What is your take on the following Einstein quote: ................?

Question

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" Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted."

- Albert Einstein

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Too many good answers for me to just pick one. You guys decide! ... lol

Answer 1

Einstein also said, "If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough." With this in mind I'll simply say that Einstein spoke volumes by mastering the art of mathematical precis. To express energy and the substance of all "being" into one 'simple' equation is pure genius; "Pure mathematics is, in its way, the poetry of logical ideas."

So he proved that, "When the solution is simple, God is answering." In 1905, Einstein's Energy equals mass times the speed of light changed the way we viewed the world. Such poetry. There has yet to be anything we have conceived that can fully supersede or falsify this statement (at least in the minds & opinions of Einsteinian physicists).

For the rest of Einstein's life and all the years since, a concerted undertaking has ensued to either build upon his miracle year opus or to dispel it. And still, no single theory or any string of theories can unify the quantifiable world. Why?

In his own words, "One may say the eternal mystery of the world is its comprehensibility." While he could quantify matter, he could not count on unifying 'everything'.

Answer 2

My take on the quote is to say that he truly understood genius. The quote, and I am not certain that it is his - although it sounds like something that he would say - is absolute truth.

Dr. Einstein was known for telling the truth. Even when inconvenient.

There are few people that I am truly in awe of (pardon the grammar) but Albert Einstein is one.

Answer 3

I agree, not everything is measurable by numbers or explainable by science. The value of friendship, love, hope etc.. can never be measured by numbers nor can it be expressed by statistics. Even if it cannot be measured or fully explained, it is still an important part of our lives. Possessions, things that we own like jewelry and cars, these are the things that can be counted but are not really what's important. One thing that counts though is money.

Answer 4

IT highlights the monumental task involved in trying to gain some insight or understanding about ourselves, the world, universe. If is isn't enough that we need to be able to differeniate between what is relevant and meaningful from what is superfluous random error. Having accomplished that to varying degrees, we are still left with the very real possibility that what is important to our understanding, by its very nature, must remain hidden and unknown and uncertain.

Of course that leads to the next question..."If it can't be counted, does it really count?"

Answer 5

Not all materialistic or easily definable and quantifiable things are important, and not everything that is important can be quantified, counted or measured.
So examples of the first would be, as Lorenzo stated, Telegraph poles. And an example of the second would be human emotion, faith, feelings, etc...

Answer 6

The which skill is sparkling - international conflict III could be a atomic conflict which will placed mankind at the back of via quite a few years and while they are out of the consequence of world conflict III , the only weapons which could be left could be sticks and stones !

Answer 7

Well saith the venerated scientist! He recognises the limitations of mathematics only too well....So, stop counting and start living (and loving). That's my take.

Answer 8

The rule of the 'agnosticisms', maybe the quote follows the Gödel's incompleteness theorems.

Answer 9

You can count telephone poles. You can't count love.

Answer 10

example: does your IQ score really count to a girl and how can you quantify happiness?