The scientist finds his reward in what Henri Poincare calls the joy of comprehension, and not in the possibility of application to which any discovery may lead.
Interpretation
Einstein emphasizes the intrinsic joy that scientists experience while understanding the world, rather than focusing solely on practical applications of their discoveries.
In this quote, Albert Einstein highlights the idea that the true satisfaction of a scientist comes from the joy and excitement of understanding the complexities of the universe. He references Henri Poincare's notion that the pleasure derived from the process of comprehension itself is more rewarding than the potential utilities that may arise from scientific discoveries. This perspective encourages a deeper appreciation for the pursuit of knowledge and the intellectual challenges that drive scientific inquiry.
In practice
In a speech about the importance of research and development, one could quote Einstein to emphasize the value of curiosity in science.
I cannot then believe in this concept of an anthropomorphic God who has the powers of interfering with these natural laws. As I said before, the most beautiful and most profound religious emotion that we can experience is the sensation of the mystical. And this mysticality is the power of all true science.
If I would follow your advice and Jesus could perceive it, he, as a Jewish teacher, surely would not approve of such behavior.
I want to know all Gods thoughts; all the rest are just details.
In the middle of adversity there is great opportunity.
I do not believe that civilization will be wiped out in a war fought with the atomic bomb. Perhaps two-thirds of the people of the earth will be killed.
To me the worst thing seems to be a school principally to work with methods of fear, force and artificial authority. Such treatment destroys the sound sentiments, the sincerity and the self-confidence of pupils and produces a subservient subject.
The latest authors, like the most ancient, strove to subordinate the phenomena of nature to the laws of mathematics.
The scientific spirit is of more value than its products, and irrationally held truths may be more harmful than reasoned errors.
But like all power, there are those who want to keep it for themselves. The world's entire scientific and cultural heritage, published over centuries in books and journals, is increasingly being digitized and locked up by a handful of private corporations. Want to read the papers featuring the most famous results of the sciences? You'll need to send enormous amounts to publishers like Reed Elsevier.
If the rate of expansion one second after the Big Bang had been smaller by even one part in a hundred thousand million million, it would have recollapsed before it reached its present size. On the other hand, if it had been greater by a part in a million, the universe would have expanded too rapidly for stars and planets to form.
The only useful function of a statistician is to make predictions, and thus to provide a basis for action.
By 2040, the Sahara will be moving into Europe and Berlin will be as hot as Baghdad. Atlanta will end up a kudzu jungle. Phoenix will become uninhabitable, as will parts of Beijing (desert), Miami (rising seas) and London (floods). Food shortages will drive millions of people north, raising political tensions.
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