Albert Einstein on Scientific Writing
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.4467/2543702XSHS.26.022.22711Keywords:
Albert Einstein, early 20th century physics, rhetoric of science, writing style, persuasive intent, audience orientation, epistemic accessibility, scientific writingAbstract
This study presents an examination of Albert Einstein’s statements expressing his views on scientific writing. The findings revealed that his views regarding persuasive intent, audience orientation, conciseness, and phrasing largely conformed to the contemporary writing style, but that his expectations regarding the manner of exposition clearly went beyond it. He rejected expositions that were merely presenting completed thought constructs, which at the time were perceived as standard. Instead, he called for expositions enabling readers to follow—or, even better, to experience—the author’s train of thought. Einstein considered this essential for the epistemic accessibility of scientific writings and thus for their persuasive power.
References
Ammon, Ulrich 2015: Die Stellung der deutschen Sprache in der Welt. Berlin, München, Boston/MA: De Gruyter. DOI: 10.1515/9783110241075.
Baresich, Michael J. 1980: The Relativity of Communication: Albert Einstein as Technical Writer. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication 10(2), pp. 125–132. DOI: 10.2190/EYYC-JRKW-T3PN-6PV5.
de Broglie, Louis 1947: Physique et Microphysique. Paris: Albin Michel.
de Broglie, Louis 1955: Physics and Microphysics. Translated by Martin Davidson. London: Hutchinson.
Cohen, Morris R.; Nagel, Ernest 1934: An Introduction to Logic and Scientific Method. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
Einstein, Albert 1949a: Message for Symposium Morris R. Cohen Memorial Fund 1949, autograph draft, German, dated 15 November 1949. Call Nr. 28-861. The Albert Einstein Archives, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (Jerusalem, Israel).
Einstein, Albert 1949b: Message for City College's Morris R. Cohen Memorial Fund, typed transcript, English translation, dated 15 November 1949. Call Nr. 32-486.1. The Albert Einstein Archives, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (Jerusalem, Israel).
Einstein, Albert 1952: Letter to Carl Seelig, typed letter signed, German, dated 20 August 1952. Hs 304:21. ETH Library, University Archives (Zurich, Switzerland). URL: https://ethz.ch/content/dam/ethz/associates/ethlibrary-dam/documents/Standorteundmedien/Plattformen/EinsteinOnline/Princeton/Korrespondenz-mit-Carl-Seelig/1952-08-20-Brief-Einstein-an-Seelig-Hs_304_21.pdf (accessed on 18 January 2026)
Einstein, Albert 1955a: Erinnerungen – Souvenirs. Schweizerische Hochschulzeitung 28, pp. 145–153. URL: https://ethistory.ethz.ch/texte/1955Einstein_SHZ.pdf (accessed on 18 January 2026).
Einstein, Albert 1955b: Foreword to Louis de Broglie’s Book Physics and Microphysics, autograph draft, German, dated between 1 January and 18 April 1955. Call Nr. 01-198. The Albert Einstein Archives, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (Jerusalem, Israel).
Einstein, Albert 1956: Lettres a Maurice Solovine. Reproduites en facsimilé et traduites en français. Paris: Gauthier-Villars.
Einstein, Albert 1987a: The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein. Vol. 1. The Early Years: 1879–1902. Edited by John Stachel. Princeton/NJ: Princeton University Press.
Einstein, Albert 1987b: The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein, English Translation Supplement. Vol. 1. The Early Years: 1879–1902. Translated by Anna Beck. Princeton/NJ: Princeton University Press.
Einstein, Albert 1987c: Letters to Solovine. Translated by Wade Baskin. New York/NY: Philosophical Library.
Einstein, Albert 1989a: The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein. Vol. 2. The Swiss Years: Writings, 1900–1909. Edited by John Stachel. Princeton/NJ: Princeton University Press.
Einstein, Albert 1989b: The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein, English Translation Supplement. Vol. 2. The Swiss Years: Writings, 1900–1909. Translated by Anna Beck. Princeton/NJ: Princeton University Press.
Einstein, Albert 1993: The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein. Vol. 5. The Swiss Years: Correspondence, 1902–1914. Edited by Martin J. Klein, A.J. Kox, Robert Schulmann. Princeton/NJ: Princeton University Press.
Einstein, Albert 1995a: The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein. Vol. 4. The Swiss Years: Writings, 1912–1914. Edited by Martin J. Klein, A.J. Kox, Jürgen Renn, Robert Schulmann. Princeton/NJ: Princeton University Press.
Einstein, Albert 1995b: The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein, English Translation Supplement. Vol. 5. The Swiss Years: Correspondence, 1902–1914. Translated by Anna Beck. Princeton/NJ: Princeton University Press.
Einstein, Albert 1996a: The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein. Vol. 6. The Berlin Years: Writings, 1914–1917. Edited by A.J. Kox, Martin J. Klein, Robert Schulmann. Princeton/NJ: Princeton University Press.
Einstein, Albert 1996b: The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein, English Translation Supplement. Vol. 4. The Swiss Years: Writings, 1912–1914. Translated by Anna Beck. Princeton/NJ: Princeton University Press.
Einstein, Albert 1997: The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein, English Translation Supplement. Vol. 6. The Berlin Years: Writings, 1914–1917. Translated by Alfred Engel. Princeton/NJ: Princeton University Press.
Einstein, Albert 1998a: The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein. Vol. 8. The Berlin Years: Correspondence, 1914–1918, Part A: 1914–1917. Edited by Robert Schulmann, A.J. Kox, Michel Janssen, József Illy. Princeton/NJ: Princeton University Press.
Einstein, Albert 1998b: The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein. Vol. 8. The Berlin Years: Correspondence, 1914–1918, Part B: 1918. Edited by Robert Schulmann, A.J. Kox, Michel Janssen, József Illy. Princeton/NJ: Princeton University Press.
Einstein, Albert 1998c: The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein, English Translation Supplement. Vol. 8. The Berlin Years: Correspondence, 1914–1918. Translated by Ann M. Hentschel. Princeton/NJ: Princeton University Press.
Einstein, Albert 2002a: The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein. Vol. 7. The Berlin Years: Writings, 1918–1921. Edited by Michel Janssen, Robert Schulmann, József Illy, Christoph Lehner, Diana Kormos Buchwald. Princeton/NJ: Princeton University Press.
Einstein, Albert 2002b: The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein, English Translation Supplement. Vol. 7. The Berlin Years: Writings, 1918–1921. Translated by Alfred Engel. Princeton/NJ: Princeton University Press.
Einstein, Albert 2006a: The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein. Vol. 10. The Berlin Years: Correspondence, May–December 1920, and Supplementary Correspondence, 1909–1920. Edited by Diana Kormos Buchwald, Tilman Sauer, Ze’ev Rosenkranz, József Illy, Virginia Iris Holmes. Princeton/NJ: Princeton University Press.
Einstein, Albert 2006b: The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein, English Translation Supplement. Vol. 10. The Berlin Years: Correspondence, May–December 1920, and Supplementary Correspondence, 1909–1920. Translated by Ann M. Hentschel. Edited by Diana Kormos Buchwald, Tilman Sauer, Ze’ev Rosenkranz, József Illy, Virginia Iris Holmes. Princeton/NJ: Princeton University Press.
Einstein, Albert 2012a: The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein. Vol. 13. The Berlin Years: Writings & Correspondence, January 1922–March 1923. Edited by Diana Kormos Buchwald, József Illy, Ze’ev Rosenkranz, Tilman Sauer. Princeton/NJ: Princeton University Press.
Einstein, Albert 2012b: The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein, English Translation Supplement. Vol. 13. The Berlin Years: Writings & Correspondence, January 1922–March 1923. Translated by Ann M. Hentschel, Osik Moses. Edited by Diana Kormos Buchwald, József Illy, Ze'ev Rosenkranz, Tilman Sauer. Princeton/NJ: Princeton University Press.
Einstein, Albert 2015: The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein. Vol. 14. The Berlin Years: Writings & Correspondence, April 1923–May 1925. Edited by Diana Kormos Buchwald, József Illy, Ze’ev Rosenkranz, Tilman Sauer, Osik Moses. Princeton/NJ: Princeton University Press.
Einstein, Albert 2024a: The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein. Vol. 17. The Berlin Years: Writings & Correspondence, June 1929–November 1930. Edited by Diana Kormos Buchwald, Ze’ev Rosenkranz, Joshua Eisenthal, József Illy, Daniel J. Kennefick, A.J. Kox, Jennifer L. Rodgers, Tilman Sauer, Barbara Wolff. Princeton/NJ: Princeton University Press.
Einstein, Albert 2024b: The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein, English Translation Supplement. Vol. 17. The Berlin Years: Writings & Correspondence, June 1929–November 1930. Translated by Jacquelyn Bussone, William D. Brewer, Jennifer Nollar James, Steven Rendall, Jennifer Wunn. Edited by Diana Kormos Buchwald, Ze’ev Rosenkranz, Joshua Eisenthal, József Illy, Daniel J. Kennefick, A.J. Kox, Jennifer L. Rodgers, Tilman Sauer, Barbara Wolff. Princeton/NJ: Princeton University Press.
Einstein, Albert; Besso, Michele 1972: Correspondence 1903–1955, Paris: Hermann.
Fölsing, Albrecht 1994: Albert Einstein: Eine Biographie. 3rd edition. Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp.
Gibbs, Josiah Willard 1902: Elementary Principles in Statistical Mechanics. New York/NY: Charles Scribner’s Sons, London: Edward Arnold.
Gibbs, Josiah Willard 1905: Elementare Grundlagen der statistischen Mechanik. Translated by E. Zermelo. Leipzig: Johann Ambrosius Barth.
Gutfreund, Hanoch; Renn, Jürgen 2017: The Formative Years of Relativity: The History and Meaning of Einstein’s Princeton Lectures. Princeton/NJ: Princeton University Press. DOI: 10.1515/9781400888689.
von Helmholtz, Robert 1888: Gustav Robert Kirchhoff. Deutsche Rundschau 54, pp. 232–245. URL: https://archive.org/details/deutscherundscha54stutuoft/deutscherundscha54stutuoft/page/232/mode/2up (accessed on 18 January 2026).
von Helmholtz, Robert 1890: A Memoir of Gustav Robert Kirchhoff. Translated by Joseph de Perott. [In:] Smithsonian Institution 1890: Annual Report of the Board of Regents to July, 1889. Washington/DC: Government Printing Office, pp. 527–540. URL: https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/7958925#page/581 (accessed on 18 January 2026).
Hentschel, Ann M.; Graßhoff, Gerd 2005: Albert Einstein: Jene glücklichen Berner Jahre. Bern: Stämpfli.
Hermann, A.; von Meyenn, K.; Weisskopf, V.F. (eds.) 1979. Wolfgang Pauli. Scientific Correspondence with Bohr, Einstein, Heisenberg a.o. Vol. 1. 1919–1929. New York/NY, Heidelberg, Berlin (“Sources in the History of Mathematics and Physical Sciences”, vol. 2). DOI: 10.1007/978-3-540-78798-3.
Heydenreich, Aura 2021: Epistemic Narrativity in Albert Einstein’s Treatise on Special Relativity. [In:] Aura Heydenreich, Klaus Mecke (eds.), Physics and Literature. Concepts–Transfer–Aestheticization. Berlin, Boston/MA: De Gruyter, pp. 49–103. DOI: 10.1515/9783110481112-003.
Hilbert, David 1916: Die Grundlagen der Physik (Erste Mitteilung). Nachrichten von der Königlichen Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften zu Göttingen, Mathematisch-physikalische Klasse 1915, pp. 395–407. URL: http://resolver.sub.uni-goettingen.de/purl?PPN252457811_1915 (accessed on 18 January 2026).
Hilbert, David 2007: The Foundations of Physics (First Communication). [In:] Jürgen Renn, Matthias Schemmel (eds.), The Genesis of General Relativity. Vol. 4. Gravitation in the Twilight of Classical Physics: The Promise of Mathematics. Dordrecht: Springer, pp. 1003–1016.
Johnson Sheehan, Richard; Rode, Scott 1999: On Scientific Narrative: Stories of Light by Newton and Einstein. Journal of Business and Technical Communication 13(3), pp. 336–358, DOI: 10.1177/105065199901300306.
Kamerlingh Onnes, Heike; Keesom, Willem Hendrik 1911: Die Zustandsgleichung (completed December 1911). [In:] Arnold Sommerfeld (ed.) 1903–1921, Encyklopädie der mathematischen Wissenschaften mit Einschluss ihrer Anwendungen. Vol. 5. Physik. Part 1. Leipzig: Teubner, pp. 615–945. URL: http://resolver.sub.uni-goettingen.de/purl?PPN360709532 (accessed on 18 January 2026).
Klein, Felix 1926: Vorlesungen über die Entwicklung der Mathematik im 19. Jahrhundert. Vol. 1. Berlin: Julius Springer. (“Die Grundlehren der mathematischen Wissenschaften in Einzeldarstellungen mit besonderer Berücksichtigung der Anwendungsgebiete ”, vol. 24).
Klein, Felix 1979: Development of mathematics in the 19th century. Translated by M. Ackerman. Brookline/MA: Math Sci Press.
Kramers, H.A. 1935: Physiker als Stilisten. Die Naturwissenschaften 23(19), pp. 297–301, DOI: 10.1007/BF01498805.
Lima, Nathan Willig; Venturini, Tommaso; Ostermann, Fernanda; de Holanda Cavalcanti, Claudio Jose 2018: The Einstein’s Quantum: How can Mathematics be Used to Articulate Reality? arXiv:1811.04509v1 [physics.hist-ph], DOI: 10.48550/arXiv.1811.04509.
Locke, David M. 1992: Science as Writing. New Haven/CT, London: Yale University Press.
Lorentz, Hendrik Antoon 1913: Het Relativiteitsbeginsel. Drie voordrachten gehouden in Teyler’s Stichting. Edited by Willem Hendrik Keesom. Haarlem: De Erven Loosjes.
Lorentz, Hendrik Antoon 1914: Das Relativitätsprinzip. Drei Vorlesungen gehalten in Teylers Stiftung zu Haarlem. Edited by Willem Hendrik Keesom. Leipzig, Berlin: Teubner.
Lorentz, Hendrik Antoon 1916: Les théories statistiques en thermodynamique. Conférences faites au Collège de France en novembre 1912. Edited by L. Dunoyer. Leipzig, Berlin: Teubner.
Mach, Ernst 1883: Die Mechanik in ihrer Entwickelung historisch-kritisch dargestellt. Leipzig: F.A. Brockhaus.
Mach, Ernst 1893: The Science of Mechanics. A Critical and Historical Exposition of Its Principles. Translated by Thomas J. McCormack. Chicago/IL: Open Court Publishing Co.
Minor, Dennis E. 1984: Albert Einstein on Writing. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication 14(1), pp. 13–18, DOI: 10.2190/N7RL-BPPP-6WYL-D3QL.
Pauli, Wolfgang 1920: Relativitätstheorie (completed December 1920). [In:] Arnold Sommerfeld (ed.) 1904–1922, Encyklopädie der mathematischen Wissenschaften mit Einschluss ihrer Anwendungen. Vol. 5. Physik. Part 2. Leipzig: Teubner, pp. 539–775. URL: http://resolver.sub.uni-goettingen.de/purl?PPN360709672 (accessed on 18 January 2026).
Pauli, Wolfgang 1958: Theory of Relativity. Translated by G. Field. New York/NY, London, Paris, Los Angeles/CA: Pergamon Press.
Schlick, Moritz 1917a: Raum und Zeit in der gegenwärtigen Physik. Zur Einführung in das Verständnis der allgemeinen Relativitätstheorie. Die Naturwissenschaften 5(11), pp. 161–167.
Schlick, Moritz 1917b: Raum und Zeit in der gegenwärtigen Physik. Zur Einführung in das Verständnis der allgemeinen Relativitätstheorie (Schluß). Die Naturwissenschaften 5(12), pp. 177–186.
Schlick, Moritz 1920: Space and Time in Contemporary Physics. An Introduction to the Theory of Relativity and Gravitation. Translated by Henry L. Brose. New York/NY: Oxford University Press.
Seelig, Carl 1960: Albert Einstein. Zürich: Europa Verlag.
Shankland, R.S. 1963: Conversations with Albert Einstein. American Journal of Physics 31(1), pp. 47–57. DOI: 10.1119/1.1969236.
Sommerfeld, Arnold 1919: Atombau und Spektrallinien. Braunschweig: Friedr. Vieweg & Sohn.
Sommerfeld, Arnold 1923: Atomic Structure and Spectral Lines. Translated by Henry L. Brose. London: Methuen & Co.
von Waltershausen, W. Sartorius 1856: Gauss. Zum Gedächtniss. Leipzig: Hirzel.
von Waltershausen, W. Sartorius 1966: Carl Friedrich Gauss. A Memorial. Translated by Helen Worthington Gauss. Colorado Springs/CO: N.N.
Weyl, Hermann 1918: Raum · Zeit · Materie. Vorlesungen über allgemeine Relativitätstheorie. Berlin: Julius Springer.
Weyl, Hermann 1922: Space–Time–Matter. Translated by Henry L. Brose. London: Methuen & Co.
Weyrauch, Jakob Johann 1905: Grundriss der Wärme-Theorie. Mit zahlreichen Beispielen und Anwendungen. Part 1. Stuttgart: Konrad Wittwer.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
How to Cite
