Re: Guess who?

On 4/7/25 5:03 AM, J. J. Lodder wrote:

Physfitfreak <physfitfreak@gmail.com> wrote:
 

On 3/12/25 4:16 PM, J. J. Lodder wrote:

FYA, all.
Who wrote this letter, and for whom was it intended?
(ten bonus points for the correct year)
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Herr Einstein is one of the most original minds that we have ever met.
In spite of his youth he already occupies a very honorable position
among the foremost savants of his time.
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What we marvel at him, above all, is the ease with which he adjusts
himself to new conceptions and draws all possible deductions from them.
He does not cling to classic principles, but sees all conceivable
possibilities when he is confronted with a physical problem.
In his mind this becomes transformed into an anticipation of
new phenomena that may some day be verified in actual experience....
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The future will give more and more proofs of the merits of Herr
Einstein, and the University that succeeds in attaching him to itself
may be certain that it will derive honour from its connection with the
young master.
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Guess Who?
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Jan
(cheaters will be disqualified)
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This forged letter sounds like what Einstein himself would dictate to a
"Whodat" type of Bozo to create a recommendation letter.

 So denialism is what it is for you.
 In the meantime I have dug up he original French text.
(not bad, for a forger who didn't speak French, Eh?)
 As for the letter: Einstein and Poincare had met for the first and last
time at the Solvay conference, Oct. 30 to Nov. 2, 1911.
The letter of recommendation by Curie and Poincare to the ETH, Zurich,
was written shortly afterwards.
Einstein's appointment at the ETH finally came through in July 1912.
 It is of course inconceivable that Poincare would have met Einstein on
friendly terms at the Solvay, where he had lively discussions with him,
(together with Lorentz) and that he would have written this letter of
recommendation if he had considered Einstein to be a mere plagiarist
of his own work.
 Jan
 Letter of Recommendatation
====
M. Einstein est un des esprits les plus originaux que j'aie connus;
malgré sa jeunesse, il a déjà pris un rang très honorable parmi les
premiers savants de son temps.
 Ce que nous devons surtout admirer en lui, c'est la facilité avec
laquelle il s'adapte aux conceptions nouvelles et sait en tirer toutes
les conséquences. Il ne reste pas attaché aux principes classiques, et,
en présence d'un problème de physique, est prompt à envisager toutes les
possibilités.
 Cela se traduit immédiatement dans son esprit par la prévision de
phénomènes nouveaux, susceptibles d'être un jour vérifiés par
l'expérience. Je ne veux pas dire que toutes ces prévisions résisteront
au contrôle de l'expérience le jour où ce contrôle deviendra possible.
 Comme il cherche dans toutes les directions, on doit au contraire
s'attendre à ce que la plupart des voies dans lesquelles il s'engage
soient des impasses; mais on doit en même temps espérer que l'une des
directions qu'il a indiquées soit la bonne; et cela suffit.
 C'est bien ainsi qu'on doit procéder. Le rôle de la physique
mathématique est de bien poser les questions, ce n'est que l'expérience
qui peut les résoudre.
 L'avenir montrera de plus en plus quelle est la valeur de M. Einstein,
et l'université qui saura s'attacher ce jeune maître est assurée d'en
retirer beaucoup d'honneur.
====
Signed,  Mme. Curie and Henri Poincaré
 

Denialism?.. How absurd. I don't need that. Titled people need it. It amounts to kissing the title that's hung on the wall not that far from where they sit.
I tore mine up and got rid of the pieces before it gets rude to me! That's how I saved myself. That's how I can stay objective.
My educated guess was based on the assumption that nobody in those years knew Einstein as clearly as it is stated in that letter of recommendation. Nobody but Einstein himself.
As simple as that.
So if it was a letter of "recommendation", then it must've been dictated by Einstein to someone who wouldn't mind creating such forgery. A "Whodat" kind of a man who always pretended here he had a physics background.