Hermann Weyl

Arguably the greatest mathematician of his generation, Hermann Klaus Hugo Weyl (November 9, 1885 December 8, 1955) ex lore! mathematics, hysics, an! hiloso hy "ith e#ual vigor$ %no"n as &eter to his close frien!s, he "as born at 'lmshorn, near (amburg in )ermany, the son of *u!"ig an! Anna +eyl$ (e atten!e! the )ymnasium at Altona, "here as a schoolboy he "as #uite ta,en by -mmanuel %ant.s !octrine in Critique on Pure Reason, that s ace an! time are not inherent, in the ob/ects of the "orl!, existing as such an! in!e en!ently of our a"areness, but are, rather, conceptual forms or intuitions base! on our intellects$0 +eyl entere! the 1niversity of )2ttingen in 1934, "here he rea! Davi! (ilbert.s Foundations of Geometry, "hich ma!e %ant.s 5bon!age to 'ucli!ean geometry0 a ear na6ve, causing +eyl to aban!one! %antian hiloso hy$ (e s ent one year stu!ying at the 1niversity of 7unich but "as a"ar!e! a !octorate from )2ttingen in 1938 for a thesis su ervise! by (ilbert$ +eyl "as a Privatdozent at )2ttingen for the next fe" years but !ecline! an offer to succee! 8elix %lein "hen he retire! in 1914$ -nstea! he acce te! the chair of mathematics at the 9echnische (ochschule in :urich, ;"it<erlan!, "here he staye! until 1943$

At :urich he marrie! (elene =ose h, a translator of ; anish literature$ 9hey ha! t"o sons, one of "hom, 8rit< =oachim receive! a &h$D$ in mathematics from &rinceton 1niversity in 1949$ (elene !ie! in 19>8 an! t"o years later +eyl marrie! 'llen ?@r of :urich$ +hile at the 9echnische (ochschule, +eyl "or,e! "ith 'instein, "ho intereste! the younger man in the mathematics of relativity an! Aiemannian geometry$ +eyl came to believe erroneously that he ha! foun! a "ay to unify gravitation

an! electromagnetism geometrically by exten!ing 'instein.s theory of general relativity$ Although his theory met "ith consi!erable resistance, his mathematical structure survive! an! rea eare! over the years in !ifferent guises, in!e en!ent of +eyl.s original formulation$ +eyl succee!e! (ilbert in 1943, an! follo"ing the urge of =e"ish mathematicians in 1944, briefly serve! as Director of the university.s famous 7athematical -nstitute$ (is efforts to salvage mathematics at )2ttingen from the Na<is being unsuccessful, he !eci!e! he coul!n.t abi!e living un!er (itler.s rule, an! re are! to leave )ermany$ (e "rote in his memoirsB

5- coul! not bear to live un!er the rule of that !emon C(itlerD "ho ha! !ishonore! the name of )ermany an! although the "rench "as har! an! the mental agony so cruel that - suffere! a severe brea,!o"nE - shoo, the !ust of the fatherlan! from my feet$0

+eyl settle! in the 1nite! ;tates as research rofessor in mathematical hysics at the -nstitute for A!vance! ;tu!y at &rinceton 1niversity, "here he remaine! until his retirement$ (e s ent the last four years of his life traveling bet"een :urich an! &rinceton, !ying at :urich in 1955$

?efore leaving )2ttingen for :urich, +eyl immerse! himself in the mathematics of Aiemann$ (is goal "as to !o for Aiemann.s function theory "hat (ilbert ha! !one for 'ucli!ean geometry, that is, give it an axiomatic an! rigorous basis$ 9he result "as his classic boo, Die Ide der Riemannschen Fl che (!he Concept of a Riemann "urface, 1914), in "hich he create! a ne" branch of mathematics by uniting analysis, geometry an! to ology, "hich ins ire! all later !evelo ments on the theory of !ifferential an! com lex manifol!s$ +eyl ro!uce! the first unifie! fiel! theory for "hich the 7ax"ell electromagnetic fiel! an! the gravitational fiel! a ear as geometrical ro erties of s aceFtime$ (is results a eare! in his boo, Raum#$eit#%aterie ("pace#!ime#%atter, 1918)$ +eyl.s research interest in grou theory an! (ilbert s aces le! him to !evelo techni#ues that rove! central to the ra i!ly

evolving theory of #uantum mechanics an! the unification of matrix mechanics an! "ave mechanics$ +eyl evolve! the conce t of continuous grou s using matrix re resentations, sho"ing ho" symmetry relates grou theory an! continuous grou s, an! ho" this o"erful tool coul! be use! in solving #uantum mechanical roblems$ (e ex oun!e! his i!eas in Gruppentheorie und &uantenmechani' (Group !heory and &uantum %echanics, 19G8)$

?esi!es those alrea!y mentione!, +eyl.s luci!ly "ritten treatises inclu!eB !he Classical Groups (1949), (l)e*raic !heory of +um*ers (19>3), Philosophy of %athematics and +atural "cience (19>9), an! his masterly merging of art an! mathematics, "ymmetry (195G)$ -n revie"ing the latter "or,, "cientific (merican re orte!B 5Dr$ +eyl resents a masterful an! fascinating survey of the a lications of the rinci le of symmetry in scul ture, architecture, ornament, an! !esignE its manifestations in organic an! inorganic natureE an! its hiloso hical an! mathematical significance$0 -n a!!ition to his outstan!ing mathematical "or,, +eyl.s "as also !ee ly intereste! in hiloso hy, logic, an! the history of mathematics$ (is literary style "as almost oetic$ 8or exam le, in his intro!uction to !he Classical Groups, he commente! on his enforce! transition from "riting in )erman to 'nglishB 5the go!s have im ose! u on my "riting the yo,e of a foreign language that "as not sung at my cra!le$0

-n the #uest to give all mathematics an axiomatic basis an! to rigorously rove theorems, classical logic "as vie"e! as something that rece!e! mathematics an! /u!ge! it$ 9his "as fine until logic "as a lie! to infinite sets, "hich le! to troubling antinomies$ +eyl li,ene! this as the original sin that le! to the 8all of mathematics an! felt that the occurrences of contra!ictions "as not "hat "as sur rising, but that they sho"e! u so late in the game$ 9he ara!oxes le! to the establishment of schools of logicians, mathematicians, an! hiloso hers intent on healing mathematics. "oun!s$ +eyl "as a member of the intuitionist school of Dutch mathematician *$'$=$ ?rou"er$ -ntuitionist ro onents believe! that in the realm of logic there are certain clear, intuitively acce table logical rinci les or

roce!ures that can be use! to assert ne" theorems from ol! ones$ 9hese rinci les are art of the fun!amental mathematical intuition$ 9he intuitionists analy<e! "hich logical rinci les are allo"able an! "hich have been a lie! too freely$ 9hey believe! this "as the la" of the exclu!e! mi!!le, "hich asserts that every meaningful statement is either true or false, an! not both$ 9his la" is the basis of all in!irect roofs$ 9he !enial of the exclu!e! mi!!le la" gives rise to a ne" ossibility, un!eci!able ro ositions$ 9he intuitionists re/ecte! nonconstructive roofs, that is, those that rove! the existence of something "ithout sho"ing ho" to construct it$ +eyl sai! nonconstructive roofs 5inform the "orl! that a treasure exists "ithout !isclosing its location$0

Quotation of the Day: 5*ogic is the hygiene the mathematician ractices to ,ee his i!eas healthy
an! strong$0 (ermann +eyl