October 17, 2024

Quick note before we begin: I'm at the Inc. 5000 Conference this week in Palm Desert, California. If any readers happen to be here, keep an eye out for me!

— Albert Einstein

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'Newtonian Ideas Overthrown'

In early 1933, Albert Einstein took a two-month fellowship at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. Trips like this were par for the course for Einstein by that point in his life; he had won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1921, and he was one of the first scientists of the 20th century who became famous even to people who didn't understand any of his theories.

"Revolution in Science – New Theory of the Universe – Newtonian Ideas Overthrown" was how the Times of London headlined one of his ideas in 1919; "A New Physics Based on Einstein," was a similar headline in the New York Times.

The point here is that Einstein was popular, charismatic, heralded as a genius -- and also a German Jew whose homeland was quickly being conquered from within by the Nazi regime.

And, if you know your history, you might recognize immediately that Einstein's January/February trip coincided almost exactly with Adolph Hitler's appointment as German chancellor, which soon led to his absolute power over Germany.

Although most accounts suggest that Einstein simply stayed in the U.S. as a result of the Nazis' rise to power, I learned to my surprise while writing today's newsletter that he actually tried to return to Germany -- perhaps not exactly realizing what the future would hold for Jews in Europe.

As soon as his fellowship wrapped up, he and his wife, Elsa, sailed for Belgium en route to Berlin. Only then did they learn that the Nazis had enacted a new "Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service," barring Jews from working in government positions.

As a result, Einstein would no longer have a university teaching position at home.

Soon after that, Einstein also got word that his Berlin apartment and his "summer home" in the German town of Caputh, had been raided by the Nazis. Posters were appearing on the streets labeling Einstein an enemy of the state and branding his scientific work as "Jewish physics."

Realizing that there was no way that he could possibly return home now, Einstein went to the German consulate in Antwerp, turned in his passport, and renounced his German citizenship. Effectively stateless, he and Elsa sailed on to England, where he was able to meet with Winston Churchill and other British leaders, and he urged them to make a priority of getting German scientists out of the country.

Finally, 91 years ago today -- October 17, 1933 -- Einstein returned to the United States to take a teaching position at Princeton University, with the plan to stay here for good.

Thus, he was in a position six years later to team up with Hungarian physicist Leó Szilárd, also a refugee, to write to President Roosevelt warning of Nazi research on an atomic bomb and urging the president to ensure that the United States won that arms race first.

That letter has been described as "arguably the key stimulus for the U.S. adoption of serious investigations into nuclear weapons on the eve of the U.S. entry into World War II," leading to the Manhattan Project.

Obviously, you have to tread carefully in raising the idea of something like a silver lining in the rise of the Nazis, but there's something poetic about how that regime's bigotry and evil led it to purge itself of some of the German nation's smartest minds, and ultimately to sow the seeds of its own defeat.

Since today is the anniversary of the date on which Einstein officially became "one of ours," I think it's worth celebrating. Plus, we get to give him the quote of the day as a result:

Here's to new beginnings, to being open-minded, and to going everywhere.

Did you see ...

• Right out of the 1983 movie Trading Places: U.S. orange production has plummeted as the industry faces volatile threats from extreme weather events, an incurable disease and economic pressures. Citrus growers are losing millions of dollars every year; at the same time, orange juice futures have hit record highs. (CNBC)
• A former Las Vegas-area Democratic elected official was sentenced Wednesday to at least 28 years in Nevada state prison for killing an investigative journalist who wrote articles critical of his conduct in office two years ago and exposed an intimate relationship with a female coworker. A judge invoked sentencing enhancements after a jury found Robert Telles guilty in August of first-degree murder. (AP)
• A lawsuit by a doctor claiming the Dragon Balls appetizer at a Thai restaurant was so spicy it burned her internally is set to go before a jury next year. Harjasleen Walia sued Coup de Thai in July last year, alleging the dish scorched her vocal cords, esophagus and the inside of her right nostril. (Silicon Valley News)
• Kamala Harris did her first-ever interview with Fox News last night, sitting down for a one-on-one with Brett Baier. Her opponents say she dodged questions; supporters say she did great despite Baier interrupting her. “I could tell when we started talking that she was going to be tough to redirect without me trying to interrupt,” Baier said afterward. (Daily Beast)
• More than 6 in 10 adults say the belligerent presidential race has damaged their mental health, according to a Forbes survey that finds the strain has severed some relationships. Nearly 1 in 5 adults said the election has damaged their relationships with older relatives, including 29% of Generation Z respondents, and 44% reported feeling more anxious about spending the holidays with family and friends. (Washington Times)
• A series of earthquakes has Southern California shook. Is a big one coming? (CNN)
• Shoplifters gone wild: the rise of middle-class thieves. (The Atlantic)