When Albert Einstein was a Visiting Professor at the California Institute of Technology in 1933, cycling was his favourite pastime, although the cleverly contrived photograph of him apparently pedalling away from an atomic explosion is perhaps better not dwelt on. Of far greater interest and usefulness is the comment he had made in a letter to his son on February 5th, 1930: ‘It is the same with people as with riding a bike. Only when moving can one comfortably maintain one’s balance.’ Although this thought has been attributed to others, who had expressed it earlier, in slightly different words, it is no less worth thinking about now, when balance, in a broad sense, is what so many are striving to achieve.
German: “Beim Menschen ist es wie beim Velo. Nur wenn er faehrt, kann er bequem die Balance halten.”
Literal English: “It is the same with people as it is with riding a bike. Only when moving can one comfortably maintain one’s balance.” Einstein, like Winston Churchill, Thomas Edison, Benjamin Franklin and other historic figures, is constantly quoted for things they never said. In this case, Einstein definitely said it, however, there are plenty of examples of others who made similar observations, reaching back into the early 1800s.