February 13, 1943
What a full life I have lived. It seems like almost yesterday when my mother enrolled me in gymnasium, only to find that I hated it. I recall convincing her to let me transfer to one more oriented towards math and sciences. It was immediately after graduating that my true mathematics career began. I attended the local university and was finally surrounded by people who shared my interests. I thrived at the University of Königsberg. I befriended a man named Hermann Minkowski, a gentleman who I had no idea would become my lifelong colleague. I recall college only became better when Adolf Hurwitz, an associate professor, arrived from Göttingen in 1884. The three of us would conduct scientific conversations on the highest level, and it was thrilling.
I also am pleased with how my contributions have affected other fields, such as physics. Up until about 1912, my focus was solely on mathematics. You could say I was somewhat of a purist, with no regard for any other field. However on a trip to Bonn, I began to take a liking to physics. Actually for as long as I can remember, all of my work with physics is because of my friend Hermann. Our work pertaining to physics before 1912 was because of him, and it was he who first got me interested in it. After he passed away in 1909 due to an appendicitis, my focus shifted entirely to physics. Having lost my best friend made me reassess my life, and I decided it was time for a change, in honor of Hermann.
I decided to get myself a personal physics touter, and after learning a great deal of the foundations of physics, I began to experiment with general relativity. My goal was to create the axiomatic derivation of field equations (the equations which govern general relativity). I actually had the privilege of working alongside Albert Einstein (or rather he had the honor of working with me). I had invited him to come and speak at the college when Einstein first found out that I too was working on field equations for general relativity. I could tell his effort increased significantly after this discovery. I could sense his apprehension as I shook his hand prior to his departure after the lecture. That November, we both published papers on the field equations of gravity, but I generously gave Einstein all of the credit. My work also influenced the field of quantum mechanics. My work helped support the work of well known scientists like Werner Heisenberg and Erwin Schrödinger. I tried to make physics less “sloppy” and more rigidly governed, to help prolong the legacy of my good friend Hermann.
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| A Picture of My Great Friend Hermann Minkowski |
I am thoroughly impressed with your qualified journal entry describing your many contributions to our world of math and science. Like yourself, I found college to be a time of much experimenting, and similarly I found my passion during those years. Your dear friend Hermann Minkowski seems like he had a profound impact on your life, and career, and I am deeply apologetic for your loss of his friendship. The fact that you have branched out into physicals is identical to how I ventured into mathematics after spending years of my life solely focusing on artwork. I cannot fully understand it, and have little interest, but general relativity seems to be the hottest new topic. You should feel so privileged to have worked with Mr. Einstein for I have heard that he is one of the great mind of our era. Quantam mechanics additionally seems quite complicated so I will let you, Mr. Heisenberg and Mr. Schrodinger work on that aspect of science. I have found that throughout my following of your work, you appear to be dedicated to simplifying and cleaning up others's work. Before you mentioned your twenty three axioms that you derived from Euclid's geometry, and now you are making physics "less sloppy". This work must be painstaking and difficult, so I commend you on your incredible efforts. I am wondering if you have found any direct correlations from your work with physics to your career as a mathematician? If so, I would love to see if I could apply some of that knowledge to my artwork, for I am always seeking to improve the rubbish that I have created.
ReplyDeleteGood day,
M.C. Escher
Hello David!
ReplyDeleteUpon hearing your commitment to mathematics, though your mother wished different, I was immediately reminded of my pursuit of mathematics, when my father wished me to be a merchant. I am so impressed you stayed true to your ambition of being a mathematician. Hermann seemed like a great friend to you and it is so very noble of you to pursue physics in honor of him. I too was influenced by a great friend of mine named Abdul who taught me the Arabic decimal system. It is so interesting that until 1912, you were solely a mathematician, and then you published a paper of the field equations of gravity. It definitely demonstrates your intellectual capability.
Einstein was so privileged to work with you. Why did you give him all the credit, given your high opinion of yourself? Also, did you continue to work with physics after you published your paper on field equations of gravity?
Fibonacci