Education: Holy Curiosity

One day three years ago, white-maned Albert Einstein sat down at his desk in Princeton, N.J., thought a moment and then wrote in careful longhand: "Here I sit in order to write, at the age of 67, something like my own obituary."

Actually, it was the start of Einstein's autobiography, scheduled for publication next fall. This week, as he turned 70, he allowed a few excerpts—on his own education—rto be published.

He had had good teachers at the Polytechnic Academy in Zurich, Switzerland, but somehow, looking back, he was not satisfied. For one thing,...