At one point, the world-famous scientist Albert Einstein was asked a question by reporters.
The question is easy. How many feet are there in a mile? Einstein could not answer. Reporters rabidly ridiculed him for saying that even a world-renowned scientist couldn’t answer a question that an elementary school student could easily answer. Einstein replied to them.
“I don’t know the answer to that question. I don’t need to know. Because I can find the answer in a math book in a minute. I never put it in my head to find something that easy.”
Billionaire Henry Ford, who developed the world’s first automobile, is suing the newspaper because the Chicago Tribune newspaper described him as a “dumbbell”. In the courtroom, the tycoon asked newspaper reporters to prove that he was correct when they described him as a ‘dumbbell’ and ‘know nothing’. The reporters asked the tycoon small questions that almost anyone could answer.
“Who was the first general of the United States?”
“In what year did the American Civil War begin?” etc.
The rich man can’t answer those questions because he never went to school when he was young. Reporters also asked more questions. The rich man who couldn’t answer their questions got angry and told them.
“I can’t answer the questions you ask. But I have people who can answer those questions in 2 minutes. If you want to know the answers, I’ll call you right now.”
Einstein and Henry Ford were not interested in keeping general knowledge information in their heads. What they are interested in is how to use the information.
These two incidents gave us two important insights. Those are
(1) The brain is not a place to store information. It is a place to think and think
(2) Don’t store information in your head that you can easily find in books. If you remember a lot of things you don’t need, your brain won’t think.
Ref : Bang Mao Thein Pe
