Chronology Current Month Current Thread Current Date
[Year List] [Month List (current year)] [Date Index] [Thread Index] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Date Prev] [Date Next]

Re: Einstein, Hawking, and a myth about relativity



On Thu, 12 Jun 2003, brian mcinnes wrote:

on 11/6/03 9:07 AM, Stephen Speicher at sjs@COMPBIO.CALTECH.EDU wrote:

snip
This story, and many others about Einstein, von Laue, and Planck,
is part of Ilse Rosenthal-Schneider's book which I referenced as
[1]. Note that Dr. Rosenthal-Schneider maintained a
long-standing relationship with all three of these greats of
physics -- primarily through correspondence -- but with Einstein
more closely, intellectually, than with the others.

In 1955, as an undergraduate at the University of Sydney, I was in a class
on the history of Science run by Dr Ilse Rosenthal-Schneider. She took the
class on the day of Einstein's death and was visibly moved by what she had
learned that day. The memory of the depth of her relationship with her
teacher and her friend ring through from nearly fifty years ago.


You were, indeed, present at a moment in history, and I wish that
her words on that day were recorded for all to read. Her little
book is a joy, chock-full of personal insights, many peculiar to
her experience and a consequence of her philosophical interests.
Thanks for taking the time to mention this.

Just for reference, here again is the citation for Ilse
Rosenthal-Schneider's book:

[1] "Reality and Scientific Truth: Discussions with Einstein, von
Laue, and Planck," Ilse Rosenthal-Schneider, _Wayne State
University Press_, 1980.

About twenty years later, I spent an hour or so with Eric M Rogers (of
Physics for the Inquiring Mind fame). Eric was a friend of Einstein at
Princeton and he had many tales to tell of the fun the two of them had with
simple physics toys.


I would have loved to ask Rogers some questions. According to his
godson there is a story published in a magazine about the time
that Rogers and Einstein fixed the plumbing under Rogers' kitchen
sink. Apparently they lived right next to each other in
Princeton. I have not been able to track the magazine down.

There are moments in life when one is quite privileged.


Nice to know you feel that way.

--
Stephen
sjs@compbio.caltech.edu

Ignorance is just a placeholder for knowledge.

Printed using 100% recycled electrons.
-----------------------------------------------------------