Stefan Klein (born October 5, 1965) is a physicist, author, essayist and visiting professor at
Berlin University of the Arts
The Universität der Künste Berlin (UdK; also known in English as the Berlin University of the Arts), situated in Berlin, Germany, is the largest art school in Europe. It is a public art and design school, and one of the four research universit ...
.
[Stefan Kleins's Website]
/ref>
He is best known for his books ''The Science of Happiness'' and ''Time: A User's Guide''.
His works have been translated into 25 languages and became best sellers in many countries.List of translations
on author's homepage
Life and work
Klein was born in
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. Both his parents were chemists and had immigrated from
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
; their ancestors had been scientists for three generations.
Klein studied
physics
Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...
and
analytical philosophy
Analytic philosophy is a branch and tradition of philosophy using analysis, popular in the Western world and particularly the Anglosphere, which began around the turn of the 20th century in the contemporary era in the United Kingdom, United Sta ...
at the
University of Munich
The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich or LMU; german: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München) is a public research university in Munich, Germany. It is Germany's sixth-oldest university in continuous operatio ...
and
Grenoble
lat, Gratianopolis
, commune status = Prefecture and commune
, image = Panorama grenoble.png
, image size =
, caption = From upper left: Panorama of the city, Grenoble’s cable cars, place Saint- ...
and graduated in theoretical
biophysics
Biophysics is an interdisciplinary science that applies approaches and methods traditionally used in physics to study biological phenomena. Biophysics covers all scales of biological organization, from molecular to organismic and populations. ...
at the
University of Freiburg
The University of Freiburg (colloquially german: Uni Freiburg), officially the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg (german: Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg), is a public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemb ...
, Germany. He left his academic career to become science editor at
Der Spiegel, a newsmagazine, in 1996, and made quickly made a name for himself through a series of ten highly regarded cover stories.
[Klein's 2000 Book "Die Tagebücher der Schöpfung" is a collection of these stories]
He was awarded the Georg von Holtzbrinck Preis, a prestigious German prize for science writing in 1998.
After a stint at
Geo
Geo- is a prefix derived from the Greek word ''γη'' or ''γαια'', meaning "earth", usually in the sense of "ground or land”.
GEO or Geo may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''GEO'' (magazine), a popular scientific magazine ...
, a popular scientific magazine, he has worked as a freelance author since 2000.
His 2002 book ''The Science of Happiness'' is a synthesis of findings from
neuroscience
Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system (the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nervous system), its functions and disorders. It is a multidisciplinary science that combines physiology, anatomy, molecular biology, developme ...
,
social psychology
Social psychology is the scientific study of how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the real or imagined presence of other people or by social norms. Social psychologists typically explain human behavior as a result of the ...
and
philosophy on how positive emotions can arise in the human brain. Klein explains
Happiness
Happiness, in the context of mental or emotional states, is positive or pleasant emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy. Other forms include life satisfaction, well-being, subjective well-being, flourishing and eudaimonia.
...
as an automatic signal the brain uses to mark situations promising a benefit for the organism. As it is triggered when a given situation appears better relative to a previous state, no external conditions whatever can account for lasting happiness. However, Klein believes
subjective well-being can be raised by training the awareness for positive emotions when they are generated in the brain.
.
Alison Abbott from
Nature Magazine
''Nature'' is a British weekly scientific journal founded and based in London, England. As a multidisciplinary publication, ''Nature'' features peer-reviewed research from a variety of academic disciplines, mainly in science and technology. It ...
called ''The Science of Happiness'' "an extremely well-written, easy-to-read and expertly researched book on a theme which has long been begging for pop-science treatment".
It was on the German bestseller list for more than a year.
In ''The Secret Pulse of Time'' (2006), Klein explored the human capacity to perceive
time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...
. It describes most people's constant difficulties in dealing efficiently with time as a consequence of the brain's organisation: Awareness for time and the ability to follow one's plans are functions of highly evolved and vulnerable cognitive mechanisms.
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
The ''Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung'' (; ''FAZ''; "''Frankfurt General Newspaper''") is a centre-right conservative-liberal and liberal-conservativeHans Magnus Enzensberger: Alter Wein in neuen Schläuchen' (in German). ''Deutschland Radio'', ...
, a German national newspaper, characterized this book as 'a protest against the deeply unfair fact that memorable time flies by whereas unbearable time stumbles'.
Library Journal elected its English translation as one of the best science books in 2007
.
Klein has advocated for novel ways to communicate science. In his view, science should rather be told as stories rather than by teaching facts.
He also opposed the unique use of English as a language of science and argued that it would be better to teach science in national languages, at least at an undergraduate level.
His essays were published by leading German newspapers and by various English-language media such as the
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
and
Nature
Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans are ...
.
Klein lives in
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
. He is married and has two daughters and one son.
Bibliography
English
* ''The Science of Happiness'', Marlowe 2006,
* ''The Secret Pulse of Time'', Marlowe 2007,
**Published in Paperback as ''Time: A User's Guide'', Penguin 2008,
* ''Leonardo's Legacy: How Da Vinci Reimagined the World'', Da Capo Press 2010, 0-30681-825-6
* ''Survival of the Nicest'', The Experiment 2014,
* ''We Are All Stardust: Scientists Who Shaped Our World Talk about Their Work, Their Lives, and What They Still Want to Know'', The Experiment, 2015,
German
* ''Die Tagebücher der Schöpfung'', dtv: Munich 2000
* ''Die Glücksformel'', Rowohlt: Reinbek 2002
* ''Alles Zufall'', Rowohlt: Reinbek 2004
* ''Zeit'', S.Fischer: Frankfurt 2006
* ''Da Vincis Vermächtnis oder Wie Leonardo die Welt neu erfand'', Frankfurt 2008,
* ''Der Sinn des Gebens'', S. Fischer Frankfurt 2010.
* ''Wir alle sind Sternenstaub'', S. Fischer: Frankfurt 2010.
* ''Wir könnten unsterblich sein'', S. Fischer: Frankfurt 2014.
* ''Träume,'' S. Fischer: Frankfurt 2014,
References
External links
www.stefanklein.info
{{DEFAULTSORT:Klein, Stefan
1965 births
Living people
German science writers
Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich alumni
German magazine editors
German male non-fiction writers
Der Spiegel people