Einstein - Letter to Jacques Hadamard

Summary of Albert Einstein “Letter to Jacques Hadamard”

Albert Einstein’s creative thought processes are found within “Letter to Jacques Hadamard.” Einstein relates that words are not involved with his thought (32).  His thought is populated with certain signs that can be “combined and reproduced” (32).  He writes that emotional drivers motivate connections between the signs and logical concepts, and that associative play among the signs form combinations leading to creative ideas (32).     

Elements are visual and something muscular (33).  Conventional words are used only in the secondary phase, and that they become laborious (33).  He writes that language comes into play once the initial idea has taken from and can be recalled (33).  He also notes that associative play has to be within the realm of ideas the subject is exploring for the logical connections to form (33).

Einstein’s letter establishes that signs and physical memories are the primary tools for creative thought.  Language has a role to play, but it is a secondary in nature and can only be used after the primary idea has taken form.   The term associative play is aligned with lateral thinking.  Play suggests a mind frame that is free to tinker and combine ideas without concern for failure.  It suggests a mind that is free to roam as long as the ideas are somewhat connected to the subject’s intent.

Works Cited

Einstein, Albert. “Letter to Jacques Hadamard.” The Creative Process: A Symposium. Ed. Brewster Ghislen. Berkeley: University of California Press. 1985. 32-33. Print.