I am reading a biography of Albert Einstein, who possessed one of the greater minds of a century. Having difficulties in his marriage, he proposed to his wife an "agreement", in writing, that would keep them together. It included, among several other requirements, that she provide him his 3 meals daily "in my room", without further intrusion or disturbance, as well as that she totally refrain from any referencing to their children of their father's negative aspects, among several other requirements. This has caused me to take pause and ask: Do you believe the ability to be mentally resourceful with regard to the resolving of interpersonal differences is related to the level of an individual's mental capacities? IOW, do the lesser-educated, or more-impoverished mentally, physically, or financially, have less than average chances of resolving such differences? Frank
I think that people of any background can learn how to disagree, debate, resolve conflict, etc... but I do believe that it is a skill that needs to be developed starting at a very early age. I like and agree with the clause in the agreement that Mrs. E refrain from any referencing to their children of their father's negative aspects. IMO it comes under the general heading of mutual respect.
@Beatrice Taylor My gut reaction to Einstein's request was that it totally lacked any degree of compassion: after all, this was his wife of quite a number of years. It tarnished my previous views about the man. He certainly presented as an enigma to many, and in many ways. Perhaps that is needed to be able to set the Scientific World on it's ear! Frank
@Frank Sanoica there is no evidence of what went before. It may have simply been an attempt to keep them together for the children's sake or for some other reason. I wouldn't second guess the motives or the reasons.
That doesn't sound like much of a marriage to me. It sounds more like servitude. I know it was a different time under different circumstances but I can't imagine most women today agreeing to his "Terms." He would be more likely to be told to take his "Terms" and shove them. "This has caused me to take pause and ask: Do you believe the ability to be mentally resourceful with regard to the resolving of interpersonal differences is related to the level of an individual's mental capacities? " So, my answer is no. He may have been a genius but he was as dumb as a fence post when it came relationships.
I don't think it is. If I'm not mistaken, with "mental capacities" you mean the logical-mathematical intelligence of an individual taking Einstein as an example. Let's differentiate between that one and the other forms of intelligence, among them the interpersonal and the emotional intelligence in particular, which every individual is endowed with to a variable extent. Einstein may clearly have been lacking some of the latter if we take into account how cold and hurtful he was to his wives. Einstein seems to have been aware of his state of hygiene but just didn't care. He never washed his feet although he had sweaty feet. When his wife dropped him a hint that he'd been neglecting his personal hygiene, he snubbed at her in a letter that if she didn't like it, she should rather be looking for a friend who is "more palatable to female tastes. Swearing and blowing you a kiss from an appetizing distance, Truly filthy yours, Albert" IOW, the ability to resolve interpersonal differences has got next to nothing to do with how smart you are in maths and physics but with the interpersonal skills and the emotional intelligence a person has.