Why I Left Canada: Reflections on Science and Politics

Best known for his collaboration with Einstein in the 1930s on the nature of motion in the general theory of relativity, and for their Evolution of Physics (1938), in the present volume Infeld continues his autobiographical account from the point he left it in his highly acclaimed Quest (1941). The title is taken from one of the several essays in the book which is of considerable historical interest. In it Infeld describes his life as a professor of applied mathematics at the University of Toronto (1938-1950), and the transition to his native Poland. Because of his outspoken opposition to nuclear weapons (of which the West then had a monopoly), he was attacked by various sectors of the Canadian press, parliament, and self-appointed hate mongers. It was argued that if he were allowed to accept an invitation to visit the communist Poland, he would carry with him the secret of the atomic bomb, which he had learned from Einstein. The fact that neither had access to information about the bomb's construction was ignored. Infeld went abroad, nevertheless, and was sufficiently inspired by the efforts to rebuild the country, with generous support for science, that he agreed to return permanently. A strong sense that he must do his share to create a school of theoretical physics in Poland marked this final stage of Infeld's career. Throughout the volume, which includes articles on his teacher Natanson, and on Einstein, Bohr, Oppenheimer, Planck, and others, Infeld displays his perception of the psychology of fellow scientists as well as introspection regarding his own actions. He clearly is a man disposed to think his own thoughts, who rebelled against the slavish deference given to scientific work in the Soviet Union and criticism of Western research as "idealist." Implicit comparisons of science in communist and noncommunist countries, presented in Infeld's highly readable, anecdotal fashion, make this volume far more than a story of the personal trials of one man.