I ran across this old article on how smart Einstein was.
A pretty good summary of his remarkable achievements.
To say this man was a genius would be a gross understatement:
http://www.innovation-america.org/q-how-smart-was-einstein-really-smart
There is a parlor game physics students play: Who was the greater
genius? Galileo or Kepler? (Galileo) Maxwell or Bohr? (Maxwell, but
it's closer than you might think). Hawking or Heisenberg? (A
no-brainer, whatever the best-seller lists might say. It's
Heisenberg). But there are two figures who are simply off the charts.
Isaac Newton is one. The other is Albert Einstein. If pressed,
physicists give Newton pride of place, but it is a photo finish—€”and
no one else is in the race.
Newton's claim is obvious. He created modern physics. His system
described the behavior of the entire cosmos—€”and while others before
him had invented grand schemes, Newton's was different. His theories
were mathematical, making specific predictions to be confirmed by
experiments in the real world. Little wonder that those after Newton
called him lucky—€”"for there is only one universe to discover, and he
discovered it."
But what of Einstein? Well, Einstein felt compelled to apologize to
Newton. "Newton, forgive me;" Einstein wrote in his Autobiographical
Notes. "You found the only way which, in your age, was just about
possible for a man of highest thought and creative power." Forgive
him? For what? For replacing Newton's system with his own—€”and, like
Newton, for putting his mark on virtually every branch of physics.
That's the difference. Young physicists who play the "who's smarter"
game are really asking, "how will I measure up?" Is there a shot to
match—€”if not Maxwell, then perhaps Lorentz? But Einstein? Don't go
there.