annus mirabilis

2005 was the hundreth anniversary of Einstein's "miracle year."

He recalled 1905 as the year when "a storm broke loose in my mind." That year, he proved the existence of atoms, devised the theory of relativity, and laid the foundation for quantum physics.

I admire his sense of humor and the nice way in which he made the most complicated things relevant to a lay audience. I especially love these quotes:

• "Imagination is more important than knowledge."
• "Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning."
• "Reality is merely an illusion, although a very persistent one."
• "It's not that I'm so smart , it's just that I stay with problems longer."
• "When you are courting a nice girl an hour seems like a second. When you sit on a red-hot cinder a second seems like an hour. That's relativity."