Youthful creativity is vital for progress

[20 April 2005 - Daily Yomiuri On-Line] The United Nations has declared this year the World Year of Physics, in celebration of the 100th anniversary of Albert Einstein's "miraculous year" in 1905 when he published multiple seminal papers describing ideas that marked the change from classical to modern physics. These ideas were born, not under the leadership of prominent figures in the academic community, but through exchanges with cosmopolitan friends in a climate filled with revolutionary ideas. Einstein's amazing intelligence pinpointed core issues in the world of physics at that time, skipping over peripheral problems and unflinchingly challenging ideas to find out answers. It may be a surprise to learn that Einstein was only 26 years old in 1905. But it also might be this very youth that made him challenge existing ideas and achieve creative results. Einstein's theories forced changes from conventional ideas in the world of physics. More