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Friends, This is an interesting thread. Einstein did use up quite a bit of paper to develop special relativity. It was mostly pencil or pen on paper, and not too much chalk. But there is much more to it than that. The equations of special relativity are implicit in much earlier work, and Einstein built on much that came before, from Maxwell's equations to Lorentz's work. Several others might well have got there had they looked from a slightly different angle. What I like about the comparison of design research to Einstein's work is that we have a good record of exactly the steps and missteps he made at different times in his career. This kind of comparison comes round often. Those who want to know more about one of the great thinkers of history can learn for themselves how he thought his way through these problems. I've often thought that a great seminar in design research might begin with a month of close readings and dialog on Einstein's work. One of the things that becomes clear here is that Einstein's breakthroughs involved both a willingness to think creatively AND willingness to apply intellectual rigor to the problems he chose and the solutions he attempted. A bibliography of the imagined seminar reading list appears below. Best regards, Ken Friedman -- Designers Think Through Einstein: Selected Readings (1) Einstein tells his own story in an autobiographical note: Einstein, Albert. 1969 [1949]. “Autobiographical Notes.” In Albert Einstein. Philosopher-Scientist. Third Edition. Edited by Paul Arthur Schilpp. La Salle, Illinois: Open Court Press, 1-94. (2) Einstein's five breakthrough papers of 1905 appear in a terrific anthology with a useful introduction and comments by: Stachel, John. 1998. Einstein’s Miraculous Year. Five Papers that Changed the Face of Physics. Edited and introduced by John Stachel. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. (3) Physicist and historian Abraham Pais wrote what many believe to be the definitive Einstein biography: Pais, Abraham. 1982. Subtle is the Lord. The Science and the Life of Albert Einstein. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Jeremy Bernstein's two books explain much about what Einstein meant, and how ideas have been used, misused and abused: (4) Bernstein, Jeremy. 1993. "How Can We be sure that Albert Einstein was Not a Crank?" Cranks, Quarks and the Cosmos. New York: Basic Books, pp. 15-27. (5) Bernstein, Jeremy. 1996. Albert Einstein and the Frontiers of Physics. Oxford: Oxford University Press. (6) Finally, an excellent new book looks at what Einstein got wrong, positioning his great contributions in the larger framework of his mistakes and in the framework established by other great phycisists of the 19th and 20th centuries: Ohanian, Hans C. 2008. Einstein’s Mistakes. The Human Failings of Genius. New York: W. W. Norton. ----- Swinburne University of Technology CRICOS Provider Code: 00111D NOTICE This e-mail and any attachments are confidential and intended only for the use of the addressee. They may contain information that is privileged or protected by copyright. If you are not the intended recipient, any dissemination, distribution, printing, copying or use is strictly prohibited. The University does not warrant that this e-mail and any attachments are secure and there is also a risk that it may be corrupted in transmission. It is your responsibility to check any attachments for viruses or defects before opening them. If you have received this transmission in error, please contact us on +61 3 9214 8000 and delete it immediately from your system. We do not accept liability in connection with computer virus, data corruption, delay, interruption, unauthorised access or unauthorised amendment. Please consider the environment before printing this email.