Toan Truong Profile picture
Nov 28, 2024 15 tweets 5 min read Read on X
This is Einstein at Princeton, 1935.

He was tasked to find which young physicists would revolutionize science.

His unconventional method found Oppenheimer, Wheeler, and Nobel-Prize winners before anyone knew their names.

Here is his ONE method to spotting genius: 🧵 Image
In 1933, Einstein arrived at Princeton's Institute for Advanced Study.

His first task? Build a team of young physicists who could help advance his unified field theory.

But his method of choosing collaborators left everyone shocked: Image
Image
Einstein's office at Princeton was simple:

Just a desk, chalkboard, and an unusual collection of "failed" physics papers.

These weren't just any papers - they were intentionally wrong solutions to famous physics problems.

He used them to test every candidate who walked through his door.Image
Image
His process was unconventional:

1. Give the candidate a known physics problem
2. Let them solve it
3. Show them the "wrong" solution
4. Watch their reaction

What he looked for wasn't knowledge - it was something far more valuable... Image
Most candidates would immediately point out the errors.

"This violates the conservation of energy!"
"The mathematics here is incorrect!"

Einstein would thank them politely and never call them back.

But some candidates had a very different reaction... Image
These special few would stare at the wrong solution, fascinated.

"This is impossible... but what if it wasn't?"
"If this were true, it would mean..."

They'd spend hours exploring the implications of the "mistake."
This was Einstein's real test:

Not whether someone could spot errors, but whether they could see the hidden possibilities within "wrong" ideas.

He called it "productive confusion" - the ability to let go of established rules and explore new territories. Image
One of his first picks was John Wheeler in 1939.

Instead of dismissing an incorrect quantum mechanics solution, Wheeler spent 3 hours exploring its implications.

Wheeler later pioneered blac
k hole physics and quantum information theory - concepts that seemed "wrong" to everyone else.Image
Robert Oppenheimer was another who passed Einstein's unusual test.

When shown a "flawed" solution about particle physics, he said: "This breaks every rule we know... but it's beautiful."

Oppenheimer later led the Manhattan Project and revolutionized quantum field theory. Image
Einstein's method wasn't about finding people who were "right."

It was about finding people who could see beauty in being wrong - who could explore impossible ideas until they became possible.

This is the cornerstone of theoretical physics.
His chosen collaborators went on to:

• Discover black holes
• Pioneer nuclear physics
• Create information theory
• Develop quantum field theory

All because they weren't afraid to explore "wrong" ideas.
Einstein's philosophy was simple:

"If at first an idea doesn't seem absurd, there's no hope for it."

He believed true breakthroughs come from those willing to question everything - even what seems obviously "correct."
His talent identification method reveals a deeper meaning:

Innovation doesn't come from knowing all the right answers.

It comes from being willing to explore the wrong ones.

James Gleick shares the common character traits of geniuses:
Want more fascinating stories about great minds and their unconventional methods?

Follow @LearningToan for weekly threads about the forgotten stories of genius thinkers throughout history.

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More from @ToanTruongGTX

Jul 6
Could psychiatrists actually cure schizophrenia?

Doctors said these 12 schizophrenic women would never leave the asylum.

In 1954, he created a room where 12 schizophrenic women could cook, sew, and talk.

What he found next exposed the secret side of psychology…🧵 Image
Glasgow, 1954.

R.D. Laing stepped into Gartnavel Mental Hospital's female ward and froze.

60 women. Vacant stares. Some rocking in corners for decades.

The "treatments"? Electric shocks. Insulin comas. Ice picks through eye sockets.

But Laing noticed what others missed...
These women weren't insane.

They were responding perfectly rationally to an insane environment.

After 3 months of watching this human warehouse, Laing made a radical proposal to the hospital board.

They called him naive. Dangerous. Foolish. Image
Image
Read 17 tweets
Jul 5
This psychiatrist created a therapy so powerful, it could unlock decades of buried emotions in a single session.

He can your father's rage in your jaw.
Or your mother's abandonment in your chest.

Here's how he reads your childhood in 30 seconds... Image
.Born 1910, NYC. Lawyer with 2 law degrees, Alexander Lowen felt
disconnected from his body & emotions.

At 32 (1942), he made a life-changing choice:

Became a patient of Wilhelm Reich, who believed the body held the key to psychological healing.
Reich discovered "body armor" - muscle tensions storing repressed emotions.

But Lowen saw deeper. Every childhood trauma, every suppressed feeling literally shaped how we hold our bodies.

Our posture becomes our biography. Image
Image
Read 16 tweets
Jul 3
"Passion is a lie," says Robert Greene.

That's his discovery after studying geniuses like Mozart, Jobs, and Einstein... for decades.

He found ONE pattern in every master he mastered early on:

"The Voice"

Here's what history's masters knew that we forgot:🧵 Image
Greene spent 10 years researching "Mastery," interviewing everyone from tech billionaires to artists.

His finding? Not one master followed their "passion."

Instead, they all discovered something more profound—a voice from childhood that never left them.

Let me explain:
"The Voice" is Greene's term for your innate uniqueness.

At age 5-6, before society's conditioning kicks in, you're naturally drawn to certain activities.
Read 20 tweets
May 27
The most powerful metaphor on the human mind:

Plato's Chariot.

It's why 97% of people fail their diets, abandon their dreams, and are always depressed in life.

So, I started exploring its psychological powers...

What I learned blew me away: 🧵 Image
In 360 BC, philosopher Plato described the human soul as a charioteer trying to control 2 horses:

One noble white horse
= Our values, virtues, and higher aspirations.

One wild black horse
= Our impulses, desires, and base instincts. Image
The noble white horse pulls toward what's good and beneficial in the long term.

It represents your:

• discipline
• patience
• courage
• wisdom

This horse follows gentle guidance and wants to do what's right.
Read 16 tweets
May 19
Chess Grandmasters are some of the smartest people alive.

There's one framework they're taught early on...

Higher-order thinking (sharpen your decision-making, learn faster, and unlock genius thinking): 🧵 Image
Image
When GM Garry Kasparov first learned chess, his coach didn't teach him moves.

Instead, he taught him to "think about thinking."

Before each move, he had to verbalize his thought process, explaining WHY he considered certain moves. Image
This is called metacognition - thinking about how you think.

While amateur players focus on memorizing moves, masters focus on understanding their own thought patterns.

It's like having a "mental camera" that observes your brain while it works.
Image
Read 20 tweets
May 7
In 2009, Stephen Hawking threw a party for time travelers.

The physicist provided exact GPS coordinates and time...

Then waited with his champagne...

This is what happened next and the world's smartest man honest confession about time travelling: 🧵 Image
Image
Hawking's experiment was simple but brilliant...

If time travelers existed in our future,
they could see his invitation and travel back.

The party: June 28, 2009.
Location: University of Cambridge.

Hawking himself prepared champagne and waited. Image
"I sat there a long time, but no one came," Hawking later recalled.

The weird part?

He didn't publicize the party until AFTER it happened.
This ensured only future time travelers would know about it.

This wasn't just a clever stunt... ↓
Read 13 tweets

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