Talent “hits the target others cannot hit; genius hits the target others cannot see”, said Arthur Schopenhauer, the nineteenth century philosopher. Albert Einstein, whose name would in the following century become synonymous with genius, illustrated Schopenhauer’s definition. Other clever physicists derived brilliant solutions to complex problems which had bemused less talented men. But Einstein solved problems that others had not really understood existed.
19世纪的哲学家亚瑟•叔本华(Arthur Schopenhauer)说过,人才“实现的目标其他人无法实现;天才实现的目标其他人连看都看不到”。艾伯特•爱因斯坦(Albert Einstein)就是叔本华对天才定义的例证,他的名字将在随后的一个世纪里成为天才的代名词。其他聪明的物理学家找到了复杂问题的非凡解决方法,这些问题让不那么有才能的人们感到困惑。而爱因斯坦则解决了其他人完全不知道还存在的问题。