Finding Einstein's Brain

Frederick E. Lepore

Published by Rutgers University Press 2018

Finding Einstein's Brain

Frederick E. Lepore

https://doi.org/10.36019/9780813580418

Overview
Contents

About this book

Albert Einstein remains the quintessential icon of modern genius. Like Newton and many others, his seminal work in physics includes the General Theory of Relativity, the Absolute Nature of Light, and perhaps the most famous equation of all time: E=mc2.

Following his death in 1955, Einstein’s brain was removed and preserved, but has never been fully or systematically studied. In fact, the sections are not even all in one place, and some are mysteriously unaccounted for! In this compelling tale, Frederick E. Lepore delves into the strange, elusive afterlife of Einstein’s brain, the controversy surrounding its use, and what its study represents for brain and/or intelligence studies.

Carefully reacting to the skepticism of 21st century neuroscience, Lepore more broadly examines the philosophical, medical, and scientific implications of brain-examination. Is the brain simply a computer? If so, how close are we to artificially creating a human brain? Could scientists create a second Einstein? This “biography of a brain” attempts to answer these questions, exploring what made Einstein’s brain anatomy exceptional, and how “found” photographs--discovered more than a half a century after his death--may begin to uncover the nature of genius.

Author / Editor information

FREDERICK E. LEPORE is a professor of neurology and ophthalmology at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Jersey. He is a clinical neuro-ophthalmologist, designer of the Optic Nerve Test Card, and has written over 125 scientific publications including “Dissecting Genius—Einstein’s Brain and the Search for the Neural Basis of Intellect.”

Reviews

"Revisiting Einstein’s Brain, Six Decades Later" by Kevin Coyne feature with Fred Lepore

— New Jersey Monthly

"With this original book, [Lepore] gives Einstein’s brain a second life and offers the reader a rare opportunity to discover the distinctive features of a genius’s brain, while insisting on the explanatory gap that still exists between brain and mind."

— Science Magazine

"Finding Einstein’s Brain isn’t just about neuroanatomy....It also contains wonderful discussions about relativity, other aspects of physics, and the personalities of the physicists Einstein hung out with. Lepore’s writing combines erudition, unexpected asides to the reader and occasional interjections of humour."

— Brain Journal

"However often you may lose your way on this expedition across planet Einstein, it’s good to have [Lepore], a man 'of most excellent fancy' as your guide."

— Town Topics

"An extraordinary, informed and informative study that reads with the gripping attention of a riveting novel, Finding Einstein's Brain is an impressive work of seminal scholarship that is enhanced for academia with the inclusion of thirty-eight pages of Notes and a seventeen page Index. While strongly and unreservedly recommended for both community and academic library collections, it should be noted for the personal reading lists of academia and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject."

— Midwest Book Review

"Princetonians New Releases" roundup

— Princeton Alumni Weekly

"Recommended."

— Choice

"Does Einstein’s brain (and his mind) have anything to teach us?" by Frederick E. Lepore, MD

— The Ladders

"Einstein’s Brain has a history all its own," by Melissa Drift

— Echo

"Happy Pi Day! What do you give a genius on his 140th birthday?" by Frederick E. Lepore

— The Ladders

"Breezin' with Bierman" interview with Dr. Frederick Lepore

— "Breezin' with Bierman"

"Who Stole Einstein's Brain," by Simon Murray, MD

— MD Magazine

Frederick Lepore interview on WNYC's Radiolab's "G"
https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/g-relative-genius

— WNYC Radiolab's "G"

"Very extensively referenced, chapter by chapter, inviting the interested read to delve deeper into the background on this subject. Einstein's Brain literally is a "page turner," which, for a book based on scientific material, is fairly unique."

— Journal of Neuro-Ophthalmology

"Expert Interest in Albert Einstein's Brain" interview with Fred Lepore
https://www.mdmag.com/peers-perspectives/einstein-brain/expert-interest-in-albert-einsteins-brain

— MD Magazine

"Considerations Regarding the Study of Einstein's Brain" interview with Frederick Lepore
https://www.mdmag.com/peers-perspectives/einstein-brain/considerations-regarding-the-study-of-einsteins-brain

— MD Magazine

"Current Limitations in Neuroscience" interview with Frederick Lepore
https://www.mdmag.com/peers-perspectives/einstein-brain/current-limitations-in-neuroscience

— MD Magazine

"Imaging Albert Einstein's Brain" interview with Fred Lepore
https://www.mdmag.com/peers-perspectives/einstein-brain/imaging-albert-einsteins-brain

— MD Magazine

"Differentiating Between the Brain of a Genius" MD Magazine interview with Fred Lepore
https://www.mdmag.com/peers-perspectives/einstein-brain/differentiating-between-the-brain-of-a-genius

— MD Magazine

"Revisiting Einstein’s Brain, Six Decades Later" by Kevin Coyne feature with Fred Lepore

— New Jersey Monthly

"Differentiating Between the Brain of a Genius" MD Magazine interview with Fred Lepore
https://www.mdmag.com/peers-perspectives/einstein-brain/differentiating-between-the-brain-of-a-genius

— MD Magazine

"Princetonians New Releases" roundup

— Princeton Alumni Weekly

"Considerations Regarding the Study of Einstein's Brain" interview with Frederick Lepore
https://www.mdmag.com/peers-perspectives/einstein-brain/considerations-regarding-the-study-of-einsteins-brain

— MD Magazine

"Expert Interest in Albert Einstein's Brain" interview with Fred Lepore
https://www.mdmag.com/peers-perspectives/einstein-brain/expert-interest-in-albert-einsteins-brain

— MD Magazine

"Who Stole Einstein's Brain," by Simon Murray, MD

— MD Magazine

"Imaging Albert Einstein's Brain" interview with Fred Lepore
https://www.mdmag.com/peers-perspectives/einstein-brain/imaging-albert-einsteins-brain

— MD Magazine

"Einstein’s Brain has a history all its own," by Melissa Drift

— Echo

"With this original book, [Lepore] gives Einstein’s brain a second life and offers the reader a rare opportunity to discover the distinctive features of a genius’s brain, while insisting on the explanatory gap that still exists between brain and mind."

— Science Magazine

"Does Einstein’s brain (and his mind) have anything to teach us?" by Frederick E. Lepore, MD

— The Ladders

"An extraordinary, informed and informative study that reads with the gripping attention of a riveting novel, Finding Einstein's Brain is an impressive work of seminal scholarship that is enhanced for academia with the inclusion of thirty-eight pages of Notes and a seventeen page Index. While strongly and unreservedly recommended for both community and academic library collections, it should be noted for the personal reading lists of academia and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject."

— Midwest Book Review

"Breezin' with Bierman" interview with Dr. Frederick Lepore

— "Breezin' with Bierman"

Frederick Lepore interview on WNYC's Radiolab's "G"
https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/g-relative-genius

— WNYC Radiolab's "G"

"Finding Einstein’s Brain isn’t just about neuroanatomy....It also contains wonderful discussions about relativity, other aspects of physics, and the personalities of the physicists Einstein hung out with. Lepore’s writing combines erudition, unexpected asides to the reader and occasional interjections of humour."

— Brain Journal

"Very extensively referenced, chapter by chapter, inviting the interested read to delve deeper into the background on this subject. Einstein's Brain literally is a "page turner," which, for a book based on scientific material, is fairly unique."

— Journal of Neuro-Ophthalmology

"Happy Pi Day! What do you give a genius on his 140th birthday?" by Frederick E. Lepore

— The Ladders

"However often you may lose your way on this expedition across planet Einstein, it’s good to have [Lepore], a man 'of most excellent fancy' as your guide."

— Town Topics

"Recommended."

— Choice

"Current Limitations in Neuroscience" interview with Frederick Lepore
https://www.mdmag.com/peers-perspectives/einstein-brain/current-limitations-in-neuroscience

— MD Magazine

Topics

General Interest

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
Preface Publicly Available Download PDF	ix
1. A Neurologist Walks in Princeton Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
2. April 18, 1955 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	21
3. What the Neuropathologist Knew... and Didn’t Know Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	39
4. The Lost Decades (1955–1985), the Cider Box, and the Microscope Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	57
5. The Exceptional Brain(s) of Albert Einstein Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	77
6. How Does a Genius Think? Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	117
7. The Pursuit of Genius Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	179
8. Where Do We Go from Here? (And Where Have We Been?) Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	207
Notes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	263
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	301

Language: English
Publisher: Rutgers University Press
Audience: Professional and scholarly;
Pages
- Main content: 256
Illustrations
- Other: 20 B-W and color photographs a
Keywords: neuroscience; Princeton; Einstein; Albert Einstein; genius; brain; intelligence; cognitive science

eBook

Published: June 25, 2018
ISBN: 9780813580418