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Einstein Wrote Back: My Life in Physics
John W. Moffat was a poor student of math and science. That is, until he read Einstein’s famous paper on general relativity. Realizing instantly that he had an unusual and unexplained aptitude for understanding the complex physics described in the paper, Moffat wrote a letter to Einstein that would change the course of his life. Einstein Wrote Back tells the story of Moffat’s unusual entry into the world of academia and documents his career at the frontlines of twentieth-century physics as he worked and associated with some of the greatest minds in scientific history, including Niels Bohr, Fred Hoyle, Wolfgang Pauli, Paul Dirac, Erwin Schrödinger, J. Robert Oppenheimer, Abdus Salam, among others. Taking readers inside the classrooms and minds of these giants of modern science, Moffat affectionately exposes the foibles and eccentricities of these great men, as they worked on the revolutionary ideas that, today, are the very foundation of modern physics and cosmology.
240 pages, Hardcover
First published May 23, 2014
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48 people want to read
About the author
John W. Moffat
4 books6 followersJohn W. Moffat has been a professor of physics for more than three decades. He is currently Professor Emeritus at the University of Toronto, a member of the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, and adjunct professor in the physics department at the University of Waterloo. Moffat is well known for his alternative theory of gravity to Einstein's general relativity. He is the author of Reinventing Gravity: A Physicist Goes Beyond Einstein and Einstein Wrote Back: My Life in Physics.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 9, 2018
An engaging autobiography of a leading scientist who has tended to move against the conventional thought in theoretical physics.
Moffat had an unsettled and disruptive childhood, growing up during WWII. Not doing well in high school, he was not able to go on to university. Instead, he followed his father and, moving to Paris, tried to become a painter. Finding no success there, he returned to Copenhagen. He chanced to read "The Nature of the Physical World" and "Spacetime and Gravitation" by Sir Arthur Eddington. Becoming very interested in physics, he borrowed books from the University of Copenhagen library and acquired the equivalent knowledge of an undergraduate degree through self-study.
Early work on Einstein's unified field theory led to his giving a talk at the Niels Bohr institute which was poorly received. On impulse, he wrote a letter to Einstein describing the reaction and enclosing two papers Moffat had written. To his surprise, Einstein wrote back. Included with the technical material was the observation that any field of study must have a variety of ideas. Moffat credits Einstein with helping him to "... enter academic life and pursue a legitimate path towards becoming a professional physicist and teacher."
Through recommendations from Bohr and others, Cambridge accepted him as a doctoral student in spite of his lack of an undergraduate degree.
Moffat describes the various stages of his career, including interactions with many leading physicists, including Bohr, Schrodinger, Hoyle, Pauli, Dirac and Oppenheimer.
Moffat has created the Scalar-Tensor-Vector Gravity (STVG) theory which he also calls the MOG (modified gravity). The theory explains many astronomical observations without resorting to dark matter, an initial singularity at the beginning of the universe, the need for inflation in the early universe, and possibly the presence of a singularity in a black hole.
In the epilogue, Moffat makes a number of interesting observations on physics as a science. He believes that "There is a herd instinct in physics, as in most academic and scientific fields." He gauges how paradigm-shifting his ideas are by "... noting the intensity of the negative opinions expressed by the referees and the loudness of the opposition of the physics establishment to my papers."
He points out that there seems to be an inversion in the age group taking risks. While it used to be the younger thinkers that created the novel ideas with the older academics acting as mentors, the young researchers of today have to be more concerned with acceptance in order to progress academically. Interestingly, he suggests that the peer review of papers has become more "draconian", making it more difficult to publish ideas outside of the mainstream thinking.
Moffat had an unsettled and disruptive childhood, growing up during WWII. Not doing well in high school, he was not able to go on to university. Instead, he followed his father and, moving to Paris, tried to become a painter. Finding no success there, he returned to Copenhagen. He chanced to read "The Nature of the Physical World" and "Spacetime and Gravitation" by Sir Arthur Eddington. Becoming very interested in physics, he borrowed books from the University of Copenhagen library and acquired the equivalent knowledge of an undergraduate degree through self-study.
Early work on Einstein's unified field theory led to his giving a talk at the Niels Bohr institute which was poorly received. On impulse, he wrote a letter to Einstein describing the reaction and enclosing two papers Moffat had written. To his surprise, Einstein wrote back. Included with the technical material was the observation that any field of study must have a variety of ideas. Moffat credits Einstein with helping him to "... enter academic life and pursue a legitimate path towards becoming a professional physicist and teacher."
Through recommendations from Bohr and others, Cambridge accepted him as a doctoral student in spite of his lack of an undergraduate degree.
Moffat describes the various stages of his career, including interactions with many leading physicists, including Bohr, Schrodinger, Hoyle, Pauli, Dirac and Oppenheimer.
Moffat has created the Scalar-Tensor-Vector Gravity (STVG) theory which he also calls the MOG (modified gravity). The theory explains many astronomical observations without resorting to dark matter, an initial singularity at the beginning of the universe, the need for inflation in the early universe, and possibly the presence of a singularity in a black hole.
In the epilogue, Moffat makes a number of interesting observations on physics as a science. He believes that "There is a herd instinct in physics, as in most academic and scientific fields." He gauges how paradigm-shifting his ideas are by "... noting the intensity of the negative opinions expressed by the referees and the loudness of the opposition of the physics establishment to my papers."
He points out that there seems to be an inversion in the age group taking risks. While it used to be the younger thinkers that created the novel ideas with the older academics acting as mentors, the young researchers of today have to be more concerned with acceptance in order to progress academically. Interestingly, he suggests that the peer review of papers has become more "draconian", making it more difficult to publish ideas outside of the mainstream thinking.
March 22, 2014
Everything about John Moffat’s career in physics has been a little bit unorthodox. For more than half a century, he’s been challenging the status quo, pursuing non-mainstream ideas that have often met with sharp resistance from the physics community. In fact, had his career path been any more unorthodox, he probably wouldn’t have become a physicist at all; it’s easy to imagine a parallel universe in which Moffat, pursuing just slightly crazier ideas, would simply be dismissed as a crank. Instead, Moffat did play by the rules – or at least, he obeyed them more often than he broke them – and ended up making important contributions to several branches of modern physics, and interacting with nearly all of the great physicists of the 20th century, including Bohr, Schrödinger, Pauli, and Dirac. And, by mail, Albert Einstein, as noted in the title of his entertaining new memoir.
Moffat’s entry into the world of physics could hardly have been more convoluted.
Born in Denmark and sheltered in Britain during the Second World War, his first love was art. After the war, he moved to Paris and dreamed of becoming a famous painter. With his funds running out, however, he returned to Copenhagen – where he chanced upon a couple of popular science books by Sir Arthur Eddington. The books, which explored current problems in astrophysics and cosmology, sparked something in the youngster: “It’s as if they turned on a switch in my brain,” he says. They triggered “an emotional desire to know the truth of how the universe began.”
Borrowing books and journals from the local university library, Moffat got to work. In less than two weeks he had mastered calculus, and before long he had taught himself the equivalent of a bachelor’s degree in physics. He took an interest in Einstein’s latest work on a “unified field theory,” the attempt to combine gravity with electromagnetism. Moffat wrote and published two papers on the subject, and, filled with youthful enthusiasm, he mailed them to the aging scientist in Princeton, New Jersey. To his surprise, the great man wrote back, treating Moffat “as an intellectual equal.” (Since Einstein’s letter was in German, Moffat took it to his German-speaking barber for a translation. “Well, John,” the barber said afterward, “It looks as if Herr Doktor Einstein is taking you seriously.”)
Determined to enter the academic world, Moffat eventually found himself in Cambridge, where he was admitted into the university’s Ph.D. program even though he had no undergraduate degree – an unprecedented achievement.
Moffat would spend the rest of his career tackling non-mainstream subjects; attempts to modify Einstein’s equations for gravity – his theory of general relativity – would be among his most vigorous pursuits. While Moffat’s personal story is inspiring, however, the real treasure here is his series of encounters with the great minds of the last 60 years. Take Austrian physicist Wolfgang Pauli: On a visit to Cambridge, the gruff Pauli asked for a meeting with the university’s young physicists, to hear about their research. One by one they scribbled equations on a blackboard, and one by one Pauli dismissed them with derisive comments. (“I will not witness any more of this uninteresting calculation,” to one; “Utter rubbish!” to another.) When Moffat’s turn came around, things seemed to go equally poorly; Pauli – resembling “a large toad, his head nodding vigorously” – dismissed his work as “utter nonsense.” But Moffat stood his ground, insisting that his work was not nonsense – causing a “hushed silence” to fall over the room. Pauli then approached and embraced the young scientist, exclaiming “Wunderbar! This young man speaks back!”
Now based at the Perimeter Instutute in Waterloo, Ontario, Moffat, nearing 80, seems determined to keep pursuing “outside the box” physics – and to continue standing his ground. (Adapted from a review I wrote for The Globe and Mail.)
Moffat’s entry into the world of physics could hardly have been more convoluted.
Born in Denmark and sheltered in Britain during the Second World War, his first love was art. After the war, he moved to Paris and dreamed of becoming a famous painter. With his funds running out, however, he returned to Copenhagen – where he chanced upon a couple of popular science books by Sir Arthur Eddington. The books, which explored current problems in astrophysics and cosmology, sparked something in the youngster: “It’s as if they turned on a switch in my brain,” he says. They triggered “an emotional desire to know the truth of how the universe began.”
Borrowing books and journals from the local university library, Moffat got to work. In less than two weeks he had mastered calculus, and before long he had taught himself the equivalent of a bachelor’s degree in physics. He took an interest in Einstein’s latest work on a “unified field theory,” the attempt to combine gravity with electromagnetism. Moffat wrote and published two papers on the subject, and, filled with youthful enthusiasm, he mailed them to the aging scientist in Princeton, New Jersey. To his surprise, the great man wrote back, treating Moffat “as an intellectual equal.” (Since Einstein’s letter was in German, Moffat took it to his German-speaking barber for a translation. “Well, John,” the barber said afterward, “It looks as if Herr Doktor Einstein is taking you seriously.”)
Determined to enter the academic world, Moffat eventually found himself in Cambridge, where he was admitted into the university’s Ph.D. program even though he had no undergraduate degree – an unprecedented achievement.
Moffat would spend the rest of his career tackling non-mainstream subjects; attempts to modify Einstein’s equations for gravity – his theory of general relativity – would be among his most vigorous pursuits. While Moffat’s personal story is inspiring, however, the real treasure here is his series of encounters with the great minds of the last 60 years. Take Austrian physicist Wolfgang Pauli: On a visit to Cambridge, the gruff Pauli asked for a meeting with the university’s young physicists, to hear about their research. One by one they scribbled equations on a blackboard, and one by one Pauli dismissed them with derisive comments. (“I will not witness any more of this uninteresting calculation,” to one; “Utter rubbish!” to another.) When Moffat’s turn came around, things seemed to go equally poorly; Pauli – resembling “a large toad, his head nodding vigorously” – dismissed his work as “utter nonsense.” But Moffat stood his ground, insisting that his work was not nonsense – causing a “hushed silence” to fall over the room. Pauli then approached and embraced the young scientist, exclaiming “Wunderbar! This young man speaks back!”
Now based at the Perimeter Instutute in Waterloo, Ontario, Moffat, nearing 80, seems determined to keep pursuing “outside the box” physics – and to continue standing his ground. (Adapted from a review I wrote for The Globe and Mail.)
May 20, 2013
If you don't have an interest in physics, you will probably find this book to be a mystifying list of quirky people you've never heard of talking about complete mumbo-jumbo. However, to a big physics geek like me, I found John Moffat's memoir to be an interesting peek at the quirks (and quarks!) of the people behind the big names behind the big theories. This book is really a series of anecdotes about major figures and places in physics, and how they touched the life and work of the author. HIs own personal life (wives, children) are barely mentioned in passing. Moffat also (understandably) takes some pride in his own work, and pushes his own less popular theories a little. But hey, it's his book. It was interesting to see how often genius could be accompanied by odd mental failings and all-too-human weaknesses. And the author's blind spot towards some of his own was a little amusing at times.
I read the Kindle version of this book, and I must say the copy-editing is rather poor -- I was noticing mistakes every few pages, often involving hyphenation.
I read the Kindle version of this book, and I must say the copy-editing is rather poor -- I was noticing mistakes every few pages, often involving hyphenation.
November 1, 2014
Sometimes the smallest things in life can have huge downstream consequences.
Case in point - poor student John Moffat read Eistein's Thery of Relativity paper and is compelled to write to Einstein. Einstein wrote back which led to Moffat meeting up with Neils Bohr and Erwin Schrodinger and subsequent enrollment at Trinity College, Cambridge. Moffat was the first student to earn a PhD without any undergraduate degrees.
Today - someone not doing well in school would be encouraged to drop out and take up a trade. Instead - the act of Einstein writing back triggered a useful career in theoretical physics. Something to keep in mind if we think that we have no time in our busy lives to answer out of the blue mail from inquisitive youngsters.
Case in point - poor student John Moffat read Eistein's Thery of Relativity paper and is compelled to write to Einstein. Einstein wrote back which led to Moffat meeting up with Neils Bohr and Erwin Schrodinger and subsequent enrollment at Trinity College, Cambridge. Moffat was the first student to earn a PhD without any undergraduate degrees.
Today - someone not doing well in school would be encouraged to drop out and take up a trade. Instead - the act of Einstein writing back triggered a useful career in theoretical physics. Something to keep in mind if we think that we have no time in our busy lives to answer out of the blue mail from inquisitive youngsters.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews