Quick Quotes: Albert Einstein

Every so often, I run across interesting quotes that relate to photography or nature in some way and I thought it might be interesting to share them from time to time.

The first quote in this very intermittent series comes from Albert Einstein. We all know a great deal about him, but here is a quote that reveals something of his philosophy that I had not previously realized.



"A human being is part of the whole, called by us the universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separate from the rest - a kind of optical delusion of consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty"

Albert Einstein


There is a tremendous amount to think about in that statement. I particularly like the idea of the 'optical delusion of conciousness' and how this delusion effects and influences our actions. What a different place the world would (could) be........

Quick Quotes: Wynn Bullock Masquerading as Albert Einstein

"I now measure my growth as a photographer in terms of the degrees to which I am aware of, have developed my sense of, and have the skills to symbolize visually the four-dimensional structure of the universe. "

Wynn Bullock

I do love photography related quotes. I really enjoyed this one by Wynn Bullock because it seemed to have a little Albert Einstein (who I have quoted here before) twist to it!

By the way, here is a great link to an Einstein photo Gallery.

Quick Quotes: Albert Einstein II

"Creativity is more powerful than knowledge"
Albert Einstein

Unquestionably one of the greatest physicists and thinkers the world has ever known, I have always been fascinated by what Einstein has written and said outside the world of physics. It initially seemed unusual to me that a man as steeped in knowledge as he was would have deemed the value of pure creativity to be so high. After thinking about it some more, however, it became clear to me that those that truly bring a new level of understanding to any field generally do so by thinking 'outside the box', an endeavor which often requires the rejection of commonly accepted knowledge and the application of creative thinking.