“Since others have explained my theory, I can no longer understand it myself.”

— Albert Einstein

Source: Attributed in posthumous publications, Einstein and the Poet (1983), p. 13

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Albert Einstein 702

German-born physicist and founder of the theory of relativi… 1879–1955

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“Since the mathematicians have invaded the theory of relativity, I do not understand it myself anymore.”

Albert Einstein (1879–1955) German-born physicist and founder of the theory of relativity

As quoted in the essay "To Albert Einstein's Seventieth Birthday" by Arnold Sommerfeld, Albert Einstein : Philosopher-Scientist http://www.worldcat.org/title/albert-einstein-philosopher-scientist/oclc/311439 (1949) edited by Paul A. Schilpp (p. 102). The essay, originally published as "Zum Siebzigsten Geburtstag Albert Einsteins" in Deutsche Beiträge (Eine Zweimonatsschrift) http://www.worldcat.org/title/deutsche-beitrage-eine-zweimonatsschrift/oclc/183334232 Vol. III, No 2, 1949, was translated specifically for the book by Schilpp.
1940s
Variant: Since others have explained my theory, I can no longer understand it myself.

“Therefore it seems to me that I am no longer of this world, since I can no longer do the work of the world like the others; indeed, every action of others that I see disturbs me, for I do not work as they do, nor as I myself used to do. I feel myself altogether estranged from earthly affairs, and from my own most of all”

Catherine of Genoa (1447–1510) Italian author and nurse

“I do not know how to write or speak but only to paint and draw. Look at what I have done. Whether I have succeeded in explaining myself or not, in any case, if you do not understand my work, through your fault or mine, I can do no more.”

Albert Marquet (1875–1947) French artist

Marcelle Marquet, Marquet Fernand Hazan Editions, Paris 1955, p. 6; as quoted in 'Appendix – Marquet Speaks on his Art', in "Albert Marquet and the Fauve movement, 1898-1908", Norris Judd, published 1976, - translation Norris Judd - Thesis (A.B.)--Sweet Briar College, p. 116

“I want, by understanding myself, to understand others.”

Katherine Mansfield (1888–1923) New Zealand author

Journal entry (14 October 1922), published in The Journal of Katherine Mansfield (1927)
Context: By health I mean the power to live a full, adult, living, breathing life in close contact with what I love — the earth and the wonders thereof — the sea — the sun, all that we mean when we speak of the external world. I want to enter into it, to be part of it, to live in it, to learn from it, to lose all that is superficial and acquired in me and to become a conscious, direct human being. I want, by understanding myself, to understand others.

“The discussions have revealed the mistake, but not explained the problem, since even if you know what you will understand it for democracy.”

António de Oliveira Salazar (1889–1970) Prime Minister of Portugal

Speeches, Volume 4 - Page 250; of António de Oliveira Salazar - Published by Coimbra Editora, 1935 - 391 pages

“In my soul, therefore, I can see no one but God, since I suffer no one else to enter there, and myself less than any other, because I am my own worst enemy.”

Catherine of Genoa (1447–1510) Italian author and nurse

Life and Doctrine

“I cannot make you understand. I cannot make anyone understand what is happening inside me. I cannot even explain it to myself.”

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Source: The Metamorphosis (1915)

“Therefore it seems to me that I shall never rest until I am hidden and enclosed in that divine heart wherein all created forms are lost, and, so lost, remain thereafter all divine I am no longer of this world, since I can no longer do the work of the world like the others; indeed, every action of others that I see disturbs me, for I do not work as they do, nor as I myself used to do. I feel myself altogether estranged from earthly affairs, and from my own most of all”

Catherine of Genoa (1447–1510) Italian author and nurse

“The mystery is how a conception that is vulnerable to such obvious counterexamples survived for so long. I can explain it only by a weakness of the scholarly mind that I have often observed in myself. I call it theory-induced blindness: Once you have accepted a theory, it is extraordinarily difficult to notice its flaws. As the psychologist Daniel Gilbert has observed, disbelieving is hard work.”

Daniel Kahneman (1934) Israeli-American psychologist

Bias, Blindness and How We Truly Think (Part 2): Daniel Kahneman, bloomberg.com, 24 October 2011, 15 May 2014 http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-25/bias-blindness-and-how-we-truly-think-part-2-daniel-kahneman.html,
"Bias, Blindness and How We Truly Think" (2011)

“My afflictions belong to me and my art - they have become one with me. Without illness and anxiety, I would have been a rudderless ship... My art is really a voluntary confession and an attempt to explain to myself my relationship with life - it is, therefore, actually a sort of egoism, but I am constantly hoping that through this I can help others achieve clarity.”

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As quoted in 'From my rotting body, flowers shall grow, and I am in them, and that is eternity', Potter P. Emerg Infect Dis, 2011
after 1930

“Since others have explained my theory, I can no longer understand it myself.”

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Albert Einstein 702

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