What the heck is Einstein's theory of everything?

Answer 1

In order to get to the topic of a theory of everything, it's important to go over some history first. Einstein came up with the theories of general and special relativity. He was concerned mainly with the motions of planets and galaxies. He also believed anything a planet could do, a smaller object could do (he held many of the same views held by Sir Isaac newton). Einstein was a man of faith. He believed God had created the universe and everything in it, and that it was so perfect that if you knew the forces acting on a planet at any given time, you could predict its motion for eternity. Enter quantum mechanics. Out of his work sprung this new field that stated that at the heart of the smallest subatomic particle, its motion was not governed by forces and charges, etc. but by probability. Einstein hated this new branch of mathematics. He absolutely knew that the universe was perfect, elegant, and beautiful, and that it couldn't possibly be based on chance. Once in a debate with a quantum physicist, Einstein said perhaps his most famous one-liner: "God doesn't play with dice." To make a long story short, Einstein began penning the greatest theory of all time, a combination of general and special relativity applied to a subatomic scale, an equation no longer than one inch that could express all the knowledge of physics in the world, the ultimate blow to the hateful field of quantum mechanics. This theory he called the "Theory of Everything." When it was finally published after years of work, the scientific community beat it down. It contradicted many accepted theories of the day, including relativity. Einstein went back to the drawing board and continued to work until he died, leaving the theory unfinished. By the time he passed away, quantum mechanics had been accepted by science and had even become the basis of the computer industry, so no scientist bothered to pick it up. If you ask me, Einstein let his blind beliefs get the better of his logic, and he wasted the last half of his life chasing his tail. But that's all a matter of opinion. Please note, I cannot cite a source because I don't remember the title, but this information is taken from a documentary I watched in class the other day and I trust it. Hope that helps! Also, let me know if you find a copy of his original six page published theory of everything. I want to read it.