Introduction
Maric was married to albert Einstein and
they had three children. Maric was a very intelligent woman and she studied
physics and mathematics. History has it that she was also a collaborator in the
life and works of Einstein. There have been speculations about her role in the
life of Einstein occasioned by a film aired in the theatres depict her role in
the innovations and works. Some controversy including scientists and other
academicians in the role she played has been a center of speculation for a
number of years. It was however brought into light and into the public domain
when a documentary was aired detailing the life of Marci. The one hour
documentary stirred a lot of controversy about the facts and inaccuracies
depicted in the film.
The film has been described as a
masterpiece of historical deception and punches holes in the accuracy of
historical information and how poorly records of history of science are kept.
Both historians who were involved in a project dubbed “the collected papers of
albert Einstein” appear in the controversial film but apparently they do not
contribute to the claims of maric’s involvement in Einstein’s works which
ironically the film promotes.
Materials in the original PBS website
about Einstein’s wife scrutinize the historical evidences of Marci’s life and
her roles as a domestic and scientific partner of Einsten. However Einstein’s
autobiography never mentioned maric as his first wife neither is there any
evidence in the PBS website about Maric being the wife of Einstein (PBS 2006).
The PBS website claims that that the Einstein’s
submitted five papers for publication in the year 1905. But there is no
evidence anywhere to suggest this and Einstein alone is the one who submitted
the scientific papers. It also claims that the name of maric was removed from
the 1905 papers, but there is no evidence to suggest that it was removed from
the papers since it is claimed that it wasn’t there in the first place.
The narrator in the film informs viewers
that Einstein and Maric had been keen contenders to the more fundamental ideas
in physics. He keeps on saying that they are trying to resolve the mysteries of
the universe in mathematics and later there habit of skipping classes to chase
their dreams in physics contribute to them failing their final examinations,
but Einstein’s marks are rounded to pass.
At the end of the documentary about Einstein’s
wife, it purportedly suggests that without Maric he would have not have
finished his work. This is discredited information given the fact that during
the time 1904 according to the narrator, Einstein had barely begun his work. So
there is no way he could have finished it in that given time. The statement is
believed to be a grace note and not a literal reference to 1904. It is from an
interview of Einste’s relatives in Novi.
Controversy theories about Maric
Controversy suggests that Maric was not
a talented mathematician or maybe she failed her exams and was never given a
diploma. Therefore (Weinstein) maintains that she could have made no scientific
contribution. There is also no evidence to show that she was gifted but there
is some evidence to show that she was not. Although in the divorce settlement Einstein
agrees as part of the divorce that any prize he receives should go to his wife.
This may sound as a way for Maric to get his fair share for the contribution of
the theory of relativity, or, as other historians suggest was a way of not
wanting a divorce (PBS 2006).
Another conspiracy suggest that
historians have been able to translate the letters between maric and Einstein
into English. This has made it possible to make a detailed analysis of their
relationship. One of the letters includes a phrase: “bringing our work on
relative motion to a successful conclusion!” from this extract there seems to
be a hint that the pair must have worked together. However, Weinstein’s
analysis suggest otherwise. Einstein’s letters are full of ideas about physics
while Marics' have none. This is a clear indication that she was only requiring
her suggestion on his ideas but not contributions.
Maric did not specialize in theoretical
physics nor did she work with him on the E=mc2 1905 paper. There is no serious
evidence that can be used to attest to this form of thinking and definitely
this cannot be proved otherwise.
Albert Einstein
He was a German theoretical physicist
born in 1879. He is famous for developing the general theory of relativity and
the mass energy equivalent formula. In 1921 he received a Nobel prize in
physics in recognition for his services and contributions to theoretical
physics. E acquired American citizenship in 1940(Paul boyer 2001)
Between 1902 and 1904, he wrote three
apprentice papers containing ideas. In additional to the journal articles he
wrote a dissertation proposing a method for determining molecular sizes and Avogadro’s
number. His work of 1905 gave him a layer of control in the field of relativity
theory.
Maric as a co-author
Historians have tried to piece
information together to prove that maric contributed and if she did, to what
extent has been debated for so long. Others are of the idea that she was just
supportive companion and may have helped in substantial research. The work of
Maric as a co-author is based on some of this historic evidence.
Abram joffe a Russian physicist
erroneously attributed the name of maric in some of the scientific papers as
the author. He states that Maric’s entrance into the field of science was
unforgettable. Historians Higfield and carter (1953) purport that she might
have mentioned the works she was doing with her husband to some friends. There
were also several letters referring to “our work”, meaning the work of Einstein
and Maric.
There is evidence that strongly suggest
that Maric failed her exams and there is a strong possibility that she never
was good at all in the two disciplines. Although it is difficult to ascertain
this fact given that errors lurk in even reliable sources, Abraham Joffe in the
article ‘in remembrance of Albert Einstein’ points out that the 1905 papers
were originally signed Einstein-maric. But Harris walker in his 1991 letter to physics
today reiterated the claim. He alluded that the three original manuscripts
including the one relating to the special theory of relativity were signed
‘Einstein-Marity’, Marity being a loose translation of the name maric. Furthermore
there was a claim in one of the manuscripts aired on television that there is
existence of at least one printed report in which Joffe noted declares that he
personally saw the names of the two authors in the scientific papers of 1905.
However there is no strong evidence to
support this idea that she really was a co-author. This is because after her
divorce and they went separate ways, Einstein still remained relevant in the
field of science up until into the 1920’s generating work of great significance
long after their divorce. On the other hand Maric never published any
scientific work and there was never even a mention of her role in helping Einstein
in the letters she wrote to her friend Helen savic (popovic m 2003).
Historians and evidence
The participation of Einstein’s wife in his
scientific cannot be clearly established partly due to poor historical
referencing and misreprensation. This puts historians in bad light due to the
fact that there are a number of contradicting issues in the involvement of
Maric in the works of Einstein. Documented evidence cannot be traced and any
evidence purported to be found has had a number of critic evaluation and it has
come out as mireprensatation of the original facts.
The writers and producers of the movie “Einstein’s
wife” have bent rules according to the ombudsman in order to promote their own
agendas. They have falsified a lot of facts that do not have proper
documentation and they are willing to give false facts that have no basis in
their quest for fame (Gettler 2006). This is so evident in
the ever contradicting facts from the film “Einstein's wife” and also from the
website of the PBS which has facts that are not clearly documented.
Historians and experts from other fields
consider the film to be way off. There is proof that even majority of the
scholars featured in the film have contested its conclusion. Former editors at
the Einstein papers project which is yet to publish the complete works of
Einstein have held similar concerns about the accuracy of the history in the
Einstein wife film and documentation on the website (Gettler 2006).
Historians of physics having carefully
examined all remaining and available documents and evidence have also come to a
conclusion that Maric’s contribution did not go beyond that of the so called
sounding board. They further attest that Maric indeed overcame personal
problems to get entry into Zurich polytechnic, but failed to obtain the
required marks in order to be awarded a diploma for teaching math and physics.
conclusion
In conclusion, intellectual honesty in
all arenas of study is important in development of society. Allowing dishonesty
and alteration of historical facts suggest wrongdoing and is innumerable damage
to the history of science. Pragmatists will always want to rewrite history for
their own selfish ends even if it means defaming academic honesty of one of the
most important academician of their time. It is therefore, in the interest of
conserving the facts of history, to revisit past controversies in order to
learn the truth about the surrounding arguments about who did what and who did
not.
It is therefore imperative that at some
point in history there should be checks and balances that are in place to
ensure that history is well documented and facts put in place in order to avoid
discrepancies and controversy. It is also imperative that proper historical
facts have evidence stored well for cross reference and checking in order to
maintain clarity.
bibiliography
Highfield,
Roger, and Paul Carter. The Private Lives of Albert Einstein. New York: St.
Martin's Press, 1994.
Gettler,
Michael. PBS. December 15, 2006. Accessed May 8, 2015.
http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/2006/12/einsteins_wife_the_relative_mo.html.
PBS.
Accessed May 8, 2015. http://www.pbs.org/opb/einsteinswife/.
"The
Website of Allen Esterson." The Website of Allen Esterson. Accessed May 8,
2015.
"Archive."
PBS. December 15, 2006. Accessed May 8, 2015.
ArXiv,
Emerging. "Did Einstein's First Wife Secretly Coauthor His 1905 Relativity
Paper?" Accessed May 8, 2015.
http://www.technologyreview.com/view/427621/did-einsteins-first-wife-secretly-coauthor-his-1905-relativity-paper/.
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