Källén’s and Pauli’s Views on the Status of Theoretical Physics

Abstract

As was mentioned in the beginning of this book, in theoretical physics, history is largely unfair to great minds. In times when there are urgent problems to be solved, it quickly creates a number of “great scientists”, crowns them with glory and everlasting fame. This was certainly the case during the first decades of the 20th century. There were experimental puzzles crying to be solved and in a relatively short time the remarkable fields of special relativity and quantum mechanics were born. Many were those who went to the history as great scientists, by contributing to different aspects of this revolution. Without hints from nature, it is very difficult for a theoretical physicist to “show the whole world” how great he/she is, even if he/she were the smartest and most creative scientist of his/her time. Creating a new wave, without experimental hints, is a tremendous challenge. The best (and only?) example is the creation of general relativity, where Albert Einstein “single-footedly” climbed up all the way to the top of the ladder of fame by single-handedly proposing his theory of general relativity. But he could afford it, as he was already at the top due to his other contributions which had been prompted by experimental observations. One wonders what would have happened if Einstein had only postulated his theory of general relativity and nothing else. Had the scientific community noticed it and cared enough about it to send expeditions to Brazil and Africa to check his “speculations”?