Perhaps most diabolically, the physicist kept a record of his abuse in his diaries, even justifying his actions by claiming he had a right to the girls due to his genius.Walter Moore, author of the biography “Schrödinger, Life and Thought” published in 1989, said that the physicist’s attitudes towards women “was essentially that of a male supremacist.” Disgustingly, the biography seemed to downplay and even romanticize his abusive habits, and describes him as having a “Lolita complex.”
Schrödinger also attempted a relationship with a different 12-year-old girl, disgustingly writing in his journal that she was “among the unrequited loves of his life.” However, he decided not to pursue her after a family member voiced their concerns that the physicist was a, you know, unrepentant abusive predator.
The Irish Times article from which the Futurism article is sourced is available only to subscribers, but apparently it says there is a petition to rename a lecture hall at Dublin’s Trinity University that’s named after Schrödinger.
I won't be surprised if, given the environment on campuses these days, there's a small movement to rename his equation and cat, but I doubt that will succeed. What do you think?
I'm expecting jokes about Schrodinger's private parts.
ReplyDeleteI'm still waiting for USA to rename Washington DC, since you can't have a capital named after a slave owner in the modern world.
ReplyDeleteMore seriously, to the extent you can separate what a person is famous for and his personal failings, I think you should do so. Few people care about Shrödinger as a person, only about his contributions to physics.
It's different with someone like Columbus where his fame and abuse of native populations are indistinguishable.
I cautiously agree with Thomas. I go a bit further. Everyone, I repeat, everyone has some idiosyncrasies, some strange traits. Around 10% of the general population clearly have some kind of mental illness. If you read about any great mind you can see they had their problems. Gödel was a nutcase, Frege was an antisemite, Dirac (a very likeable individual) was clearly autistic, Edward Teller was anything but likeable, etc. Schrödinger couldn't resist his temptations, this is clearly reprehensible, but his later reputation wasn't built upon his pedophilia, a congenital condition. Furthermore, 100 years ago a relationship that would be considered inappropriate today may have been normal like marriage at a very young age. Actually, in my grandmother's village, in the 20s, a 21-22 year old woman without a husband and children was considered a complete failure.
ReplyDeleteBut pedophilia is in a different category than Godel's craziness, or autism, or Teller's personality quirks. It seriously harms others, whereas the other three examples harm oneself or at most annoy those around them.
ReplyDeleteI don't seriously think any physics that's named for Schrodinger will get renamed, just wouldn't be surprised if there is a minor effort on some campuses to do so. Cancel culture and all that. Although in my experience physics students don't care what else is going on on campus and just keep their nose in their textbooks and pointed to the chalkboard.
George Washington is a fair example, I think. He's far too embedded in American culture of course but some day he may get his due. But probably not before the US cracks up and is replaced by who knows what. Maybe they'll do it right.
PS: Notice some places in the US are finally starting to remove statues of Confederate generals (like Robert E Lee in Richmond, Virginia) and other Civil War monuments. A little progress is being made, finally.
ReplyDeleteI think we more or less agree. BTW, Washington may be a very good example. For all the rhetoric about freedom and liberty, the American Revolution was, for a great extent, a vehicle for the slaveholder aristocracy to solidify its power.
ReplyDeleteB, Yeah you're right about the American Revolution. Damn ironic.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if Washington realized that when he was fighting. Or just took it for granted.