Emmy Noether, Biography Of The Woman Who Revolutionized Physics
Emmy Noether was another of those great women who far surpassed many of their contemporaries but did not receive the recognition they deserved in their time. Albert Einstein has publicly expressed his admiration for Emmy Noether on several occasions.
The famous physicists Leon M. Lederman and Christopher T. Hill have declared that the theorem created by his work was perhaps on the same level as the Pythagorean theorem.
For many of her colleagues and scientists, she really possessed a privileged intelligence that should allow her to stand out. For others, Emmy Noether was simply a woman, which invalidated her for a prestigious position.
The work of Emmy Noether completely changed the landscape of physics and mathematics. She is known as the mother of modern algebra. And some elevate her to the position of the most important mathematician in all of history.
Despite this, for most of her life she had to deal with exclusion and segregation, either because she was a woman or because she was Jewish. Perhaps the world was not ready to recognize a woman’s accomplishments; macho society and anti-Semitism were still deeply rooted in his time.
Emmy Noether and her family of mathematicians
It is not strange that Emmy Noether opted for mathematics at an early age, as she came from a family of notable people in this science for three generations. However, none of them managed to get as far as she did.
Emmy Noether was born in Erlangen (Bavaria, Germany) on March 23, 1882. Her father, Max Noether, is a mathematician and teacher. He suffered from polio at the age of 14 and, although he had partially recovered, still had problems with one of his legs. Her father firmly believes in the equality of women.
Emmy’s mother is named Ida Amalia Kaufmann and is the daughter of successful merchants. Like her husband, she has a very advanced mentality for her time. Emmy also has three siblings, all younger than her.
Emmy Noether is nearsighted and has a speech problem called sigmatism, a difficulty similar to dialect lisp. Despite this, these parents notice that their daughter possesses impressive intelligence from an early age.
Exclusion from academic life
Emmy Noether receives a great education. When the time comes, she decides that her vocation is to study modern languages. However, at the same time, she begins to attend the pulpit taught by her father and finds that mathematics is her real passion.
The possibility of admitting women was considered, but the discussion ended with a radical approach. If women were allowed to enter the institution, chaos would reign.
Therefore, Emmy Noether has to be content with taking different classes as a listener, as long as the teachers give her written permission. Despite these restrictions, in 1903 she passed the final exam.
Noether continued to develop her work, and in 1908 she was licensed to teach at the Mathematical Institute at the University of Erlangen. The only condition is that she cannot receive a salary for her courses. Thanks to her father’s help, she accepted and stayed there until 1915.
In 1915, she was invited to teach at the University of Göttingen by the famous mathematician David Hilbert.
- One of the professors protested, saying: “What will our soldiers think when they return to university and find out that they are asked to learn by putting themselves at a woman’s feet?”.
- To which Hilbert replied: “I don’t see why a candidate’s gender can be an argument against being admitted as a privatdozent. After all, we are a university, not a toilet facility. ”
So, despite his great ability and passion for mathematics, Noether finds countless obstacles in his way. Obstacles that respond to the macho problems of the dominant society.
It was not easy to be a woman in a man’s world, but in scientific fields the situation was more violent. Despite this, Noether never stopped fighting for his true passion, mathematics.
The glory and the end
Step by step and year after year, Emmy Noether progresses in her work and finally becomes one of the greatest mathematicians in the world. For several years, she has to work without receiving a salary in return. Finally in 1923, she was appointed Hilbert’s assistant and Emmy Noether finally received a salary.
With the rise of Nazism to power, Noether was removed from office and had to quickly take refuge in the United States. In this country, she finds a much more favorable environment to present her ideas and be valued for her work. The atmosphere is not without misogyny, but not to the same degree as in his country of origin.
Although Emmy Noether received several awards, it wasn’t until after her death that she got the real accolade that her work deserved. She died on April 14, 1935 in Pennsylvania (United States). Albert Einstein sends a meaningful farewell message; asteroid 7001 and a crater on the far side of the moon are named after him.
Our thoughts the fact remains that it is not necessary to go too far in their analysis to see the differences between the various types of feminine …
