In his life, Albert Einstein achieved many heights and did many things. However, there are some legends that became bigger than him. We bring to you some such myths that were far away from thefact.
Einstein was a bad student.
Although his parents were quite concerned as Einstein did not start speaking until he was two years old, he would go on to use numbers and words quite wisely in the class. Few events like change in the school grading system and his inability to clear the university entrance exam at Swiss Federal Polytechnical School added to the rumor about him being a lousy student. In fact, the school grading system was flipped from ‘1’ being the best to the worst grade and the fact that he entered the University exam couple of years earlier than most would apply clarified this myth!
He was a vegetarian.
Before the age of 50 years, Einstein was plagued with several digestive ailments like ulcers, jaundice, inflammation and intestinal pain. Due to this, he was forced to stay away from animal byproducts due to the doctor’s advice. Einstein largely agreed with the concept of vegetarianism which when added by his dietary restriction, led to this myth.
Einstein was left-handed.
Einstein is often named in the list of the famous left-handed figure, most likely due to a correlation between higher intelligence and left-handedness. There are several pictures to debunk this myth where he is seen using his right hand to write or even play the violin.
He had Asperger’s Syndrome.
Somehow a lot of stories cropped up, which characterized Einstein to have difficulty with social interaction or with communication with others. Due to this, he was often accused of being rude and insensitive. On the contrary, from 1921 to 1925, he travelled through four continents, meeting and connecting with several people and also recording these memories in his travel diaries. He also formed close relationships with several physicians over the years!
Einstein was responsible for Atom Bomb.
He was a committed pacifist and wasn’t privy to the working of the Manhattan Project. Einstein, however, signed a letter written by Leo Szilard written to Franklin D. Roosevelt pleading that the US should fast track work on nuclear devices to counter Germany. He was not directly responsible for the development of the Atom Bomb.
Einstein was one of the most outspoken scientists of all time and even stood for political agenda, though he never aligned with any political organization. Given his stature, many such myths were bound to surface over time.
