Subject: [HM] Siegel on abstraction, cites?
From: Colin McLarty (cxm7@po.cwru.edu)
Date: Thu Feb 10 2000 - 15:32:16 EST
Franz Lemmermeyer gave a helpful reference on Seigel's really
irresponsible comparison of more abstract minded mathematicians to Nazis.
> You can find the reviews in
> Bull. AMS 70 (1964), 491-498 (Mordell on Lang)
> Bull. AMS 76 (1970), 1230-1234 (Lang on Mordell)
>
> After Mordell's review, Siegel wrote a letter to Mordell that not
> only agreed with his review but went as far as comparing Lang (and
> his fellow-travellers) with the Nazis. A facsimile of the letter
> as well as Lang's views on these matters and on 20th century
> number theory as a whole can be found in the DMV Mitteilungen 4 /
> 1994, 20-31
My university does not get these Mitteilungen so let me ask here
(before I go to interlibrary loan), is that the letter which says:
Die gegenwaertige bedrohliche Zustand in der Mathematik
erinnert durchaus an die Zeiten des Nationalsozialismus
unter Hitler, als so lange marschiert wurde, bis alles in
Scherben fiel.
which I will inexpertly translate as
The current threatening situation in mathematics exactly
recalls the National Socialist time under Hitler, which
meant to march on until everything was smashed to fragments.
I only have this on a xeroxed page of Reinhardt Siegmund-Schultze
MATHEMATIKER AUF DER FLUCHT VOR HITLER. I do not have his bibliography and
cannot easily get it through my library.
Siegmund-Schultze cites the quote from Siegel as Siegel 1979. My
library has nothing by Siegel with that date, can anyone tell me what Siegel
1979 would be? Siegmund-Schultze also cites a work of his own
Siegmund-Schultze 1992, can anyone tell me what this is?
For that matter, can anyone send me an e-mail address for Reinhard
Siegmund-Schultze? I hope he continutes to find work as an historian.
Colin McLarty
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