Shadow of great britain

Looking back at the formation process of the Göttingen School, future generations will undoubtedly be amazed by its profound influence on modern science and thought. This school of thought was not just an academic group in a university, but also a representative of an intellectual revolution, especially in Europe from the late 18th to the early 19th century. The Göttingen School demonstrated how scientific research could transform from an achievement of individual genius to the result of collective collaboration and interdisciplinary exchange.

In the early 1830s, when German university education suffered a huge impact, the University of Göttingen, which promoted educational reform through the reform of the Parliament of the Kingdom of Hannover in 1832, not only withstood the impact of the times, but also separated natural sciences and social sciences from the traditional philosophical framework. Complete liberation has enabled many research fields such as mathematics, physics, law, and biology to advance in a more systematic and professional direction.

Gauss is considered the crown jewel of mathematics, and his precise thinking and innovative abilities set an example for those who came after him. Peter Dirichlet and Bernhard Riemann, who succeeded Gauss as professors of mathematics at the University of Göttingen, inherited this legacy and made epoch-making breakthroughs in the fields of number theory and geometry. Create a world center for mathematical research.

At the same time, as the first university in Europe to conduct specialized education in electromagnetics as an independent subject, the University of Göttingen, under the leadership of Arthur Hastings, its first professor of electromagnetics, established the concept of experiment first The University of Göttingen has taken the lead in the core disciplines of the Second Industrial Revolution.

Among the first graduates in the field of electromagnetics at the University of Göttingen were important industrial figures such as Werner von Siemens. George Ohm, William Weber, Julius Planck and others who succeeded Hastings's chair of electromagnetics fully developed and inherited this concept and pushed this success to new heights.

At the same time, the Göttingen School also demonstrated the integration between the natural sciences and the humanities. The research in the field of biology by Johann Blumenbach and Rudolf Wagner revealed the physical mechanisms behind life phenomena, while the jurist Savigny redefined the role and nature of law from a historical perspective. This interdisciplinary academic ecology promotes academic freedom and ideological innovation, and greatly expands the boundaries of knowledge.

Although the University of Göttingen lost a considerable degree of teaching reputation and faculty due to the "Seven Gentlemen Incident of the University of Göttingen" in 1837, the departure of some scholars also directly promoted the rapid development of another top European university. rise. After several years of difficult times, the international influence of the Göttingen School gradually recovered, reaching its peak in the early 20th century.

Max Born, Werner Heisenberg, Wolfgang Pauli and Robert Oppenheimer have successively emerged here, making this top German university burst out with stronger vitality in the new era.

——Friedrich Paulson, "History of German Education in the 19th Century"

Early this morning, there was a noisy conversation in the superintendent's office.

Professor John Herbart, assistant to the superintendent and dean of the School of Philosophy, sat opposite Arthur and persuaded him with sincerity: "From an academic point of view, there is absolutely no problem with the decision to promote Mr. George Ohm to associate professor. He definitely deserves this honor and even more so, Sir, I have to remind you that if possible, I would like to postpone this decision for a few months."

"Delay the announcement?" Arthur was obviously not very satisfied with Herbart's suggestion, but he did not express his opposition clearly, but asked: "I guess you may feel that direct announcement will offend some researchers in the German natural philosophy community. "

Herbart pursed his lips, as if he still had something to say, but he still swallowed the words and just nodded slightly: "You were there on the day of the meeting, so I guess you know better than me. The situation at that time.”

"It is precisely because I understand the situation that I will not delay the appointment decision. Of course, I do this not to disrespect your suggestions, but I also have my reasons."

"Can you tell me something?" As a member of the academic committee of the University of Göttingen, Herbart felt that he needed to ask clearly: "As long as it is beneficial to the development of the school, I will not block your opinion."

Arthur picked up the teapot and poured a cup of black tea for Herbart: "First of all, the appointment of George Ohm as associate professor was not out of my personal wishes, but out of considerations of academic fairness. If there are corresponding results, but no The corresponding social status will definitely dampen the enthusiasm of young private lecturers in schools. "

Herbart nodded slightly while holding the tea cup: "There is no problem with this, and I also agree with fairness."

"Secondly."

Arthur continued: "According to the provisions of the "Recruitment Procedures of the University of Göttingen", professor candidates must be doctoral graduates and have obtained professor qualifications. Ohm has a doctorate from the University of Erlangen and passed the Selection of professor qualifications: According to the principle of mutual recognition within the German Confederation’s education system, his doctorate and professorship are equally recognized in the Kingdom of Hannover, so he is eligible to be appointed as a full professor at the University of Göttingen. In addition, he is also recognized. He has many years of work experience and completed his academic speech in front of the collective members of the academic committee at the recent electromagnetic conference, and received unanimous praise. Therefore, his appointment as an associate professor is also in line with legal procedures.”

Having said this, Arthur pulled out a document with the royal coat of arms from the table and pushed it in front of Professor Herbart: "About the above, I have reported it to the Kingdom's Ministry of Education for confirmation. This document is in front of you. It’s a receipt document just issued by the Ministry of Education.”

Herbart picked up the document and flipped through two pages to know that it was genuine. However, he was still surprised that the Ministry of Education responded so quickly this time: "Mr. Ohm is really lucky. Generally speaking, This confirmation process will take several months anyway. If it is a formal appointment process, it can take as short as one or two years, or as long as three or four years..."

Of course Arthur would not tell Herbart that the reason why the Hanover Ministry of Education acted so quickly was because the Duke of Sussex had taken the document there himself.

As for why His Highness the Duke is so concerned about Ohm's affairs, on the one hand, it is because he himself has values ​​that cannot stand the stereotypes. He has done a lot of deviant things in recent years, whether it is for marrying a non-royal member or being arrested. Whether his father George III used the "Royal Marriage Act" to deprive him of his inheritance rights, or he repeatedly spoke out in the House of Lords for the abolition of slavery and the "Bloody Act", whenever similar things happened, the Duke of Sussex was always at the forefront.

On the other hand, it was naturally because the Duke of Sussex wanted to use Ohm to appease the dissatisfied voices within the Royal Society. In principle, he actually agreed with the scholars' view. He believed that there were many laymen in the Royal Society who came to gain fame, but it was almost impossible to eradicate this phenomenon immediately.

Because the laymen in the Royal Society are basically Britain's great nobles and wealthy people, if they are directly ordered to be expelled, it is tantamount to reaching out and slapping them in the face. British gentlemen pay attention to dignity when doing things, so the Duke of Sussex can only restrict the entry of new laymen by raising the entry threshold, rather than forcibly satisfying the wishes of scientists by offending others.

However, although there is no way to satisfy the wishes of scientists in this regard, the Duke of Sussex is willing to express his attitude towards scientific research by rectifying Ohm's name. At the very least, he wants to use this matter to weaken the Royal Society. criticism of him.

This was one of the reasons why Arthur was unwilling to delay the announcement of Ohm's promotion decision. When he was still serving at Scotland Yard, the Duke of Sussex had directly or indirectly contributed to matters such as court speeches and the pursuit of slave ships. He received a lot of help from him, and this time the other party came directly to Göttingen, even more so as to stand up for him.

Therefore, Arthur cannot and does not want to embarrass the Duke.

"Finally." Arthur said: "Mr. Herbart, I know what you are worried about. But I must say that if you don't fight for talents like Ohm, others will naturally fight for them. Look at this What is it again?”

Arthur took out a document from the drawer and threw it on the table. Herbart picked up the document and looked at it. The signature of the document was clearly the Ministry of Education of the Kingdom of Bavaria, and there was also a personal letter from King Ludwig I of Bavaria attached.

In the letter, Ludwig I cordially stated that he hoped to invite his outstanding subject Mr. George Ohm to visit the Bavarian Academy of Sciences in Munich, the capital of the Kingdom of Bavaria, and have a long conversation with him in the palace in the evening.

Although the words used by Ludwig I in the letter were very euphemistic, as long as Ohm agreed to go to Munich, it was estimated that Ludwig I would grant him the position of professor at the University of Munich that day.

The Kingdom of Bavaria is willing to grant professor status, but in Göttingen, Arthur can only promise one associate professor for the time being, and the treatment between the two is obviously one level lower. Although the Royal Society will probably accept Ohm as a foreign member, considering that the Kingdom of Bavaria is also likely to accept Ohm into the Bavarian Academy of Sciences, there will not be a big gap between the two in terms of academic reputation.

Not to mention that Ohm can get a bargain close to home by going to Munich.

As expected, Herbart immediately hesitated after seeing this letter from Munich.

He had no prejudice against Ohm. On the contrary, after learning about Ohm's academic experience, this old-school scholar also quite admired Ohm as an indomitable researcher. But his conservative thoughts always made him feel that he should not offend some people in the German academic world too much at once.

Seeing Herbart's hesitation, Arthur stood up and said: "Mr. Herbart, academia has never been a harmonious thing. There is always a fight in the academic world. If they insist on provoking a dispute, let them do it. The Royal Society had been fighting with the Berlin Academy of Sciences for more than a hundred years. The calculus dispute between Leibniz and Newton was much more serious than what happened with Ohm, but it still did not affect the normal exchanges between the two parties. The louder the voice, the more it can stand the test of history.”

Herbart sneered: "I'm just worried about some people in the German academic community... After all, there are a lot of people involved this time."

"No, my opinion is exactly the opposite of yours." Arthur said resolutely: "I think some people in the German academic community should be worried about Göttingen. They'd better think carefully about whether they really have made up their mind to work with us. Go against Göttingen!"

Although Arthur's words were not long, they did sound encouraging.

Herbart then thought about it and realized that what the superintendent said was not unreasonable.

The University of Göttingen is not modest. If the natural philosophy community in Germany shares one shilling, then Göttingen has to monopolize eight pence. In individual fields such as mathematics, Gauss alone in Göttingen can overwhelm the entire German mathematics circle.

More importantly, Göttingen's advantage in the field of electromagnetism is no less than that of mathematics.

In terms of electromagnetism, in addition to Gauss and the Superintendent himself, there are also William Weber and others.

Moreover, even Mr. Charles Wheatstone recently accepted the title of Honorary Professor at the University of Göttingen for helping to build the telegraph line for the Observatory.

Herbart took the reassurance and finally made up his mind to stand up and said: "Since you have given such careful consideration, I don't think I have any reason to stop you. Don't worry, I will explain your plan clearly to other members of the Academic Committee." intention."

As soon as Herbart got up, he heard banging on the door.

Immediately afterwards, there was a familiar voice: "Professor Hastings, I have an important report!"

Herbart turned around and opened the door. Bismarck, who was banging on the door, accidentally hit the old man in the chest, almost knocking him to his knees.

When Bismarck saw clearly who he was hitting, he was immediately frightened.

You know, Herbart is not only the dean of the School of Philosophy, he also serves as the chairman of the Student Disciplinary Committee.

In an instant, the traditional Prussian virtue of respecting the elderly and caring for the young came to Bismarck's mind.

He rushed forward and quickly helped Herbart up: "Dean, are you okay?"

Herbart glared at him angrily, rubbed his chest and stood up and said: "Bismarck, you should change your temper! You look neither like a student union president nor an excellent lawyer. In the future, when you graduate and enter society, do you plan to fight lawsuits with your fists in court? "

Bismarck stood with his head hunched as he was being scolded: "I'm sorry, Mr. Professor. But I didn't want to be a lawyer, I wanted to be a judge."

"So in Prussian courts, judges can beat suspects!"

Herbart looked at this famous problem student, shook his head angrily, and then turned and left.

When Bismarck saw Herbart walking away, he ran to Arthur's desk in a panic and reported: "Professor, someone is dead!"

"Huh?" Arthur was about to drink tea, but was so startled by Bismarck's words that his hand shook and he almost spilled the tea on his robe: "Where did someone die?"

"Medical school!" Bismarck's face flushed anxiously.

Arthur just stood up, but soon sat back down. He looked at Bismarck carefully and asked suspiciously: "Otto, are you trying to tell me that the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the medical school?" Was it a life-threatening incident?"

In this era, although various specialized hospitals have appeared in big cities, small cities like Göttingen cannot support decent large hospitals. Therefore, the best hospital in the city is the Medical School of the University of Göttingen. Every now and then, some citizens would come to the medical school to see a doctor, and among the many patients, there were naturally those who needed to be delivered.

But Bismarck obviously wasn't here to joke with Arthur today. He urged urgently: "You think I'm too out of tune! I'm not joking with you. A doctoral student tried to shoot himself in the square. It happened to be He was hit by a passerby. The passerby wanted to save him, so he started fighting with him. Unexpectedly, during the fight, the pistol fired and the bullet unfortunately hit his cheek. After we found out, we hurriedly rescued him. He was sent to the medical school for emergency treatment. Professor John Blumenbach, the dean of the medical school, is performing the surgery himself. Please go take a look!"