How Einstein Ignited His Creativity

Einstein once said: "The theory of relativity occurred to me by intuition, and music is the driving force behind this intuition. My parents had me study the violin from the time I was six. My new discovery is the result of musical perception……I see my life in terms of music."

Einstein said this because he considered playing an acoustic instrument not just an important hobby but perceived it as vital to how he approached life. He used this perception to intuitively develop a process that leveraged his ability of playing an instrument into a cognitive tool for his work. Einstein did this by playing the violin or piano if he was stuck on a physics problem. Then afterward he would go back to working on physics. This process was not done for rest and relaxation but to stimulate his creativity.

Instead of striving to continually increase academic knowledge, Einstein discovered that this process of playing an instrument was the most direct path to access his imagination. That’s why he said: "The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination." At that time, Einstein’s heavy reliance on playing an instrument was not understood. But now his process can be explained because it’s becoming recognized that the strongest way to stimulate creativity is through art and music. Both are connected because they are the exact same vehicle but in different form; art is frozen music and music is liquid art. Within this vehicle, the use of physical motor skills alongside a cognitive purpose results in a tangible self-reinforcing creativity loop. That’s why creative acts of expressing art and music can continually stimulate more creativity. But the increased physical and cognitive engagement correlating to playing an acoustic string instrument makes it more powerful than art.

This is because a string instrument engages more brain regions simultaneously than any other activity. By fusing your senses and motor skills, it ignites neuroplasticity, forging more neural pathways through which information flows for supercharged creativity. Additionally, neuroplasticity is what enables a humans to think differently about the world around them and be able to change. This is why Einstein further reflected on the nature of intelligence when he said: "The measure of intelligence is the ability to change." The most astonishing aspect of all this is how music training on a string instrument unlocks such profound transformative effects and that Einstein intuitively understood that. 

Learn more about how music training can set you up for professional success in the age of AI by enhancing your creative abilities at: MusicNeurohack.com