einstein was purely and exclusively a theorist.he didn'thave the slightest interest in the practical application of his ideasand theories.his e=mc2 is probably the most famous equation inhistory—yet einstein wouldn't go down the street to see areactor create atomic energy. he won the nobel prize for hisphotoelectric theory， a series of equations that he consideredrelatively minor in importance，but he didn't have any curiosityin observing how his theory made tv possible.
a young friend once gave professor einstein a toy，a bird thatbalanced on the edge of a bowl of water and repeatedly dunkedits head in the water. einstein watched it in delignt， trying todeduce the operating principle.but he couldn't.
the next morning he announced，“i had thought about thatbird for a long time before i went to bed and it must work this way…”he began a long explanation. then he stopped， realizing aflaw in his reasoning.no， i guess that's not it.“ he pursuedvarious theories for several days until someone suggested theytake the toy apart to see how it did work.his quick expression ofdisapproval showed that he did not agree with this practical ap-proach.he never did work out the solution .
爱因斯坦完完全全是个理论家。他对自己思想和理论的实际应用丝毫不感兴趣。他提出的 e＝mc2 也许是有史以来最著名的公式——然而爱因斯坦却不愿费举足之劳去看反应堆产生原子能。他因其光电理论——他认为比较次要的一系列公式——而获得诺贝尔奖金，但对于观察他的理论怎样使得电视得以产生却没有一点好奇心。
一个年轻的朋友曾经送给爱因斯坦教授一个玩具，那是一只立在盛水的碗边保持平衡并把脑袋反复浸入水中的鸟。爱因斯坦高兴地注视着它，一边试图推断出它的运动原理。但他没有推断出来。
第二天早晨他宣布说：“关于那只鸟，我上床前想了很久，它一定是这样运转的……”他开始做起了长篇解释。后来他意识到自己推理中的一个漏洞便停了下来。“不，我想不是这样的。”他连续几天试着用各种理论来加以解释，后来有人建议把玩具拆开看看它到底是怎样运转的。他迅速现出的不赞成的表情表明，他并不同意这种切实可行的作法。他一直没有研究出这个答案。