Albert Einstein more than once expressed the idea that “Imagination is more important than knowledge.” His own desire to discover the unknown and reach new frontiers led him to decipher the mechanics of the universe and unravel the laws that govern matter and energy.
When ideas fuel inspiration, the in-between state that leads to action is imagination. As humans we crossed the oceans to discover new lands, invented the means to travel the world, reached for the stars and landed on the moon. Every breakthrough started in the imagination.
Albert Einstein is of course famous for devising his theory of relativity, which revolutionized our understanding of space, time, gravity and the universe. Relativity, as he explained it, also showed us that matter and energy are just two different forms of the same thing, which Einstein expressed as E=mc2, the most widely recognized equation in history.
But relativity is only one part of Einstein’s prodigious gifts to the world. He was equally inventive when it came to the physics of atoms, molecules, and light. Today, we can see technological reminders of his genius almost everywhere we look. From paper towels and stock market forecasting to solar power and laser pointers.
While his imagination drove scientific work that changed the world, it wasn’t his only legacy. As a refugee and humanitarian who arrived in the United States fleeing persecution in Nazi Germany, Einstein imagined an institution that could offer humanity to people of all ethnicities. At this time, there were no refugee programs, nor aid agencies to ensure the safety of refugees. At his behest, 51 prominent American intellectuals, artists, clergy, and political leaders formed a branch of the International Relief Association in New York. Today, the organization now known as the International Relief Committee, offers lifesaving care and life-changing assistance to refugees forced to flee from war or disaster or oppressive governments.
“The world needs new moral impulses which, I’m afraid, won’t come from the churches, heavily compromised as they have been throughout the centuries,” wrote Einstein all those years ago. The idea resonates more than ever today, and it is in this spirit that bhuman was born. bhuman imagines a world of moral impulses fueld by collaboration; the kind that takes us to the moon, cares for those in need and offers hope where none seems to exist.
As we’re reminded, only one thing must be remembered, “…there is no effect without a cause, and there is no lawlessness in creation.” It’s the triumph of imagination over knowledge.
We can all bhuman to great effect and that is our cause. #bhuman
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