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John Wheeler letter to Hugh Everett, 21-September-1955

John A. Wheeler

Published Sep 21, 1955• 0 citations
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Abstract

Before writing the long thesis, Hugh Everett wrote three short papers on topics that would ultimately be discussed in the thesis. Here John Wheeler responds to those. Wheeler expresses his belief that one of the papers is essentially publishable already; a second, though, he thinks need to be toned down before he shows it to Bohr.

Related papers

John Wheeler letter to Hugh Everett, 26-May-1956

JOHN ARCHIBALD WHEELER

In spring of 1956, John Wheeler was in residence at the Lorentz Institute in Leiden, Netherlands. In April, 1956 a copy of the long version of Hugh Everett's thesis was sent to the Institute; the next month, Wheeler traveled to Copenhagen to discuss the thesis with Bohr and others. This is a letter he wrote to Everett after he returned to Leiden, following up on his letter from the day before (in which he forwarded Alexander Stern's criticisms to Everett). Here he includes his notes from a conversation with Niels Bohr — dated 4 May 1956 — on Everett's thesis, and urges Everett to come to Copenhagen immediately to discuss his work with Bohr. He includes an offer to pay for Everett's travel from his own research funds. Although Everett would ultimately travel to Copenhagen in 1959, he did not accept the invitation Wheeler extends here.

•May 19, 2011•0 citations

John Wheeler letter to A.G. Shenstone 28-May-1956

JOHN ARCHIBALD WHEELER

In spring of 1956, John Wheeler was in residence at the Lorentz Institute in Leiden, Netherlands. In April, 1956 a copy of the long version of Hugh Everett's thesis was sent to Niels Bohr's Institute; the next month, Wheeler traveled to Copenhagen to discuss the thesis with Bohr and others. This document is a letter Wheeler sent to A. G. Shenstone, another Princeton physicist, asking whether the department would object if Wheeler attended a conference in September, shortly before the beginning of the Fall semester. He mentions Everett's thesis and its reception in Copenhagen. Here he indicates that the thesis will need significant revisions, and that he hopes it will be publishable by the Danish Royal Academy.

•May 19, 2011•0 citations

John Wheeler letter to Hugh Everett, 16-May-1957

John A. Wheeler

Hugh Everett's thesis was ultimately published in September 1957 in a special issue of Reviews of Modern Physics, guest edited by Bryce DeWitt. In mid-May, 1957, Everett's thesis was already finished and he had passed the oral examination. The paper was already scheduled for publication, but John Wheeler apparently had some last minute changes to recommend.

•May 16, 1957•0 citations

Max Dresden letters to John Wheeler, 23 October 1957 and reply 30 October 1957, with note to Hugh Everett

Max Dresden

After the publication of Hugh Everett's thesis and John Wheeler's commentary in the September 1957 issue of Reviews of Modern Physics, several physicists wrote to Everett and Wheeler to discuss the papers. This one, from a physicist at Johns Hopkins named Max Dresden, seems to approve of Everett's contributions, and suggests that it might be related to a project he and a student worked on shortly before. Wheeler, at least at this point, seems interested in continuing to work on topics related to Everett's thesis, and also appears to believe that future publications on related topics are forthcoming. This letter is particularly interesting because it suggests that not only did Wheeler believe Everett could get an academic job at a top university, but that Robert Sachs, a prominent theoretical physicist at University of Wisconsin Madison, was actively attempting to recruit Everett. Everett, however, refused to follow any of these leads.

•May 19, 2011•0 citations

John Wheeler letter to Hugh Everett, 25-May-1956

JOHN ARCHIBALD WHEELER

In spring of 1956, John Wheeler was in residence at the Lorentz Institute in Leiden, Netherlands. In April, 1956 a copy of the long version of Hugh Everett's thesis was sent to the Institute; the next month, Wheeler traveled to Copenhagen to discuss the thesis with Bohr and others. Shortly after he left, Alexander Stern, an American physicist in residence in Copenhagen, held a seminar on Everett's thesis, and then forwarded his and others' ciriticisms in a long letter to Wheeler. Based on Stern's letter and on his own conversations with Bohr, Wheeler determined that Everett needed to make significant revisions to the framing and argumentation of his thesis.

•May 19, 2011•0 citations

John Wheeler letter to Hugh Everett, 23-July-1957

JOHN ARCHIBALD WHEELER

Hugh Everett's thesis was ultimately published in September 1957 in a special issue of Reviews of Modern Physics, guest edited by Bryce DeWitt. This was Everett first and only journal publication on the topic. In July of that year, however, as the journal article was going to press, Wheeler spoke with mathematician and physicist Norbert Wiener about Everett's theory. Wiener argued about the importance of a measure in Everett's work. Everett, too, saw his derivation of a typicality measure as of central important, especially in the long thesis. But there is no evidence that Everett followed Wheeler's advice of writing a follow-up paper addressing the question of a measure on the space of branches more explicitly. Wheeler also, once again, encourages Everett to visit Bohr.

•May 19, 2011•0 citations
In spring of 1956, John Wheeler was in residence at the Lorentz Institute in Leiden, Netherlands. In April, 1956 a copy of the long version of Hugh Everett's thesis was sent to the Institute; the next month, Wheeler traveled to Copenhagen to discuss the thesis with Bohr and others. This is a letter he wrote to Everett after he returned to Leiden, following up on his letter from the day before (in which he forwarded Alexander Stern's criticisms to Everett). Here he includes his notes from a conversation with Niels Bohr — dated 4 May 1956 — on Everett's thesis, and urges Everett to come to Copenhagen immediately to discuss his work with Bohr. He includes an offer to pay for Everett's travel from his own research funds. Although Everett would ultimately travel to Copenhagen in 1959, he did not accept the invitation Wheeler extends here.
In spring of 1956, John Wheeler was in residence at the Lorentz Institute in Leiden, Netherlands. In April, 1956 a copy of the long version of Hugh Everett's thesis was sent to Niels Bohr's Institute; the next month, Wheeler traveled to Copenhagen to discuss the thesis with Bohr and others. This document is a letter Wheeler sent to A. G. Shenstone, another Princeton physicist, asking whether the department would object if Wheeler attended a conference in September, shortly before the beginning of the Fall semester. He mentions Everett's thesis and its reception in Copenhagen. Here he indicates that the thesis will need significant revisions, and that he hopes it will be publishable by the Danish Royal Academy.
After the publication of Hugh Everett's thesis and John Wheeler's commentary in the September 1957 issue of Reviews of Modern Physics, several physicists wrote to Everett and Wheeler to discuss the papers. This one, from a physicist at Johns Hopkins named Max Dresden, seems to approve of Everett's contributions, and suggests that it might be related to a project he and a student worked on shortly before. Wheeler, at least at this point, seems interested in continuing to work on topics related to Everett's thesis, and also appears to believe that future publications on related topics are forthcoming. This letter is particularly interesting because it suggests that not only did Wheeler believe Everett could get an academic job at a top university, but that Robert Sachs, a prominent theoretical physicist at University of Wisconsin Madison, was actively attempting to recruit Everett. Everett, however, refused to follow any of these leads.
In spring of 1956, John Wheeler was in residence at the Lorentz Institute in Leiden, Netherlands. In April, 1956 a copy of the long version of Hugh Everett's thesis was sent to the Institute; the next month, Wheeler traveled to Copenhagen to discuss the thesis with Bohr and others. Shortly after he left, Alexander Stern, an American physicist in residence in Copenhagen, held a seminar on Everett's thesis, and then forwarded his and others' ciriticisms in a long letter to Wheeler. Based on Stern's letter and on his own conversations with Bohr, Wheeler determined that Everett needed to make significant revisions to the framing and argumentation of his thesis.
Hugh Everett's thesis was ultimately published in September 1957 in a special issue of Reviews of Modern Physics, guest edited by Bryce DeWitt. This was Everett first and only journal publication on the topic. In July of that year, however, as the journal article was going to press, Wheeler spoke with mathematician and physicist Norbert Wiener about Everett's theory. Wiener argued about the importance of a measure in Everett's work. Everett, too, saw his derivation of a typicality measure as of central important, especially in the long thesis. But there is no evidence that Everett followed Wheeler's advice of writing a follow-up paper addressing the question of a measure on the space of branches more explicitly. Wheeler also, once again, encourages Everett to visit Bohr.