The Case Against Einstein

Even geniuses can get it wrong sometimes.

Take that famous quote by the father of modern physics:

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

—Albert Einstein

To be fair to Einstein, he was probably referring to what happens in strict lab conditions. For example, if you are to mix the same two chemicals together several times, you will almost certainly get the same chemical reaction every time.

But does this mean that this statement can be extrapolated to apply to every situation in life as has been done many times by well meaning authors? Does this imply that if you do not get the desired results the first time, that you change your approach and try something else?

Here’s another famous quote:

Knock and the door will be opened to you.

Notice that it doesn’t say, “Knock and if the door doesn’t open, try something else.”

To take the simple example of freezing water that I wrote about earlier. Suppose you want some ice cubes. So you start lowering the temperature of the water, but it doesn’t freeze immediately, Should you try changing your method? No, you lower the temperature some more and yet even more and then, at some point, you will be rewarded with ice!

It’s called persistence.

The truth is many times in life we do not get what we want the first time. But we have to keep on trying and if we are persistent, we will eventually get what we are looking for.

Varying and changing your techniques probably works well if you’re in a science lab, because in a controlled scientific experiment, what you get is what you put in. If you add the same two chemicals together, you will invariably get the same chemical reaction.

But in the real world, if you keep changing your approach, it’s called inconsistency.

Sometimes, the only way to get what you want is to keep on doing it, to apply the same approach over and over again. And eventually you will get what you want.

In the real world, doing the same thing over and over is sometimes the ONLY way to teach yourself new skills.

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