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Einstein's Mistakes: The Human Failings of Genius Paperback – November 9, 2009

by Hans C. Ohanian (Author)
4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 64 ratings
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“A thought-provoking critique of Einstein’s tantalizing combination of brilliance and blunder.”―Andrew Robinson, New Scientist

Never before translated into English, the Manimekhalai is one of the great classics of Indian culture. 25 illustrations
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  1. Print length
    418 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    W. W. Norton & Company
  4. Publication date
    November 9, 2009
  5. Dimensions
    5.5 x 1 x 8.2 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    9780393337686
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0393337686
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"The book’s quixotic approach―retelling Einstein’s story by homing in on his blunders―makes for good intellectual entertainment. . . . [It] kept me eagerly turning the pages."
― George Johnson, Los Angeles Times

"A wonderful story that is well worth taking the time to read....We get a short course in this history of modern physics, one that is well-written and entertaining as well."
― Alan S. McRae, Mathematical Reviews

"Recounts [Einstein’s] chronicle of errors in clear and engaging prose, giving us in the process a short course in the history of modern physics and a witty and provocative account of the subject’s life."
― Darrin M. McMahon, Wall Street Journal

From the Back Cover

It is the story of a beautiful young dancer who decides to forego her looming career as a courtesan in order to dedicate her life (with the aid of gods, demigods, and a magic bowl called the Cow of Abundance) to charity and to attaining the 'bright light of knowledge.'

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0393337685
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ W. W. Norton & Company (November 9, 2009)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 418 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780393337686
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0393337686
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 11.2 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 1 x 8.2 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 64 ratings

About the author

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Hans C. Ohanian

Hans C. Ohanian

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Hans Ohanian studied physics at Berkeley and at Princeton, where he worked on relativity with John A. Wheeler. He has taught at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Union College, the University of Rome, and the University of Vermont. He is the author of several physics textbooks and dozens of articles dealing with relativity, gravitation, and quantum theory, including many articles on fundamental physics published in the American Journal of Physics, where he served as associate editor for several years. Of late, he has become interested in the ecological and economic aspects of renewable energy systems in Vermont, where he lives. His favorite renewable system is his sailboat "ARCHIMEDES," on which he cruises on Lake Champlain.

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
64 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book provides a deeper understanding of scientific discovery and its process. They appreciate the explanations of physical theories and history of physics and relativity. The writing is engaging and easy to read, with a great sense of humor.

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DescriptionReadability
7 customers mention "Description"7 positive0 negative

Customers find the book provides more depth and context than expected. They appreciate the explanation of physical theories, history of physics, and relativity. The book provides an excellent review of physics and relativity for readers. It is described as engaging science writing for the layperson. Readers find the book inspiring for smart people who don't trust their genius.

"...author succeeded in giving me the idea that I (almost) understood the physics he discussed. I don't know how he did that...." Read more

"...On one side, the book exposes a handful of fresh biographical facts and neat physical themes, on the other side the brutal critique of the person..." Read more

"...I also liked the short and clear explanation of EPR paradox in just one page, "revisionist" and unusual biographical notes on other scientists and..." Read more

"...It is an excellent review of development of relativity from the time of Galileo and Newton to the twentieth century physics...." Read more

3 customers mention "Readability"3 positive0 negative

Customers find the book very readable and engaging. They appreciate the author's sense of humor and excellent science writing for lay readers.

"...Besides delivering a very readable book, he shows himself to be no lazy writer...." Read more

"A good read and a good reminder that failings are the necessary step to breakthroughs in human thought and creativity." Read more

"I was mesmerized by this book and read without a blink. Great sense of humor too." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Maurits van Zuiden
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent and exciting science writing also for the layperson
    Reviewed in the United States on July 23, 2022
    Verified Purchase
    I'm more of a browser than a reader, but I read this book cover-to-cover. Not only with ease; I enjoyed it. The author succeeded in giving me the idea that I (almost) understood the physics he discussed. I don't know how he did that. The professional math stuff is in the endnotes that I skipped.
    After I had a post published in my Times of Israel blog about what I think are mistakes in one of Einstein's breakthrough pieces of 1905, I googled the subject to find this book. The funny thing is that the author notes that the piece I think to have errors he calls the only flawless 1905 paper.
    Besides delivering a very readable book, he shows himself to be no lazy writer. He reached far beyond the minimum and shows much more depth and context than I expected. He also discusses flaws in the other great in physics and mathematics and Einstein's personal life. He makes it very clear that, on the one hand, Einstein was in a class of his own; on the other hand, he didn't work in a vacuum; his greatest discoveries were bold extensions of beginnings the whole field grappled with.
    With such a title, I also assumed the book to be terribly critical, but it's not. Every great person errs; geniuses stand out by their ability to use their blunders to build on them and get to great discoveries. This book discusses both successes, mistakes, and if they lead to success anyway or not.
    The text lacks the wishy-washy-ness that plagues many academics. The author is not too shy to be blunt and share his opinion about wrongs.
    I found very few mistakes or questionable points in the book. Somewhere someone dies in 1960 instead of 1860. The penultimate page has one word in the singular instead of in the plural. Twice a line is repeated paragraphs apart. And he wondered why Einstein was such a hawk negotiating his salaries, which one generally doesn't see by the occupants of ivory towers. Well, for Jews, money often has meant survival; no money meant death.
    Though from 2008, I still recommend it to anyone fascinated by Einstein.
    See my earlier written Times of israel blog post on: was-einstein-wrong-and-does-anyone-notice-or-care?
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  • Semyon Berkovich
    4.0 out of 5 stars Reflections on "Einstein's Mistakes" by Hans C. Ohanian
    Reviewed in the United States on January 10, 2011
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    The book "Einstein's Mistakes" by Hans C. Ohanian (W.W. Norton & Company, New York, London, 2008) is remarkable. It is indeed one of the most passionate and detailed surveys of Einstein's life I ever read. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone with inspiration for science. On one side, the book exposes a handful of fresh biographical facts and neat physical themes, on the other side the brutal critique of the person nominated "the man of the millennium" and "the greatest scientist of all times" is, mildly speaking, a surprise. Similar mixed feelings aroused with a comparable publication "Einstein's Mistakes" by S. Weinberg in Physics Today, November 2005.

    The attitude to Einstein's works and his way life in Ohasnian's book are quite unsympathetic. He was characterized as "a rather mediocre mathematician". Of his approximately 180 original scientific papers "about 40 are infested (could not find a gentler word? S.B.) with mistakes". For the famous formula E=mc2 "he never found a complete proof (better mathematician did)." Although, it is suitably brought up that this formula has little to do with the concept of relativity and the practice of the atomic bomb construction.

    In Einstein's personal life, the book accentuates a lot of cases of inappropriate behavior in family matters and marriage affairs. Ohanian stresses his hypocritical involvement in military-industrial complex contrary to his common pacifistic stand. Exacerbating the case in an unreasonable fashion, the book displays a blurry photograph of a German submarine U 505 control room captured by US Navy in 1944 allegedly containing Einstein's torpedo gyrocompass.

    What does this all mean? A primitive idea could be that physicists may envy Einstein's glory deemed undeserved. This is, apparently, not the case. So, what is going on? The so-called "Einstein's mistakes" are basically not mistakes in a direct meaning of this word; they are usually respected trial-and-error steps accompanying every great creative enterprise. Ohanian tacitly concurs with this, but does not call too much attention to it. As mentioned in the book, famous German mathematician Hilbert presented equations similar to those of general relativity a couple of days ahead of Einstein. Yet his priority was discarded since he made a physical mistake. Should he be spotted as a mediocre physicist?

    The actual Einstein's mistake is that of Ohanian as well. They consider relativity - the basis of modern cosmology - as a concept of highest scientific worth. Simplifying the matter apart from theoretical debates, general relativity is not correct merely because it is refuted by the crucial experimental test. Decades long excruciating search failed to reveal a slightest hint for gravitational waves - the exclusive hallmark of general relativity. With further seeking for this nonexistent entity through higher accuracy physicists just procrastinate the time. They simply do not know how to announce to the public at large that what is considered the symbol of the greatest achievement of human intellect is an unfit staff. Would portraying Einstein as philanderer ease the task? In psychoanalytical aspect, the unrecognized reason of all the unfair attacks on the peripheral works of Einstein is a result of suppressed objectionable feelings on his major conception, which blocks the desperately needed innovation of the current worldview paradigm.
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Bill Newman
    5.0 out of 5 stars authoritative and revealing science history
    Reviewed in Canada on March 4, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    Scientific discovery is a mix of insight, good guesses, dead ends and errors. But in the end it usually comes out right.
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  • Egology
    5.0 out of 5 stars Insights into the flaws of 'genius'
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 7, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    Here is a healthy, accurate and, as far as I know, unmatched debunking of the ‘Einstein myth’. After all, we all know about Newton’s character, his bigotry, his irrational pursuits (alchemy) and also some of his intellectual misdemeanours (of which Ohanian reminds us). Now that Einstein has become even more of a household name – certainly more than Newton in the public at large – it is only fair that Einstein’s own mathematical, intellectual and simply human flaws be exposed, too.

    Ohanian does it with flair and a solid knowledge of his – and Einstein’s – subjects. He does a pretty good job at explaining physics at layperson’s level, too. Incidentally, the book is also worth reading for its lucid account of the ‘Galileo affair’, which shows that Galileo was not quite the ‘martyr of science’ of the cliché (in that respect, Ohanian’s book is a worthwhile complement to Koestler’s classic, The Sleepwalkers).

    It is important to note that this is not yet another dubious attack on Einstein the genius (or even worse, the Jewish genius). The author has no axe to grind and never calls in doubt the value of Einstein’s famous contributions to modern physics, from his relativity theories to his seminal work in the early years of the quantum ‘revolution’. All the same, nobody is perfect, and Einstein is shown there to be no exception.

    (N.B. In total contrast to what one reviewer claimed, this book is by no means a 'list' (?!) of Einstein's mistakes. Yoou wonder sometimes what or how people read.)
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  • Cormac
    4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 18, 2016
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    Very enjoyable description of the great physicist's occasional mis-steps
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  • Enrico Menotti
    5.0 out of 5 stars Really interesting book
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 3, 2015
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    A really clear explanation on the points where Einstein did mistakes. It also contains lots of useful informations about the history of Physics and the people who tried to correct Einstein's mistakes.
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  • Hector
    1.0 out of 5 stars disappointing
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 21, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    includes a list of maths mistakes etc, but doesn't really add a lot to the Einstein story. surprising as has been recommended by Ray Dalio
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