Outstanding innovators have something in common.
They knew that they were not connected to and were different from other people, and that they experienced intense disconnection.
The most famous scientist in history, Einstein.
He was a respected and recognized person who contributed to the creation of a warm and peaceful world of pacifism, reduction of armaments and the abolition of conscription, as well as profound achievements in the field of science.
Einstein loved humanity and defended human rights, pacifism, and philanthropy. He had a sense of humuor and had an intimate relationship with some people and had an emphasis or a priority on such relationships he had.
However, the disconnect between the world and him had followed him all the time, and he was notorious for his chilly and rebellious attitude.
Einstein was a child who quietly played alone, not playing with other children in his childhood.
Einstein’s college friend Philip Frank, who had been in close contact with him from many years, said this.
“Einstein was an individual who did like get along with the people in his age. He liked to be intrigued in deep thinking or imagination”.
The Talmud, a medical student at the time who had gotten a time to eat together with Einstein’s family every week, recalled Einstein.
“I have seen Einstein for a long time in my school days, but I have never seen him getting along with his school peers or people in his age”
“As soon as his mathematical talent got the wing, he went ahead of me as quickly that I could not catch up with him anymore”.
Einstein entered the University of Zurich at the age of 17. Einstein was intelligent, but the professors evaluated him arrogant.
‘a student who is distant, distracted and insensitive to grooming or organizing himself. He likes to skip classes frequently and study alone’
Heinrich weber, the Einstein’s professor of physics, told Einstein.
“You are a smart student, but there is one flaw. You do not listen to anyone else”.
Personal hygiene and interpersonal relationships were not the priorities for Einstein, but he had the temperament that drives himself concentrate and devote himself to his interests.
Innovators, entrepreneurs and individuals with a clear goal of the life often have this temperament.
It was the temperament not only for Einstein but also for Steve Jobs, Marie Curie and Dean Carmen.
Einstein’s friend Thomas Buckey recalled.
“Einstein was shy in front of people. He looked after others, not being arrogant. But I have never heard a close friend call him by his name instead of his sir name. If someone tried to show excessive intimacy, he would feel tired and avoid the person if the person approaches him”.
It is very likely that Einstein’s intentional isolation contributed so much to his production of groundbreaking ideas.
Many innovators spent their loneliness pursuing their own interests in childhood and adolescence. Loneliness is an important factor in stimulating creativity.
In a lonely time, they think and dream about things that interest them.
In a lonely time, they build their own beliefs and develop their own concepts of life without being influenced by other people’s interpretations.
In a lonely time, they continue to associate themselves with their own ideas without being disrupted and interfered by other’s ideas.
It does not mean being totally cut off and disconnected from the society. From a social discontinuity and creativity point of view, we have just seen at the various evidence that supports the idea that it is important to accept attitudes that deny the conventional norms and traditions of the society.
If our society accepts the liberty of being unconventional, many innovators like Einstein can be born.
“Be a loner. That gives you time to wonder, to search for the truth.”
Albert Einstein