Thanks to charities that fulfill the wishes of older people, centenarian Rufe Holt saw the ocean for the first time in her life.
Holt spent most of her 100-year life on a farm in rural Tennessee, picking cotton and raising four children. She never had the time or money to go to the beach. But in November 2014, just weeks before her 101st birthday, her lifelong wish came true.
Approaching the Gulf of Mexico, Holt began to smile as soon as the cool water of the Gulf touched her feet. She repeatedly repeated that the water was cold, but she enjoyed every minute of what was happening to her and said that she had never seen anything bigger than the ocean.
Holt admitted that her family had never been able to afford a train to the coast; she had only left Tennessee once in her life. Holt was always too busy to travel, spending time on the farm or working in a textile factory.
The trip to the Alabama coast was the furthest she had ever been from home.
2. A five-year-old deaf-mute boy who heard his mother’s voice for the first time
Deaf and mute five-year-old David Orekhov, also suffering from autism, was surprised and amazed by the voice of his mother, which he heard for the first time after he received a cochlear implant.
In order to provide David with this opportunity, his family moved from Seattle to St. Petersburg, since only there he could receive this implant.
Little David is slowly adapting to his newfound hearing. Shelley Ash, David's otolaryngologist, says, "It's a little harder for a child with autism to accept new things in their life." However, David responds well to the hearing aid and once even tried to pick it up when it fell to the floor.
3. 73-year-old son who kissed his mother for the first time
The son kissed his mother for the first time! The act itself is not very newsworthy, but not in the case of 73-year-old Charles Bruce Pate, who was reunited with his 88-year-old mother in 2013.
His mother, Paulina Lott, was a teenager when the Mississippi Department of Welfare took her into custody and transferred her to King's Daughters Home for unwed mothers. The state guaranteed her full medical coverage and promised that the birth would be fully paid for if her child will be given up for adoption.
On February 20, 1941, Paulina gave birth to a child she had no intention of raising. For years, Paulina wanted to see her child, but she didn't know that he was looking for her too.
Even though he had lived his entire life loving his adoptive parents, he still considered himself lonely. Charles began searching for his biological mother in 1964, but the search stalled until 2013, when he finally found her on a website that was created specifically for finding biological parents and children.
Now, mother and son communicate almost every day. Pate believes he got the best of both lives. Good parents who raised him and a chance to reunite with a woman who never had the chance to do the same.
4The kidnapped man who met his father for the first time in 24 years
In 1991, a 4-year-old boy, Sun Bin, was kidnapped from his family at a grocery store in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China, where his father worked.
Sun Bin was sold childless to a couple in a town called Xuzhou, almost 1,500 kilometers away, for $400. While he learned to love his adoptive parents, he knew that one day he must find his real family. In 2010, he began his search. Sun Bin submitted a sample of his DNA to a government aid database and found a match.
In January 2015, father and son had an emotional reunion. Police in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, said they were investigating Sun Bin and had already detained suspects believed to have sold the boy to his adoptive parents.
Sun Bin says that although he is incredibly happy to meet his father and sisters, whom he did not even know existed, he is very worried about his adoptive parents. He said: "I don't want them to be punished and I will look after and care for both my families."
5. A blind mother seeing her child for the first time
A blind mother was able to see her newborn son for the first time thanks to a specialized set of glasses that work in real time and reproduce images for a blind person.
Katie Beitz, a resident of Ontario, Canada, has been blind since childhood. She suffered from Stargardt disease, a hereditary disease of the retina caused by degenerative changes in the photoreceptor pigment epithelial cells, leading to a significant decrease in visual acuity.
But more recently, innovative glasses were developed that consisted of a series of cameras, processors and prisms, thanks to which they were able to restore parts of Katie's retina, and this was enough for her to catch a glimpse of her child.
Beitz says the glasses have made her more confident as a parent, allowing her to enjoy things that many parents take for granted, like reading books before bed or enjoying a baby's first smile.
6. The boy who took his first steps thanks to an astronaut suit
A little boy walked for the first time in his life thanks to a suit that was originally used to help astronauts regain muscle mass after returning from space.
George Craig, from Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England, was diagnosed with global developmental delay in infancy. This type of disability affects his ability to move and communicate, and does not allow him to stand, much less walk. His parents were searching for information about the treatment of this disease on the Internet and learned about Terasyute therapy.
The specialists who carried out this type of therapy were absolutely confident that the treatment would help the baby, and this won over George’s parents. “When this all started, we had no idea what was going to happen to George, but the confident words from the specialists that he would walk were very encouraging,” said Naomi Jamison, the boy’s mother.
On December 24, 2014, with the help of Teracute, George walked without assistance for the first time. Even though therapy was quite difficult, it was also a lot of fun. Wearing a special suit is equivalent to running a marathon. After being in the suit for a few minutes, connections occur in the brain that allow the boy to understand which muscles he should use. All treatment is carried out in a playful way, so the child does not understand that he is undergoing therapy.
7. The man who first climbed Niagara Falls
Countless people have descended Niagara Falls, but no one has ever climbed it.
Climber Wil Gadd, recently named National Geographic's Traveler of the Year, scaled the frozen waterfall without any equipment because there was no ice on the waterfall before the climb and Wil had no way to prepare in advance. A stunt that can only be pulled off in the winter (for obvious reasons) isn't much of a feat as long as the environment doesn't get in the way. In the case of Niagara Falls, where 150,000 tons of water flow from the crest every minute at a speed of about 100 kilometers per hour, this rule does not apply.
Gadd completed the route three times, spending about an hour on each climb.
8. The actor who broke the weightlifting record for the first time in 1000 years
Actor Hafthor Bjornsson, known as "The Mountain" from Game of Thrones, recently passed the legendary thousand-year Icelandic test of strength.
The tale of Orm Storulfson and his 635 kg log has been passed down from generation to generation in Iceland. According to the Icelandic saga, it took 50 men to lift the log onto Storulfson's back, and he could walk three steps before throwing it down. Bjornson did a great job with this. Watch this incredible feat below:
9. The child who tried lemon for the first time
Look what happened when this adorable little guy tried lemon for the first time. Now he can't get rid of this taste.
The material was prepared by Anna Kuntsevich - based on the site article
are interested in astronomy and sneak past the headman’s room at night to
observe stars and planets, although we have already come across several times and were
punished. This was followed by an admission of inability to understand the curved
space. The letter ended with a healthy patriotic phrase: “It’s a pity,
that you are an American citizen. It would be better if you were in England."
On August 25, 1946, Einstein replied in English:
"Expensive...
Thank you for your letter of July 10th. I apologize for still
alive However, this can be fixed.
Don't let the curved space bother you. Later you will understand that
It's easiest for space to be curved. The point is that the word
"curved" does not mean quite the same thing here as in everyday speech.
I hope the astronomical research you are doing with your
friend, will be hidden from the eyes and ears of school authorities. That's how it goes
the majority of citizens are good towards their governments, and I think that this
Right.
Sincerely yours"...
The joy of the recipient of this letter was immeasurable, despite the fact that
Einstein mistook her for a boy (due to her unusual name). In his
in a reply dated September 19, 1946, she wrote: “I forgot to tell you that I
girl. I always regretted it, but now I have more or less reconciled." AND
further added: “I did not at all want to express disappointment that you are still
alive."
Einstein responded:
"I have nothing against the fact that you are a girl, but the main thing is still
The point is that you yourself don’t mind. Yes and no reason."
The following note was written at Princeton, apparently in 1935.
manuscript words "not published". After Einstein's death it was published by Otto
Nathan and Heinz Norden in the book "Einstein on the Preservation of Peace." So rich
passion statement is unusual for Einstein, which is probably why he did not
print it. But it apparently gave him a feeling of relief:
"To the eternal shame of Germany, the tragic and
grotesque spectacle; it does not honor the community of nations calling themselves
civilized!
Over the centuries, an endless series of school teachers and
The non-commissioned officers were drilled by the German people. The Germans were accustomed to persistent
labor and learned many useful things, but they were also raised to be slavish
obedience, a penchant for military discipline and cruelty. Post-war
the constitution of the Weimar Republic suited the German people like a dress
giant - dwarf. Then came inflation and depression, when everyone lived in
fear and tension.
Hitler appeared, a man of limited mental abilities, not
fit for some useful work; he was choking with envy and anger
to those whom circumstances and nature placed above him. Coming from a small
bourgeoisie, he had sufficient class consciousness to hate even
workers who fought for greater equality in living conditions. But most of all
he hated culture and education, forever inaccessible to him. In his
insatiable lust for power, he discovered that his confused and hateful
speeches evoke wild rejoicing from those whose position and aspirations are similar to
his own. He picked up this human waste on the streets and in pubs and
managed to rally them around him. This is how his political career began.
But what really helped him achieve power was his unbridled
bitterness against everything alien and, in particular, hatred of the base-protective
minority - German Jews. Their intellectual sophistication irritated
him, and he, not without some reason, considered her un-German in spirit.
Continuous tirades against these two "enemies" attracted the masses to him,
to whom he promised unheard-of triumphs and a golden age. He shamelessly
used for his own purposes the German taste for
drill, orders, blind obedience and cruelty. So he became the Fuhrer.
Money flowed in abundance into his chests, and a considerable share came from the wealthy
classes who saw in it a means of preventing social and
economic liberation of the people, begun during the Weimar Republic. He
played on the feelings of people prone to romantic and pseudo-patriotic
phraseology of the period of the First World War, and used the fiction about
superiority of the "Aryan" or "Nordic" race - a myth invented
anti-Semites for their own sinister purposes. His lack of integrity, psychopathic
personality does not allow us to find out to what extent he himself believed what was being spread
fiction. But those around him and those who were brought to the surface by the wave of Nazism,
were mostly inveterate cynics, aware of the deceit and
the unscrupulousness of their methods."
Leo Wech was the chief rabbi of the Jewish community in Berlin and worldwide
famous theologian. After the Nazis came to power, he received a lot
flattering offers and could easily leave Germany without danger
anti-Semitic terror. He refused this and chose to share the danger
with his fellow believers in Germany. He was arrested several times
and then sent to Terezin concentration camp. There he remained until
complete defeat of the German armies and was liberated by Russian soldiers.
In May 1953, Einstein wrote from Princeton, giving him a touching and
a revived tribute on the occasion of the eightieth anniversary:
"What did this man mean to his brethren locked up in Germany and
doomed to certain death - this cannot be fully understood by those who
circumstances made it possible to live relatively safely. He considered his
an indispensable duty to remain in the country of merciless persecution and endure,
to spiritually support his fellow men to the end. Despising danger, he
negotiated with representatives of the authorities, consisting of murderers, and in any
situation, he preserved his dignity and that of his people.”
Asked to take part in the anniversary collection in honor of Rabbi Bech
Einstein replied on February 28, 1953:
"Wanting to help your wonderful endeavor, I am still unable to
write something related to the field of study of our revered and
beloved friend; but a bizarre thought struck me: to put together the grains
our own experiences, which can bring a little joy to our
friend, although only the first grain can claim to be somehow connected
with him".
The “grains” for the most part turned out to be caustic aphorisms of this kind:
“To be a perfect sheep in the flock, you must first be a sheep.”
The first of these “grains” was addressed to Bech. This is not an aphorism, but
statement:
"Praise to the man who walked through life, always ready to help,
not knowing fear, and to which enmity and hatred were alien. Such people
become role models, and humanity finds consolation in them in
misfortunes to which he condemns himself."
On March 17, 1954, Rabbi Bech sent a letter to Einstein on the occasion
seventy-fifth birthday:
"In the days when the question of the existence of a moral principle seemed
would be, there is one answer - “no” and when the very idea of humanity was posed
doubtful, I remembered you, and feelings of peace and
confidence. How often have you stood before my mind's eye and spoken to
me".
On April 18, 1955, Einstein died in Princeton. April 26, 1955
Cornelius Lanczos wrote to his stepdaughter Margot:
"I have a feeling that people like this live forever, in the sense that
Beethoven can never die. But something is forever lost: pure
the enjoyment of life that was an integral part of his being. Difficult
to realize that this incredibly modest and
an unassuming person. He understood what Fate had laid upon him
unique mission, and understood his greatness. But it is precisely the enormity of this
greatness made him modest and humble - it was not a pose, but an inner
necessity.."
At the beginning of 1933, Einstein received a letter from a professional
musician, apparently from Munich. The musician was anxiously depressed
condition, lost his job, and at the same time he was close in spirit to Einstein.
The letter is lost; Only Einstein's answer survives. Judging by the date - April 5
1933, it was most likely sent from Le Coq. Here's an extract from it. His
inescapable sadness applies to all times and is alleviated only by the fact that one
Einstein never stopped fighting against darkness. pay attention to
deliberate anonymity of the first phrase - it was safer for the addressee:
"I am the same person to whom you forwarded the letter via the Belgian
Academy... Don't read newspapers, try to find a few friends who think
just like you, read the wonderful writers of bygone times, Kant, Goethe,
Lessing and classics from other countries, enjoy the beauty of Munich
surroundings. Try to imagine all the time that you are on Mars among
creatures alien to you. Make friends with animals. And then you will find again
cheerfulness, and nothing will disturb you.
Remember that the most sensitive and noble are always alone, but thanks
This way they can enjoy the purity of the air they breathe.
I shake your hand in a friendly and heartfelt manner.
E."
He was the world's greatest scientist. But the world was such that Einstein
was forced to sign with the only letter E. instead of Albert Einstein.
Einstein: a brief chronology
Albert Einstein was born in Ulm (Germany) on March 14, 1879, and his
sister Maya was born in Munich two and a half years later. Five years old
as a boy he saw a magnetic compass and was filled with awe
and surprise that did not fade throughout my life. These feelings underlay all of his
greatest scientific achievements. At the age of 12 he experienced the same
amazement when I first looked at a geometry textbook.
He hated the discipline and cramming of German gymnasiums and dropped out at the age of 15
from school. In 1896 he entered the Zurich Polytechnic Institute in
Switzerland. He graduated from it in 1900; but due to the hostility of the professors
received a position as a researcher.
In 1901 he became a Swiss citizen. In 1902, after many
After discouraging failures, he got a job at the Swiss Patent Office in...
Berne. After that, he married his former classmate Mileva Maric. She
She bore him two sons, but in 1919 the couple separated peacefully.
In the patent office in the legendary year 1905, Einstein's genius flourished.
The theory of relativity was just one of his major accomplishments that year.
Until 1909 he remained an employee of the patent office, but then progress was made
very quickly, and in 1914 he was already at the top of his professional career --
became a paid member of the Royal Prussian Academy of Sciences in Berlin.
In August 1914, the First World War broke out, but as a Swiss
citizen Einstein did not take part in it. In 1915 he appeared in print with
his masterpiece - the general theory of relativity. In 1919 he married
widowed cousin Elsa, who had two daughters from her first marriage.
Somewhat later, in the same 1919, after the prediction was confirmed
His theories, Einstein became famous throughout the world overnight. In 1921 he
was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics.
Everything else does not require such a detailed story, because it is tied to
one date - 1933. In Germany, the glory of Einstein and his bold statements
caused anti-Semitic persecution of him and his theories. When the Nazis took over
power in 1933, he was in the United States and never again
returned to Germany. Instead spent several months in Le Coquet
(Belgium), stayed briefly in England, and in October 1933 moved to the USA - to
the newly created Princeton Institute for Advanced Study (State
New Jersey), where he remained for the rest of his life. Died April 18, 1955
Translation from English by A.N. Luke
Once Albert Einstein wrote the following note to his little niece, whom her parents did not take to visit: “Dear Fraulein Ley, I was told about your disappointment because you did not see your uncle Einstein. Let me tell you what he looks like: pale face, long hair, small belly. In addition, an awkward gait, a cigar in the mouth - if you happen to get a cigar - and a feather in your pocket or hand. But he has neither crooked legs nor warts, and therefore he is quite handsome - especially since his arms are not hairy, as is often the case with ugly people. It turns out that it’s really a pity that you didn’t see me. Warm greetings from your uncle Einstein."
There are two types of great people: those you would like to be friends with, and everyone else. Einstein is precisely in the first category, because he was not at all arrogant because of his talents and worldwide fame. Therefore, Buknik Jr. will tell you with special pleasure about the great scientist.
Albert Einstein is 14 years old Like any normal child, five-year-old Albert was intrigued when he first saw the compass. And until his old age, the miracle of science aroused wonder and awe in Einstein.
Albert was an ordinary boy from a Jewish family, so it is not surprising that from the age of six he learned to play the violin. True, unlike many, the future scientist fell in love with music forever. Physics, a pipe and a violin are three things that accompanied him all his life.
Einstein hated cramming and strict discipline, and in the German gymnasium where he studied, the rules were strict. Therefore, despite all his love for mathematics, Albert's grades were poor. Even very bad - so much so that he had to leave school at the age of 15 without receiving a certificate. True, unlike many other poor students, Einstein made many discoveries, became a doctor at twenty universities around the world and received the Nobel Prize.
During his long life, Einstein moved from place to place many times: he was born in Germany in 1879, lived in Italy, worked in Switzerland, then ended up in America, where he died in 1955.
Even if you haven't taken physics in school yet, you've probably heard about the theory of relativity that Einstein came up with. Don't be alarmed, we won't try to explain this theory to you right here. Just imagine how famous a person must be for even those who have no idea about his achievements to know about him.
Einstein invented many more things besides the theory of relativity. As often happens with talented scientists, his colleagues were initially distrustful of his discoveries. And in Einstein’s homeland, Germany, he was severely criticized and even laughed at. But this was at a time when the Nazis came to power. They hated Einstein because he was a Jew.
And the Jews, naturally, were proud that such an extraordinary person was their fellow tribesman. They even wanted to elect him president of Israel.
Einstein's image on Israeli banknotes Einstein took part in raising funds for the opening of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. And just before his death, he wrote to the man who once told him for the first time about the revival of the Jewish state: “I thank you at my late hour for helping me realize my Jewish soul.”
At the same time, Einstein, like any smart and sensible person, of course, understood that different races and nationalities are not so seriously different from each other: “Each of the people is a human being, regardless of whether he is an American or a German, a Jew or a Christian. If I could be guided by this point of view, the only worthy one, I would be happy.”
Unfortunately, not everyone shared his views. Albert Einstein's long century saw two world wars; moreover, his discoveries helped create the atomic bomb. He was very sorry that science serves not only good.
In addition to intense scientific work and teaching, Einstein had to answer numerous letters. Everyone, it seems, wrote to him. Someone wanted to get an autographed photograph of the great physicist. Someone told Einstein about himself, complaining about the meaninglessness of existence. Someone dreamed of receiving valuable advice that would change his whole life. Some people asked specific questions because they thought that a genius should know everything.
And Einstein answered these letters - without the slightest arrogance, with sympathy, goodwill and humor. Although it seemed strange to him that the attention of so many strangers was focused on him. He took science seriously, but not himself. No wonder his most famous photograph depicts a disheveled, gray-haired man with his tongue hanging out.
In 1936, an American publisher wanted to place in the foundation of his future library a box of things that might be of interest to future generations. He asked Einstein to address his descendants, and this is what the great scientist wrote:
“Dear descendants! If you have not become fairer, more peace-loving and generally more reasonable than we are, well, in that case, damn you. This pious wish was spoken with deep respect by the one who was Albert Einstein.”
This, by the way, also applies to you and me.
Various studies and tests lead to the conclusion that the psychological basis of creative ability is creative fantasy, understood as a synthesis of imagination and empathy (reincarnation). The need for creativity as the most important feature of a creative personality is nothing more than a constant and strong need for creative imagination. K. Paustovsky wrote: “...be merciful to the imagination. Don't avoid it. Don’t pursue, don’t pull back and, above all, don’t be ashamed of him like a poor relative. This is the beggar who hides the countless treasures of Golconda.” The process of creative (and, in my opinion, everything is like this, even erotic) fantasy comes down to a departure from reality to one’s imaginary “I” and the same conditions (the difference between the creative fantasy of a creative person and the creative fantasy of a non-creative person is that the first has an irresistible desire to realize her inventions in reality, while the second has the opposite, perhaps she is even afraid to show it among others
personalities, their own inventions; An example here could be a serial maniac - a murderer who invented - fantasized and brought into reality a new method of murder, and a person, so to speak, with the same unhealthy fantasy, but never manifests it in reality, although perhaps something depends on the circumstances; or a less bloodthirsty example: a science fiction writer, storyteller, etc. (whatever) fantasizes and realizes his inventions in reality, transferring them to paper, obviously so that other individuals and others can read his inventions, plunge into them, how as if to visit his writer's head, and another, say, a guy of about 16, who spends all nights on even more incredible adventures, but he does not have such a need for others to know about his “night tales,” and he even It doesn’t occur to me that they can be written down, told, etc.... but again, this is just my subjective opinion).
What prompts a creative person to constantly turn to creative imagination? What is the leading motive in the behavior of a creative person? A creative person constantly experiences dissatisfaction, tension and vague anxiety, discovering in reality a lack of clarity, simplicity, orderliness, completeness and harmony. It is like a barometer, sensitive to contradictions, discomfort, disharmony. With the help of creative fantasy, the creator eliminates in his consciousness (and in the unconscious) the disharmony that he encounters in reality. He creates a new world in which he feels comfortable and joyful. That is why the creative process itself and its products give the creator pleasure and require constant renewal. This explains why creative people constantly live in dissatisfaction and joy.
It should be recognized that creativity can be combined with some psychopathological traits. The duality of the creator presupposes the phenomenon of “natural splitting of the Self” into the real “I” and the creative (imaginary) “I.” The behavior of the creator in everyday life often seems “strange”, “eccentric”. A strong need for imaginative activity and concentration on it, which is inextricably linked with curiosity and the need for new experiences, gives creative individuals a “childish” quality. For example, Einstein’s biographers write that he was a wise old man with all-understanding eyes, and at the same time there was something childish about him; he forever retained the surprise of a five-year-old boy who saw a compass for the first time. The “game” component in the act of imagination apparently explains the frequent love of creators, as well as children, for games and jokes. And many of them even compare life to a game, one has only to remember the famous phrases: “That our life is a game!” (A.S. Pushkin), “The world is a theater. There are women, men - all actors. ... And everyone plays more than one role” (W. Shakespeare).