Albert Einstein: Earning a Living in Science
on Saturday, April 2, 2011Albert Einstein Money Quotation saying It’s possible to passionately enjoy a pursuit of interest until there is a reliance on it for income – then it becomes work. Albert Einstein said:
“Science is a wonderful thing if one does not have to earn one’s living at it” — Albert Einstein
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In this quote, Albert Einstein seems to be commenting on the challenges of pursuing science, and particularly theoretical or fundamental science, as a means of earning a living and supporting oneself financially.
His point appears to be that science can be most freely explored, and yield the greatest discoveries and insights, when it is not constrained by commercial or economic pressures.
When one “does not have to earn one’s living at it”, science can be followed purely out of intellectual curiosity and passion for knowledge, without the need to focus research on areas most likely to lead to profitable applications or funding.
So Einstein is suggesting science is best experienced, in its purest form, when it is not a person’s primary means of earning an income and supporting themselves, but rather an avocation pursued with freedom from financial necessity or obligation.
Birthday: March 14, 1879 – Death: April 18, 1955