Remember What Einstein Said

Friday is finally here. I used to love Fridays and I still do, but when I was working in the investment business and the markets took a break for the weekend, I was able to let it go for the weekend, most of the time, and just enjoy my family. Now that I am retired, it just is not the same.

This morning I read on the Internet that a group of French, German and Hungarian scientists, working in Paris, have proven Albert Einstein’s formula, E=MC2. One hundred and five years later, with the help of mighty computers, Einstein’s theory that lead to the atom bomb has been proven to be correct. You know, 105 years ago when Einstein sat at a table with a pencil and piece of paper and came up with his formula E=MC2, there were no computers or even calculators. What is the point?

The point is, machines can only take us so far, there is no substitute for thinking. With all the data that is amassed today with computers, we still have to think. Perhaps, someday computers will think for us, but I do not think so. Creative thinking and adding up numbers are two very different things.

I would like for economists to use their numbers as a guide, and not as a substitute for reasoned thought. Our latest economic and financial problem involves the three American auto makers. Making a decision about the loan when only viewing whether the three American auto makers can build a car as cheap as the Japanese car makers, to me, misses the point. The situation is much bigger for our domestic and the world economies for such a narrow view. Take a look at the video of the Ford plant in Brazil and tell me we can not build car competitively (see Butch’s comment and link). This is just not the case. But we need leadership to take us to the next level.

Hopefully, before January 20, 2009, steps can be taken toward rebuilding this country which has been left to deteriorate over the years. There is plenty of work to be done to build a nation for the 21st century. It just needs a little leadership and imagination. Remember what Einstein said, “ imagination is more important than knowledge.” See the complete quote below.

Stay tuned.

Einstein's complete quote. "I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world."