June 22nd, 2007

Einstein the geographer? A hoax.

Raymond Chen
Raymond Chen

Perhaps you’ve seen this quote attributed to Albert Einstein:

As a young man, my fondest dream was to become a geographer. However, while working in the Customs Office, I thought deeply about the matter and concluded that it was far too difficult a subject. With some reluctance, I then turned to physics as an alternative.

Well, it’s a fake. The original research and debunking came from Jerry Dobson, then was picked up (with extensive excerpts—recommended) by Sharon Burnside and then Regret the Error, which is where I found it.

Category
Old New Thing
Topics
Non-Computer

Author

Raymond Chen

Raymond has been involved in the evolution of Windows for more than 30 years. In 2003, he began a Web site known as The Old New Thing which has grown in popularity far beyond his wildest imagination, a development which still gives him the heebie-jeebies. The Web site spawned a book, coincidentally also titled The Old New Thing (Addison Wesley 2007). He occasionally appears on the Windows Dev Docs Twitter account to tell stories which convey no useful information.

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