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When Albert Einstein Helped A Student With Math Homework And Gave Them The Wrong Answer
The famous genius made headlines when he helped out a young girl who requested his assistance with a difficult math problem — but his answer wasn’t exactly correct
Few people are so synonymous with something as Albert Einstein is with the concept of genius. The theoretical physicist remains one of the greatest minds who ever walked the earth, whose excellence in science and mathematics, among other subjects, had an indelible impact on all of humanity. However, he wasn’t infallible. This was proven to the whole world when he once helped a young girl who had written him with her math homework and ended up giving her the wrong answer.
In 1952, Johanna Mankiewicz of Los Angeles was 15 years old and like many young people of her age was flustered by homework her teacher had given her. In particular, there was a geometry problem that neither she nor her classmates could solve. Deciding to get an answer once and for all, she wrote Einstein, who was then 73, at his office at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey.
Einstein was born in Germany in 1879. He was a whiz at math and science from an early age and ended up renouncing his German citizenship as a young man to avoid compulsory military service. He ultimately became the foremost scientific mind in the world and ended up settling in the United States. During a celebrated career, he made many important contributions to quantum mechanics. He also developed his theory of relativity along with many other concepts, including discovering the law of photoelectric effect. His impressive body of work helped him earn a trove of awards and other prestigious recognitions, including the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics, and the Copley Medal (given for outstanding achievement in scientific research) in 1925.
Accordingly, when Mankiewicz believed she had an unsolvable math problem, she had the right idea in going to who many believed was the foremost brain in the world at the time. The student thoughtfully explained why she was reaching out:
“Our geometry class found itself at a loss today when no one in the class could do a…
