Ebook Download | Pursuit of Genius: Flexner, Einstein, and the Early Faculty at the Institute for Advanced Study | The amount of sheer intellectual might that resided at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton during the early years is extraordinary. The scientific equivalent of a rock star, Albert Einstein, was of course the original prize, yet Kurt Godel, John von Neumann, Oswald Veblen and others also added a great deal. This book is an extremely detailed look at the founding of the institute, the reasons why it was created and the difficulties encountered as it moved from idea to reality.
The level of detail that Batterson presents is amazing. There are records of salary negotiations; internal disputes over how the Institute will be managed and the personal political disputes that seem to be an inherent feature of academia. Given the political and economic conditions of the times, some of these problems are understandable. Hitler was on the rise in Europe and many of the best minds were fleeing the continent for safer areas. The great economic depression had taken hold and despite a great deal of effort by the political leaders, it continued to linger and no one seemed to have an answer. Therefore, it is a tribute to everyone that the Institute was founded and so many great minds were collected in one place.
One of the more interesting points is made at the end of the book. Nobel Prize winner Richard Feynman declined a position at the Institute. He preferred to stay at a university because he believed that the lack of contact with students and new ideas was a detriment to progress. There is some merit to that; few really new ideas have emerged from the people at the Institute after their appointment. Batterson has a counter argument, noting that these are people whose appointment was based on them having had one or two truly outstanding ideas. To expect them to have a few more after that is perhaps asking too much of them.
As a consequence of the level of detail this book is at times a tedious read. If you are interested in the overall view of the Institute then you will often find it uninteresting. However, it is the definitive history of the Institute for Advanced Study, so on that basis it must be given the highest possible praise.
