A recent article in Scientific American peaked my interest in Albert Einstein. A particular reference to How he conceived of ideas fascinated me. The article points out an area in Einstein's motor cortex (an area that governs movement) in the left hemisphere that is unusually large. The lead researcher Dr. Dean Falk from Florida State University has found the motor face area in Einstein's brain is the largest he has ever seen.
As a Feldenkrais Practitioner, understanding the relationship of the sensory/motor system and learning is an exciting process. I went searching for references to what Einstein said about how ideas came to him. His attempt to describe how he thought is found here. You can imagine how difficult it is to describe in words the process of discovery. Many are familiar with his quote "The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination". Perhaps he was saying that he needed to feel the ideas in his body and this imagination had a visual and "muscular" aspect. The motor/sensory must come first. The words will come later.
This makes a lot of sense when considering how we grow and develop from infancy. As babies we take in the world through our eyes, ears, mouth, and body. The sensing comes first, and language comes later.
As a Feldenkrais Practitioner, understanding the relationship of the sensory/motor system and learning is an exciting process. I went searching for references to what Einstein said about how ideas came to him. His attempt to describe how he thought is found here. You can imagine how difficult it is to describe in words the process of discovery. Many are familiar with his quote "The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination". Perhaps he was saying that he needed to feel the ideas in his body and this imagination had a visual and "muscular" aspect. The motor/sensory must come first. The words will come later.
This makes a lot of sense when considering how we grow and develop from infancy. As babies we take in the world through our eyes, ears, mouth, and body. The sensing comes first, and language comes later.
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