Einsteins

            
             For nearly three centuries, the universe seemed to work .
            
             heavens and objects on earth behaved according to Newton's .
             laws of motion. Over time, Newton's laws of motion and .
             gravity came to be thought of as classical, a comfortable .
             way for people to think about their lives in a secure world .
             of absolute space and time. The mystery of order appeared to .
             be solved.
             Then, in 1905, a little known man who worked in a Bern .
             patent office published theories based on a new idea called .
             relativity. The man was Albert Einstein(Swisher 47).
             Born at Ulm, Germany, on March 14, 1879, Einstein had a .
             curious mind, and asked many questions; in particular he .
             once asked a question regarding how a compass works. When .
             Einstein was a five-year-old child sick in bed, his father .
             gave him a compass. Einstein wanted to know why the needle .
             always pointed north. His father told him that "a magnetic .
             field surrounds the earth, a space in which an invisible .
             force attracts objects, as a magnet attracts"(49). The .
             needle responds to this invisible force. The needle's invariable northward swing, guided by an invisible force, .
             profoundly impressed the child(49). The compass convinced .
             him that there had to be "something behind things, something .
             deeply hidden"(51).
             .
             As a small boy, Einstein was "self-sufficient and .
             thoughtful-(Danies). He usually talked slowly, taking his .
             time to consider his words. His sister, Maja, remembered .
             "the concentration and perseverance with which he would .
             build up houses of cards to many stories"(Danies). She later .
             gave a hint of Einstein's attitude. When Einstein got in a .
             tamper as a little child, she recounted, he sometimes threw .
             things at her. "Once it was a large bowling ball; another .
             time he used a child hoe. This should suffice that it takes .
             a sound skull to be the sister of an intellectual-(Bodanis .
             87). It is interesting to note that neither of his parents .
             had any knowledge in the areas of math or science.