalence Hypothesis' encourages me to restate my own views on the subject. I am perhaps entitled to do this as my work on the subject of General Relativity was published before that of Einstein and Kottler, and appears to have been overlooked by recent writers." -- Harry Bateman

"All this was maintained by Poincare and others long before the time of Einstein, and one does injustice to truth in ascribing the discovery to him." -- Charles Nordmann

"[Einstein's] paper 'Zur Elektrodynamik bewegter Koerper' in Annalen der Physik. . . contains not a single reference to previous literature. It gives you the impression of quite a new venture. But that is, of course, as I have tried to explain, not true." -- Max Born

"In point of fact, therefore, Poincare was not only the first to enunciate the principle, but he also discovered in Lorentz's work the necessary mathematical formulation of the principle. All this happened before Einstein's paper appeared." -- G. H. Keswani

"Einstein's explanation is a dimensional disguise for Lorentz's. . . . Thus Einstein's theory is not a denial of, nor an alternative for, that of Lorentz. It is only a duplicate and disguise for it. . . . Einstein continually maintains that the theory of Lorentz is right, only he disagrees with his 'interpretation.' Is it not clear, therefore, that in this, as in other cases, Einstein's theory is merely a disguise for Lorentz's, the apparent disagreement about 'interpretation' being a matter of words only?" -- James Mackaye

"The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources." -- Albert Einstein

Editorial Reviews

Review

". . .Bjerknes documents each of his contentions with direct references to the primary sources, who are world-famous scientists. . ." -- Nikolay Noskov, NAUKA I TEKHNIKA, 17 September 2002

". . .I recommend the book to Einstein scholars and to sociologists of science as a genuinely valuable bibliographical resource. . ." -- Thomas E. Phipps, Jr., INFINITE ENERGY MAGAZINE, N. 47, 6 October, 2002

"reading this text should be a must for all people professionally interested in the 'history' of Physics or of Science" -- Professor Umberto Bartocci, EPISTEME, N. 6/II, December 2002

...a provocative and iconoclastic... fascinating, albeit controversial treatise, packed cover to cover with meticulous references... -- Midwest Book Review, September 2, 2002

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

It is easily proven that Albert Einstein did not originate the special theory of relativity in its entirety, or even in its majority. The historic record is readily available. Ludwig Gustav Lange, Woldemar Voigt, George Francis FitzGerald, Joseph Larmor, Hendrik Antoon Lorentz, Jules Henri Poincaré, Paul Drude, Paul Langevin, and many others, slowly developed the theory, step by step, and based it on thousands of years of recorded thought and research. Einstein may have made a few contributions to the theory, such as the relativistic equations for aberration and the Doppler-Fizeau Effect, though he may also have rendered an incorrect equation for the transverse mass of an electron, which, when corrected, becomes Lorentz' equation.

Albert Einstein's first work on the theory of relativity did not appear until 1905. There is substantial evidence that Albert Einstein did not write this 1905 paper on the "principle of relativity" alone. His wife, Mileva Einstein-Marity, may have been co-author, or the sole author, of the work.

If Albert Einstein did not originate the major concepts of the special theory of relativity, how could such a historically significant fact have escaped the attention of the world for nearly a century? The simple answer is that it did not. . . .

Product Details

• Paperback: 408 pages
• Publisher: Xtx Inc (July 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0971962987
• ISBN-13: 978-0971962989
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (42 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,840,056 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

48 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars COMPELLING AND FASCINATING, December 20, 2002

By 

David Westfeld (Princeton, NJ USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Albert Einstein: The Incorrigible Plagiarist (Paperback)

The first chapter gives many quotes from people who accused Einstein of [not being original]. It also directly quotes Einstein and the papers he copied. The second chapter gives the history of space-time or as it was first called in 1885 time-space. It is interesting that Einstein not only did not create this idea but he argued against it until the general theory of relativity. This chapter is really fascinating and shows why Popper called Einstein Parmenides. The third chapter gives quotes from physicists who wrote that the theory of relativity is really a new theory of absolutism and is more absolutist than Newtonian physics. The fourth chapter discusses hero worship and gives a good quote from Joffe. This chapter is too short and too choppy. It should have been a major part of the book. The fifth chapter starts off a little polemic. It also is too short. The interesting and novel fact here is the quote from S. Tolver Preston. The sixth chapter is for all of us who have read Einstein's seminal paper on the theory of relativity and knew there was something wrong there. I read a paper by Bjerknes at the official web site for the book and it goes into more detail. This is a very important criticism and it shows how Einstein was able to fool people. The seventh chapter could easily have been an extension of the sixth. The eight chapter, like the first, is a real blockbuster. It was probably Einstein's wife who [was doing the unoriginal work]! This chapter has many good and interesting quotes and talks about the pattern of [unoriginal work]. The last chapter discusses why Einstein told some silly stories about his inspiration and proves that these stories are also unoriginal. There is a statement about the Michelson-Morley experiment and what it shows and how it has been misconstrued to support the special theory of relativity. Einstein's misogony again appears in his insestuous second marriage and the likely sexual affairs with his stepdaughters. The chapter concludes with what is essentially the most extensive bibliography of the general theory of relativity ever published. The second half of the book is an amazingly detailed set of notes and references that should prevent even the most die hard Einstein geek from daring to give the book one star. I am concerned that there appears to be a concerted effort to pan this book by people who obviously haven't read it. They try everything from attacking the publisher to attacking the reviewers. What they don't do is talk about the specifics of the book. I would not trust any review that gives this book one star and then gives a vague criticism that only proves the person hasn't read it. I would also be doubtful about any review that gives a paranoid diatribe but doesn't mention a single page in the book. There are a lot of people who earn their livings off of Einstein. There are also many people who are very emotionally attached to his image. Look at the "Editorial Reviews." They are more believable and favorable.

39 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Compiles hard evidence of Albert Einstein's "borrowing", September 7, 2005

By 

nedrium "nedrium" (St Kilda West, Victoria Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Albert Einstein: The Incorrigible Plagiarist (Paperback)

The writer demonstrates conclusively that Albert Einstein was a plagiarist who seldom acknowledged his indebtedness to previous researchers. It cannot have been mere coincidence that his discoveries matched those of previous researchers who were never given credit and whose discoveries preceded his own, as he took credit and "stardom" for the work of others. The evidence compiled here is the result of careful research and not of idle bias and is conclusive: Albert Einstein was a plagiarist, a fact known to many at the time, but since his death, the evidence has mounted and is convincing.

32 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good record of history, October 29, 2002

By 

Michael (Greencastle, IN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Albert Einstein: The Incorrigible Plagiarist (Paperback)

I was skeptical when I saw the title, but this is definitely a five star read! I was shocked and amazed that there was so much information I did not know. I never heard of S. Tolver Preston before, who apparently was a well known physicist in the 19th century, or many others discussed in this book, or their contributions, or story of Lumen; even though I read most of Einstein's biographies and science history books. I am grateful for this book, in which a more complete history is recorded, because the people who had the ideas deserve the credit for their ideas. This is one of those few books today, a book for inquisitive minds.