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"I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world."


"It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with problems longer."


"Do not worry about your problems with mathematics, I assure you mine are far greater."


"Once we accept our limits, we go beyond them."

-- Albert Einstein

Inspirational Quotes
... by famous people with learning disabilities or differences


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Dyslexia - Einstein

Speaking of Einstein, the following quote has got to be one of our favorites. The mental giant, who in the NOVA program "Einstein Revealed," [October 1996] was described as a genius among geniuses.

The man whose theories and contributions revolutionized physics, replacing the system that had been created by the other mental giant before him - Newton. Theories like the quantum theory of light, the proof that atoms exist, E=MC˛, General Theory of Relativity, as well as significant contributions to the development of quantum theory ...

... described as mentally slow by some of his teachers.

In fact, Einstein, as well as Charles Darwin [The Origin of the Species], described themselves as slow thinkers. Nor were they the only ones. Did you know that the gifted and talented often go unrecognized, until they make some major contribution. Who Are the Gifted.

To everyone's surprise, it was discovered that Einstein had a smaller brain than average, but in one area on the left side - a higher density of neurons and many more glial cells per neuron than average. Glial cells increase synaptic connections, which would improve communication between neurons. I wonder if this might have given him more to go through in his thought processes, more to enable him to see different patterns that escaped others - which might better describe genius.

Einstein has been saddled with quite a few labels posthumously - Genius of course, but also Dyslexia, ADD, Autism Spectrum. But perhaps like many who get such labels, he was a different kind of thinker. And maybe it takes a different kind of thinker to be so creative and progressive in his thinking that he could totally revolutionize physics and our view of the cosmos.


"He told me that his teachers reported that . . . he was mentally slow, unsociable, and adrift forever in his foolish dreams."

-- Hans Albert Einstein, on his father, Albert Einstein


"...never was much good at the 'easy' part of mathematics. To shine, he had to move on to the 'hard' part.' In adult life his mathematical intuition was recognised as extraordinary and he could handle deftly the most difficult of tensor calculus, but it appears that arithmetic calculation continued to be an area of comparative weakness"

-- Einstein's sister


Is there any way to increase glial cells and synaptic connections? Absolutely. The brain is changeable and moulded by experience. What scientists recommend is continuous learning and a stimulating environment, with a positive attitude. Science Demonstrates Ways to Improve Your Thinking. Never stop believing in yourself, and learning.

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