Talk:Albert Einstein's brain

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Einstein had requested that his brain be donated to science after his death in 1955

I seem to distictly recall that Einstein's brain was removed against his wishes, but then again my memory might be failing me. So, can anyone point me to a source that supports the above claim? -- Koffieyahoo 07:44, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

You can search The Bizarre Odyssey of Einstein's Brain [1] on Amazon. From page 211 "Before haning up, (Otto) Nathan repeated what he had said to the Kansas City Times four years earlier: "Albert Einstein did not want his brain studied." Nathan knew that Einstein had never been so unequivocal himself. A few months before his death the physicist had written to biographer Carl Seelig that he liked the idea of donating his body to science, but he left no instructions on the matter since he feared it would be a "theatrical gesture." --Broom eater 08:10, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

Contents 1 Don't have anything supporting it. 2 Accuracy? 3 Umm? 4 and the eyes 5 inferior parietal lobe 6 Some things 7 Section removed 8 Name clarification 9 "Prove or disprove"... unscientific? (Resolved) 10 Lost & Found

[edit] Don't have anything supporting it.

I read one of the sources linked on this page, which clearly states the following:

Why the brain was preserved at all is not clear; the rest of the body was cremated shortly after death. One biographer says Einstein wanted it to be used for research; the executor of his estate denies this, and says the decision to preserve it was made by his son.

I was confused as I read the article to see a contradiction, but by no means would I consider myself an expert, and the article is older than I am, so something new could have come up. -- Eclipsed Moon 08:01, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

I went to a talk a couple of years ago about Einstein's brain, and in that talk the lecturer claimed that the person doing the autopsy on Einstein simply thought it would be in the interest of science if the brain was kept and preserved.:

[edit] Accuracy?

The article follows the information claimed by Steven Levy [2] that the brain was rediscovered by Levy in 1978. Other articles on his brain (look at the others linked at the bottom) do not mention this. Also, the various articles seem to indicate the brain is in pieces, which doesn't fit very well with the photograph of it.

Barbara Shack 16:34, 2 February 2006 (UTC)Einstein's brain was removed at autopsy. It was photographed. Then, after the photographs were taken it was cut into sections. A television programme by Channel 4 in the United Kingdom explained this in 2005.

Of course, the various articles don't agree well either. One says the brain was given to Witelson [3] while another says it was given to Krauss [4], but one of the links is a short article about the brain written by Witelson [5]. However, another linked page says samples were recieved and its location revealed by Diamond and Scheibel in 1987 [6].

Perhaps not all of the information, either on the internet or in the article, is reliable?

If I recall correctly (Ahem). the following book, although being a quote book contains some info on Einstein's brain: [7]. -- Koffieyahoo 08:08, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Umm?

Wouldn't organic matter put in a cider box for twenty years dissolve? Can we at least source this, since it looks dubious as-is, and I'm probably not the only reader to raise an eyebrow. Sherurcij ^{(talk) (Terrorist Wikiproject)} 08:46, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

One of the linked articles mentions that the brain was (sectioned) in two Mason Jars, the jars being hidden inside the cider box.: Stovaa

Barbara Shack 16:37, 2 February 2006 (UTC)Einstein's brain was cut into sections. The sections were then embedded in a plastic-like material to preserve them. A television programme by Channel 4 in the United Kingdom explained this in 2005.

[edit] and the eyes

According to a biography about Einstein, his eyes were also conserved after his death. Do you confirm this?Ramoul 09:31, 11 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] inferior parietal lobe

can anyone substantiate that the functions of this part of the lobe are indeed understood and or known? AFAIK there is little understanding of the functions much less agreement amongst specialists so the bit in this article seems a wee bitty wishful thinking IMHO.

--Hurkummer 13:20, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Some things

There seem to be a number of different accounts floating around. Here is some brief sluething I did in some more respectable sources.

• The finding of the brain in 1978 by Levy is somewhat corroborated by an article from the time period: "Brain that Rocked Physics Rests in Cider Box", Science, New Series, Vol. 201, No. 4357. (Aug. 25, 1978), p. 696. Seems to be based off of Levy's account primarily, but at least it's some evidence that he's not just a quack. It says that brain was in number of mason jars in a cider box. The brain was indeed sectioned by not completely, "the parts of Einstein's brain which remain unsectioned are the cerebellum and a piece of the cerebral cortex." Additionally it doesn't say what the sectioning was -- if it was just sliced in half, there's no reason the pictures couldn't be of it.
• Here is the bit on Einstein's brain from Ronald Clark's biography: "He had insisted that his brain should be used for research and that he be cremated." True? Not? In any event, it is a respectable source to quote, even if we also quote people saying something contradictory. --Fastfission 18:55, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Section removed

The section titled "Possible experiments" was removed; this entire sections is speculation and in no way relates to the factual information regarding Einstein's brain. This sections is also a violation of Wikipedia:No original research. Semiconscious • talk 21:02, 6 February 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Name clarification

The article mentions someone named, "Altman" but it doesn't say who that person is. It doesn't even provide a first name. --Moogleii 08:04, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

• Added it. --Fastfission 14:08, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] "Prove or disprove"... unscientific? (Resolved)

"... and apparent regularities or irregularities in the brain have been used to either prove or disprove various notions about correlations in neuroanatomy with general or mathematical intelligence."

Since when is anything proven or disproven in science? Wonderstruck 07:11, 12 June 2006 (UTC)

Scratching my head... Since the invention of science you come up with a hypothesis and thry to prove or to disprove it by means of experiment? -- Koffieyahoo 07:18, 12 June 2006 (UTC)

My understanding is that you try to 'support' or 'refute' a hypothesis. -- Wonderstruck 06:50, 6 July 2006 (UTC)

Ah, we are doing a most correct language thing. Yes, to 'support' or 'refute' is probably more correct. Unless you're doing mathematics then it's perfectly okay to either prove or disprove. -- Koffieyahoo 08:11, 6 July 2006 (UTC)

I've updated the page, changing "prove or disprove various notions" to "support or refute various ideas". Wonderstruck 10:53, 21 July 2006 (UTC)

I've updated the page again, changing it to just "support various ideas", since refuting (more accurately, contradicting) an idea is the same as supporting the negative of the idea. This way, it's less wordy and still conveys the important information. Wonderstruck 10:59, 21 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Lost & Found

The intro and an image caption briefly mention the brain was rediscovered in 1978, but there's nothing in the body about either the "loss" of the brain or its subsequent finding. What happened? Pimlottc 21:34, 22 August 2006 (UTC)