ENGLISH A Truly Beautiful Mind
A Truly Beautiful Mind
Date- 27/7/21
Topics covered- Reading of the chapter and explanation.
- New words and meanings.
- Extempore activity
Comprehension Questions :
Read the following extracts and answer the questions that follow in one or two lines
each.
1.
At the age of two-and-a-half,
Einstein still wasn’t talking. When he finally did learn to speak, he uttered everything twice. Einstein did not know
what to do with other
children, and his playmates called him “Brother Boring”.
(a)
Why does
the writer point
out that Einstein wasn’t talking till
the age of two-and-a-half? The writer
points out that Einstein wasn’t
talking till the age of two-and-a-half to clarify that outwardly his growth
parameters were slower as compared to other children of his age.
(b) How did Einstein speak when he finally
started talking?
When Einstein finally started
talking, he used
to utter everything twice. This indicated that
his speech pattern
was unlike what
is usually found
in young children.
(c) Why was Einstein called ‘Brother
Boring’ by his playmates?
Einstein’s playmates called him ‘Brother
Boring’ because he was shy, slow, introvert and
did not know
the art of interacting with
others.
(d) Which other word has been used for ‘speak’ in this extract?
The other
word used for ‘speak’ is ‘utter’.
2.
Einstein hated the school’s
regimentation, and often
clashed with his teachers. At the age of
15, Einstein felt so stiffled
there that he left the school for good.
(a) What did Einstein hate about
his school in Munich?
Einstein hated
the strict military
like regimentation in his school in Munich.
It suppressed
his, inquisitive mind.
(b)
Why did Einstein clash with his teachers?
The strict
regimentation in the school demanded complete surrender before the teachers. But Einstein had
a curious mind and he would not accept things unquestioningly. Hence he often
clashed with his teachers.
(c)
When did Einstein leave his school
in Munich and why?
Einstein left his school
in Munich when he was fifteen years
of age. He left because
he felt completely suffocated by the
rigid atmosphere there.
(d)
Where did Einstein go after leaving
his school in Munich?
Einstein went to the German-speaking part of Switzerland, in a more liberal city than
Munich. He worked as a teaching assistant, gave private lessons
and finally secured
a job in 1902 as a technical expert in the patent office
in Bern.
3.
While he was supposed
to be assessing other people’s
inventions, Einstein was actually
developing his own ideas in secret.
(a) What did Einstein do before securing a job?
Before securing a job, Einstein gave private lessons
and worked as a teaching
assistant.
(b)
When did Einstein secure
a job? What was the nature of this job?
Einstein secured
a job in 1902. This
job was in a patent
office and Einstein
worked here as a technical assistant. In this job he was supposed to give appraisal and assessment of the inventions of other people.
(c)
Why did Einstein develop
his ideas in secret?
Einstein had secured a job for monetary stability. Actually his sole
passion was science. So he developed his ideas in secret while his job required him to assess
the inventions of other people.
(d)
Which word in the passage means the same as ‘evaluating’?
In the passage the word ‘assessing means the same as
‘evaluating’.
4.
From this followed the world’s most famous formula
which describes the relationship
between mass and energy.
(a)
What does ‘this’ refer to?
This refers
to Einstein’s Specific
Theory of Relativity, according to which time and distance are not absolute.
(b)
Which formula was framed
from Einstein’s theory
of relativity?
The formula that was framed from Einstein’s theory of
relativity is: E=mc2
(c)
What is described by this formula?
The relationship between mass and energy is described by this formula.
In this formula, ‘E’ stands for
energy, ‘m’ for mass and ‘c’ for
speed of light
in a vacuum.
(d)
How did this formula
establish Einstein as a scientific genius?
This formula, having been proved
to be accurate, had become
the most famous formula of the world
and therefore, Einstein’s reputation as a scientific genius
was established.
5.
Unlike the letter to Roosevelt, this
one made no impact. But over the next decade,
Einstein got ever more involved in politics – agitating for an end to the arms buildup
and using his popularity to campaign for peace and democracy.
(a)
Who was Roosevelt?
Roosevelt was the president of America during the Second
World War.
(b)
Who had written a letter to Roosevelt and why?
Einstein had written a letter to President Roosevelt to warn him against the atom
bomb that
Germany could make
on the principle of nuclear fission.
(c)
Which letter did not make any impact?
The letter
written by Einstein
to the United Nations after
the atomic attack
on Hiroshima and Nagasaki did not make any impact.
In this letter Einstein had proposed
the formation of a world
government to counter
destructive acts like
the use of atom
bombs.
(d)
Why did Einstein get more involved
in politics?
Einstein got more involved
in politics because
he was a supporter of world peace
and harmony. Through
politics, he launched an agitation to end arms
buildup and campaigned for peace and democracy.
Questions to be answered in about 30 – 40
words each.
1. Who is a ‘freak’? Why did Einstein’s mother think him to
be a ‘freak’?
A ‘freak’
is a word used disapprovingly for a person
who is unusual in looks
and behaviour. Einstein’s mother thought him
to be a ‘freak’ because
his head seemed
too large to her. This
made him look
different from the
other children of his age.
3. During his childhood, Einstein did not show
any traces of becoming a genius one day.
How?
As a child, Einstein had a large
head and did not start
to speak till
he was two-and-a- half years old. Finally,
when he did speak, he used to utter everything twice. He could not interact freely with his playmates
either, unlike other normal children.
All this showed the absence of any traces
in him of becoming a genius one
day.
3. Why did Einstein’s playmates call him ‘Brother Boring’?
Or Why did Einstein play
all alone when he was a child?
Einstein did not know what to do with other children.
His shy and introvert nature made his company boring
to his playmates. So, they
teased him as ‘Brother Boring’ and did not include
him in their
games. Therefore, he played all alone when
he was a child.
4. What kind of toys attracted the attention of Einstein when he was a child?
Why?
Einstein could
not enjoy the company of playmates because
of his introvert nature. Instead as a child, he was attracted only by mechanical toys. It showed
his scientific temperament since
mechanical toys work
on some kind
of scientific principles.
5. Why did Einstein try to look for wheels on the body
of his new born sister?
Einstein was
very much interested in mechanical toys and had scientific inclinations. When his sister was born, he thought her to be a new toy; that is why he asked
where her
wheels were.
6. What was the opinion of the school
headmaster about Einstein?
The school
headmaster considered Einstein to be a good-for-nothing boy.
He was of the opinion that
Einstein would never
succeed in any profession. Therefore, choice of profession would
not make any
difference to the results of his efforts.
7. Which musical instrument did Einstein begin to learn? Why?
Einstein began
to learn playing
upon the violin
at the young
age of six. He kept
this
interest alive
throughout his life and became
a gifted amateur
violinist. He began learning the violin because
his mother wanted
him to.
8. How did Einstein perform in various subjects while studying in Munich?
Although as a young child Einstein
was very slow,
yet while studying
in Munich, he showed
great progress in almost all the subjects
and scored very good marks.
He showed a special interest in Physics and Mathematics.
9. Why did Einstein’s mother not want him to marry Mileva?
There were two reasons
for Einstein’s mother
not wanting him to marry
Mileva. Firstly, the girl was three years older than Einstein
and secondly, she was much too intelligent
– ‘a book’ just like him, in his mother’s opinion.
10. Why did Einstein’s marriage with Mileva not survive long?
Although Einstein
and Mileva had been in love, their marriage did not survive
long because Mileva gradually lost her intellectual vigour and aspirations. She became a frustrated housewife. There were frequent fights
between the couple
which resulted in their
ultimate divorce in 1919.
11.
“Einstein’s new personal chapter
coincided with his rise to world fame”.
What new personal chapter
in Einstein’s life is the author talking
about here? How did it coincide with his fame?
The new
personal chapter in Einstein’s life
was his marriage to his cousin
Elsa in the year 1919 immediately after
his divorce from
Mileva. This chapter
coincided with his rise
to world fame
when his paper
on General Theory
of Relativity, published in 1915, was found to be accurate when
there occurred an eclipse of the sun in 1919.
12. When and for what did Einstein gain international fame?
Einstein gained
international fame when his paper on General
Theory of Relativity was found to be accurate in 1919. As per this
theory, the calculations made by Einstein in advance about the deflection of light in the solar
gravitational field during
the eclipse were proven true. This
theory was treated
as ‘a scientific revolution’.
13. How was Einstein honoured for his achievements?
Honours came pouring in for Einstein
after his theories
proved him to be a scientist
with exceptional abilities. He was awarded
the prestigious Nobel
Prize for Physics
in
1921. Honours
and invitations were conferred on him from all over the world.
The newspapers too applauded his genius.
14. How did Einstein react to the bombing
of Hiroshima and Nagasaki?
Einstein was
deeply hurt, on seeing the destruction caused
by bomb in Nagasaki and Hiroshima. He worked for nuclear disarmament. He wanted peace.
He proposed for a
world government to stop arm race.
15. Why did Einstein leave the school for good?
Albert Einstein was not comfortable in his school.
There was an extreme sense of
discipline. He hated
this type of discipline. He often argued
with his teachers. He was suffocating in this atmosphere. He was not
growing. So he left the school.
Questions to be answered in about 100-150
words each
1. Write a short note on Einstein’s education from school to university.
As a young boy, Einstein did not show any symptoms
of an intellectual genius. His headmaster had a very poor opinion
about him and he even declared that Einstein
would fail in any career
that he chose.
However, as he grew up and joined
a school in Munich, he showed appreciable progress in studies
scoring good marks
in almost all the
subjects. But the strict discipline of the school
was not in accordance with
the free spirit of Einstein. As a result,
he frequently had issues with his teachers.
Being a person of liberal ideas,
he felt so suffocated that
he ultimately left
that school for
good. He chose to complete his
studies in a school in Switzerland where
the environment was more liberal as compared
to Munich. Highly
gifted in mathematics and having a great
interest in Physics, Einstein
joined the university in Zurich after completing school
and from there
he graduated in 1900.
2.
What researches and theories proved that Einstein
was a true genius? How was he rewarded for his scientific achievements?
Einstein proved to be an intellectual and
scientific genius after
the completion of his
university education. Although he was jobless for some time and gave private tuitions, he
finally got a job of a technical expert in a patent office
in Bern. Here,
along with the job, he kept developing secretly his own ideas and came out with the publication of his
famous research paper
on ‘Special Theory
of Relativity’, according to which time
and distance are not absolute.
His theory about the relationship between mass and energy
was developed into the world
famous formula E = mc2 , and this
equation made him
a renowned scientist. Einstein earned international acclaim with the publication of his
General Theory
of Relativity which
enabled him to calculate in advance the
extent of the deflection of light from
fixed stars as it passed
through the gravitational field of the sun. The theory
was declared as ‘a scientific revolution’ by the newspapers. For his
contribution to the development of science, Einstein was awarded the Nobel Prize
for Physics in 1921.
After this, a number of honours were
bestowed upon him
and he was invited by different countries in the world. Newspapers too hailed his scientific genius.
3.
The author
talks about two
important letters that
Einstein wrote -one
to President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the other
to the United Nations. What prompted Einstein
to write these letters? What impact did they make?
At the insistence of a colleague, Einstein wrote a letter to the American
President, Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1939 warning
him that the atomic bomb,
if made and used by Germany, could not only destroy the whole port on which it could be dropped,
but also the territory surrounding it. The impact of the letter
was both deep
and rapid as the
Americans secretly developed their own atomic
bombs which were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan in 1945. As expected, these
bombs caused terrible destruction. The large scale
damage caused by these bombings on Japan perturbed Einstein so much that
this time he wrote a letter to the United
Nations. In this letter he proposed that there should
be only one government in the world.
This would put an
end to the enmity between
nations and hence
stop the massacres caused in the name
of wars. But this letter
did not have
any impact. Thus,
unlike the letter
to Roosevelt, Einstein’s letter
to the United Nations failed
to evoke any response.
4.
What values does the life of Einstein teach
you?
Einstein was not only
a great scientist but a man
with love for peace. His life history contains in itself the
moral lesson that one must
love one’s fellow
beings and all the
discoveries of science should be oriented towards the aim of establishing
peace. Einstein had written
a letter to the American
President Roosevelt to warn him against
the destructive atom bomb that Germany would build on the principle of nuclear fission. But Einstein was terribly shocked
when America caused
large scale destruction in
Japan by dropping an atom bomb
on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Einstein made sincere efforts to spread the message of peace. He even wrote
a letter to the United Nations proposing that a world government should be established. He did not use his popularity for selfish or personal gains. Instead, he worked for furthering the cause of democracy and peace. He was never
carried away by his achievements; on the contrary, the
honours bestowed on him encouraged him to work more for the welfare
of humanity. The life of Einstein thus inspires in us the values of sincere work, devotion to
humanity, selfless service
of mankind, and love of peace.
5. What important lessons can Educationists today learn from
the biographical sketch of the great scientist, Einstein?
‘A Truly Beautiful Mind forms a powerful comment
on the education system in many institutions. A brief life sketch of the great
scientist reveals that Einstein was not a fast
learner at the early stage of schooling. One of his teachers had remarked that he would not
succeed in any course he took. But the reality
proved to be otherwise. Einstein turned out to be an intellectual genius. Educationists today can learn several important lessons from his education
career. First, teachers must encourage all the students all the times. Instead of making negative
remarks, they should
discover the individual potential of students and try to develop it to the maximum.
Secondly, students
should be provided
a liberal and
conducive environment, so that
they feel encouraged to think
originally and their
ideas may find
nourishment instead of being
smothered. Einstein felt
much suppressed in his school
in Munich because
of the stifling regimentation there. Such strictness made him leave
the school for
good and move to Switzerland. His talent bloomed
in the liberal environment of the
university in Zurich.
In addition,
all stakeholders of the education system today should
be free from all kinds of
bias and prejudices.
Answers to Text book questions
2.
Who had these opinions
about Einstein?
(i)
He was boring. Einstein’s playmates
(ii)
He was stupid and
would never succeed
in life. Einstein’s teacher
(iii) He was a freak. Einstein’s mother
3. Explain what the reasons for the following
are.
(i) Einstein leaving the school in Munich for good.
Einstein hated the regimented environment of his school in Munich. He
always argued with his teachers. His mind was not made for the normal strict and disciplined environment of a school.
That is why
he left school
to enjoy independence.
(ii)
Einstein wanting to study
in Switzerland rather
than in Munich.
Switzerland was more liberal
than Munich. Einstein
must have hoped
to find a less
stifling environment in Switzerland compared
to that in Munich. So he wanted
to
study in Switzerland.
(iii)
Einstein seeing in Mileva
an ally.
Einstein found Mileva
to be different than his family members
and the people
at the university with
whom Einstein used
to be constantly at odds. Unlike them
she used to appreciate arts and finer
things of life.
Her mindset matched
with that of Einstein.
So, Einstein
saw a friend in Mileva.
(iv)
What do these tell you about Einstein?
These snippets from
Einstein’s life gives
an idea about
the extraordinary thinking power Einstein had since
his childhood, because
only a person with above
normal intelligence can think beyond the accepted systems of behaviour
and actions. Einstein always liked
to take his own decisions which is evident
from his insistence on
leaving Munich for a better
future.
4. What did Einstein call his desk drawer
at the patent office? Why?
It is not mentioned in the passage,
but it can be safely
assumed that most
of the applications for
patent were of minor tweaking of older scientific theories and practices. This
is the prevalent practice even today. Really
original and innovative ideas rarely come on a routine
basis. Moreover, as Einstein was himself a genius he could
see the follies
in patent applications as most of them must be of pure
theoretical value
with no resultant benefit for the mankind.
That is why Einstein called his desk, ‘the
bureau of theoretical physics.
5.
Why did Einstein write a letter
to Franklin Roosevelt?
From the
passage it is not clear
if Einstein wanted
the US to stop Nazis
from making the bomb or wanted
to encourage the US to make a bomb to utilize its destruction
potential. The end result was the US made the nuclear bomb and used it against Japan. This led to large scale
destruction and loss
of lives in the cities
of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
6. How did Einstein react to the bombing
of Hiroshima and Nagasaki?
