ALL TO THE MIND

Professor Paul Dirac (1902–1984) died in Florida at the age of 82. After Newton and Einstein, he is considered one of the greatest scientists of the modern age. He received the Nobel Prize as well as many other honours.

Dirac is most closely associated with quantum mechanics, the theory that explores the tiniest particles inside the atom. He was the first to predict the existence of antimatter, a prediction later confirmed by further research. On November 4, 1984, The Guardian published an article about Dirac with the headline:

Prophet of the Anti-Universe

Dirac discovered the first antiparticle inside the atom, called the positron. This discovery brought a revolution to nuclear physics. Dirac explained that he would often lie on the floor of his study with his feet elevated, letting blood flow to his head, as a way of thinking through his ideas on subatomic matter, in the writer’s words:

“When people asked him how he got his startling ideas about the nature of sub-atomic matter, he would patiently explain that he did so lying on his study floor with his feet up so that the blood ran to his head.”

At first this sounds like a joke. But in truth, any major intellectual achievement is only possible for the person who channels all the energy of the body into the mind. Most people scatter their strength in many directions; they fail to focus themselves on one goal. That is why they live incomplete lives and leave this world without real accomplishment. Every task demands a person’s full strength. The one who achieves great success is the one who devotes all of it to a single purpose.