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Al-Ahram Weekly 31 August - 6 September 2000 Issue No. 497 
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Published in Cairo by Al-Ahram established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 31 August - 6 September 2000 Issue No. 497
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| Published in Cairo by Al-Ahram established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Al-Ahram:
A Diwan of contemporary life (353)
For about six months in the mid-1920s, Al-Ahram featured a special section under the attractive heading "Intellectual Giants." The section publicised a debate between two elementary school teachers who contributed a total of 15 articles. The subject, surprisingly, was none other than Einstein's theory of relativity. It was interesting to see two elementary school teachers with ordinary university degrees engage in a heated give-and-take on such a complex subject and on their respective qualifications to do so. The fact remained that Al-Ahramfound the exercise worthwhile -- judging by the time and space given to it and the epithet "giants" used to describe the writers. Dr Yunan Labib Rizk* provides a run-down of the exchanges
Battling over Einstein
Over the winter of 1924-25 an unusual battle played itself out on the pages of Al-Ahram. The protagonists were Ahmed Ali Ibrahim, astronomy teacher at Helwan Elementary School, and Ahmed Fahmi Abul-Kheir, teacher at Al-Silihdar National Elementary School. The former referred to himself as "Instructor of Astronomical and Natural Geography," the latter as "Licentiate in Natural Science." While Al-Ahram throughout its lengthy history had customarily served as a forum for opposing views, the debate on this occasion was unique -- its subject was none other than Einstein's theory of relativity.
Issac NewtonFor a short period of time Al-Ahram accorded systematic coverage to modern scientific and technological issues, initiating for this purpose the "Scientific Research" column towards the end of 1923. The column, however, did not last long, perhaps because its editor was not a science specialist and this forced him to rely on locating and translating science news items from the foreign press, a task that he must have quickly found tedious.
The debate between Ahmed Ibrahim and Ahmed Abul-Kheir renewed Al-Ahram's interest in scientific culture. This was odd, firstly, because the focus of their debate was beyond the grasp of the newspaper's general readership, and, secondly, because the protagonists were mere elementary school teachers. To us today, the debate is noteworthy, if only because two elementary school teachers at the time were sufficiently abreast with the Einstein's famous theory and enthusiastic enough to discuss it on the pages of Al-Ahram.
The battle between the "Intellectual Giants", as the Al-Ahram headline dubbed its protagonists, extended over 15 articles, appearing between 29 October 1924 and 7 April 1925. The extent of the newspaper's interest in the subject is evidenced by the fact that, with a few exceptions, Ibrahim's and Abul-Kheir's articles were featured on the front page. It reflects well on the quality of what must have been a significant portion of Al-Ahram's readership. A strenuous effort was needed to understand the articles and it is interesting that they spanned a long period -- six months.
When Ahmed Ali Ibrahim wrote his first three articles on the theory of relativity, there were no signs of an impending battle between "intellectual giants." In his first article, he contends that only a handful of scientists had grasped Einstein's theory, in spite of the fact that it had been published 20 years previously in the form of a five-page dissertation that he had presented to the German Science Academy. However, he adds, the earth-shattering portion of his theory, concerning the dynamics of the universe in which he discussed the effects of gravity, was only published in 1915. At that time the "Great War" hampered its dissemination beyond Germany.
Another reason that understanding of the theory remained so restricted, writes Ibrahim, was that "it is founded on advanced mathematical principles that elude the grasp of anyone but the most expert scientists. As for the general educated public, the theory is important only in terms of the blossoming fruit it has to bear, which is to say the tangible products of the idea." If the Helwan astronomy instructor had lived for another 20 years he would have seen the horrors of the atomic bombs that hit Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Following the end of World War I, the full solar eclipse of 1919 drew attention to the sun's corona and the award of the Nobel Prize for Physics to Einstein in 1920 drew attention to physics. Ibrahim writes, "News of the theory spread so rapidly that you could rarely come across a magazine that did not make mention of it or a university that did not offer lectures on the subject. British and American books on the subject proliferated and huge honorariums were awarded to those who could explain the theory in a succinct and entertaining way."
In the same article, Ibrahim seeks to correct what he considered a widespread misconception -- the name given to the theory. Einstein himself called his brainchild "the theory of relativity" and he sought to popularise the term in his attempt to refute the long established concepts of Euclidean geometry and, even more so, Newtonian physics. "Einstein wanted to disprove that matter, space and time are separate entities subject to separate laws. Rather, he wanted to prove that all these things are 'relative' to one another. The true name of the theory of that prodigy is 'das ereignis' (the event), because the ultimate task of science is to search for a single, absolute binding theory of the universe."
After an extensive and detailed elucidation of the theory, which it is difficult to imagine that Al-Ahram readers of the time could have followed, the author urged the Ministry of Education to equip the minds of the young to grasp this theory, "as they are currently doing in Great Britain."
In his second article Ahmed Ibrahim explains how Einstein's theory affects the perception of the universe. Light is effected by gravity, Einstein proclaimed. This he was able to discover through the observation of the refraction of the rays at the time of the solar eclipse in conjunction with the observation of the orbit of Mercury. He thus found that "the light given off by iron, for example, molten in the sun, shifts to red when viewed through a spectrum, whereas the light given off by this substance under the same process on earth would never acquire that colour." Einstein attributed this phenomenon to the fact that the light is affected by the mass of the sun, which increases the velocity and wave length of the rays, rendering the colour emitted by that substance different from that which appears on earth.
The Helwan elementary school teacher proceeds to elucidate further on the German scientist's experiments and observations, after which he concludes, "This discovery will alter the course of human thought. It will not only affect physics, but also logic, psychology and other sciences. The theory is becoming increasingly disseminated and new books are constantly appearing in civilised nations, filled with new intellectual insights based around this theory."
The size of the universe and the origin of matter are the subject of Ibrahim's third article. But he also devotes considerable attention to the space-time continuum. In this regard, he refers his readers to H G Wells' Time Machine, a novel that he believes eloquently illustrates Einstein's dynamics. Wells "makes the characters of his novel move backwards through time; for the past and the future according to Einstein are one, the only difference being the direction one is facing, much as the difference between east and west." The science fiction writer also gives his characters "an amazing speed elixir that makes them move so fast that other moving beings appear to be standing still or makes a stone plummeting towards earth seem as though it is suspended in the air." Ibrahim continues, "These images epitomise the ideas of Einstein, who says that space and motion are relative to the observer, whether he is stationary or moving."
As Ahmed Ali Ibrahim was getting his fourth article ready for print, he awoke on 13 November to find an article by another author -- Ahmed Fahmi Abul-Kheir, Licentiate in Science -- appearing under the same headline that had featured his articles. One suspects the shock cast a pall over his day.
The fact is that the "astronomical and natural geography instructor" had many reasons to feel irate. Above all, Abul-Kheir attempted to refute several of Ibrahim's contentions. Firstly, he wrote, Ibrahim was mistaken in his assertion that Einstein called his theory "The Event" and not "Relativity." After all, the latter term best epitomises the theory, since "every event in existence is relative, whether it pertains to matter, space or time." Abul-Kheir continues, "I do not know whether 'the event' is intended to signify the universe or the perception of reality. If it is the former, relativity is evident, if the latter, then it more clearly indicates the connection between the perception of reality and other matters."
The Al-Silihdar Elementary School teacher then turns to Ibrahim's second article to accuse the Helwan teacher that he put words in Einstein's mouth. For example, contrary to Ibrahim's impression, "Einstein's theory is based on the fact that gravity or gravitational fields do not exist," writes Abul-Kheir. He goes on to say that Newton believed that the apple falls to the ground due to the force of gravity, whereas "Einstein believes that the apple falls, not due to gravity, but because the presence of matter causes space to bend, which means that there are no straight lines and that when a body moves it moves in a curve."
Further infuriating Ibrahim was the advice Abul-Kheir appended to his letter suggesting a number of reference works for the Helwan instructor to consult in order to supplement his knowledge if he did not want to consult Einstein's book on relativity itself. One can easily imagine Ibrahim frenetically penning his response to Abul-Kheir's article, readying it for the following day's edition of Al-Ahram.
In his riposte Ibrahim held firmly to his claims concerning the name of Einstein's theory and his conclusions based on the effects of gravity, citing in his defence several excerpts from the works of prominent European scientists on the subject. He even quoted from the writings of the great physicist himself, who wrote, "The effect of the earth on a falling stone functions only indirectly through the gravitational field the earth has set around itself."
After having set these facts before his adversary in black and white, Ibrahim comments scathingly, "Einstein believes that only 12 people in the world have fully grasped his theory. From the depth of my heart I would like Abul-Kheir to become the 13th. As for the sources that he recommended I consult in order to brush up on my knowledge, they are inconsequential, consisting only of periodicals or encyclopedias that treat the subject only very superficially."
If Ibrahim had been incensed, Abul-Kheir was even more so, as his first reaction was to cast aspersions on his opponent's credentials. Ahmed Ibrahim, he wrote, was a graduate of the Teachers College, from the department of humanities. As a result, his understanding of higher mathematics is minimal and his background in physical dynamics can hardly equip him to discuss the theories founded upon such sciences.
Einstein with his wifeThe "Licentiate in Science" goes on to display his own vast knowledge, also relying on the works of such eminent physicists as Dengel and Arthur Thomas, pausing only to express his surprise that Ibrahim could consider a 1,000-page compendium as no more than a superficial periodical. Abul-Kheir goes on to comment on Ibrahim's wish that Abul-Kheir become the 13th person in the world to understand Einstein's theory. "Should I add this to the proofs I have furnished that Ibrahim does not understand the theory? In all events, I shall concede to him that honour, as the number 13 is considered bad luck among Europeans," Abul-Kheir wrote.
In the fourth letter of the debate, the Helwan school's astronomy teacher defended his credentials. While indeed he had graduated from the humanities department of the Teachers College, he says, "Prior to that I obtained a Baccalaureate in Science just like you. Then for reasons that do not need to be mentioned here, I changed to the school of humanities; however my scientific disposition remains, and shall remain despite your objections. When I became a liberal arts teacher, I retained my passion for geography, especially natural astronomical geography, because in it I found the missing link between science and the humanities, which my degree permitted me to pursue. Through this I shall rise to a standing of consequence within the Ministry of Education, contrary to the featherweight such as yourself who is blown from one government school to the next, to be expelled from that."
Strong words indeed, but Ahmed Ibrahim does not stop there. In a stinging parody of Abul-Kheir's interpretation of the theory of relativity, he remarks, "Who is Professor Abul-Kheir from Einstein's perspective? He is an event of a downward slide, or a intersection between time and space, from his home to the 'university' of Al-Silihdar Elementary in order teach dynamics and hydrostatics, or a plummeting descent at night (time) from his home to the offices of Al-Ahram (a point in space) to dispatch his criticisms. The curvatures between home and 'university,' or between home and Al-Ahram, or between these destinations and visits to a friend constitute the sum total of events that make up Abul-Kheir Effendi."
Evidently, Abul-Kheir felt that the tenor of argument had taken an unsavoury plunge, for he withdrew from the debate, leaving the field to Ahmed Ibrahim, who continued to furnish the newspaper with articles on the dynamics of relativity.
Warming once again to his subject, Ibrahim writes that Einstein's theory was not unrelated to previous scientific endeavours, but was, on the contrary, a product of centuries of scientific inquiry. He turns to the philosophy of historical inquiry in general with this example:
"It is wrong to assert that the Egyptian question in its present form emerged with the entrance of the British in 1882 during the Orabi revolution. The Egyptian question is much older than that and will continue to exist as long as Western nations maintain their rivalry over the Near East question. There are no lines of demarcation between ages in history, and the same applies to scientific revolutions."
Turning to science, he observes that the birth of the 19th century witnessed Newton's law of gravity and associated laws of mechanics. These laws, "at the pinnacle of their glory, seemed to solve virtually all problems [of physics]." But then came James Clerk Maxwell who conducted investigations into magnetism and electricity, and linked the two together in a theory of electromagnetism, giving the science of dynamics preponderance over the science of mechanics.
In his next article, Ibrahim refers to the Michelson and Morely theory through which Einstein reached his own theory. In 1877, these two American scientists succeeded in proving that the velocity of the earth can be measured through the wake it leaves behind it during its rotation around the sun. This in turn gave rise to wave theory, which prompted the British academy of sciences to coin the term "ether" to apply to the wave medium "that fills the entirety of space." Ibrahim explains further, "Ether fills the entire universe, it enters every space. It is solid matter because waves pass through it and it is simultaneously static because no additional empty space exists for it to move through." Ibrahim adds that Einstein took this concept of the absence of motion "horizontally, vertically or in depth," to introduce the notion of a fourth dimension in order to explain the causes of motion.
In a subsequent article, the Helwan teacher attempts to give Al-Ahram readers a simplified version of Einstein's general theory of relativity. "The enormity of this theory resides in one thing," he writes. "This is to look at the universe in an entirely different way from that in which we are accustomed to viewing it. Before Einstein, we looked at the universe through three-dimensional lenses and say, 'This is a thing,' by which we mean all that we could touch or feel. The German genius has come to us to say, 'But that is not the truth.'"
"What, then, is the truth?" Ibrahim asks. "Were it broad daylight and I told you that the sun is shining and you had two eyes to perceive its splendour, is that not the truth? That modern scientist tells us no." Continuing with a theatrical flair, he writes, "Goodness! Is that fiery orb I see before me not a sun? Evidently not, for modern science tells us that it is a dark, silent and speechless world and that the mind invents everything. The secret lies not in the world, but in what lies within the bones of your skull."
As to how this relates to waves and ether, he writes, "This vast expanse of space contains waves of diverse length. If those ethereal waves are of a certain breadth and length they will cause an effect in your ear and you will say that is a sound. If they move at a different breadth and length you will say it is light, if your eye can detect it. Yet, the waves that fill the ether in space do not cause sound or light; rather it is your mind that has invented these notions."
It must have been even more mind-boggling for his audience to read that "space is filled with other waves that we cannot perceive and about which we know nothing because we only possess five senses. We must thus conclude that space and time exist on their own and that the unity of space and time has created a universe which gives rise to events, which are things."
Concluding his essay in Al-Ahram, Ibrahim writes that modern scientists believe that "events are the product of four coordinates, three in space and one in time, and that the laws that govern this matrix are truth itself."
Not surprisingly, many Al-Ahram readers found it difficult to follow Ibrahim's discourse, prompting him to append an explanation on the origin of the perception of time and space in the human mind. He writes, "The ancients, and we -- until Einstein came -- perceived space as a large box in which matter has been distributed, much as a postal official slots letters destined for different parts of the country, and we, to put it all in order, invented such words as 'here,' 'there,' 'up' and 'down.' In this manner we have distinguished ourselves from dumb animals, who have no organised perception of dispersed matter." However, Einstein rocked the old foundations of perception by linking space with time, in a concept he termed the space-time continuum. "Space-time," writes Ibrahim, "is like a suitcase made of cloth that expands or contracts depending on the clothes (matter) it contains. If you want you can bundle it tighter, or you can loosen the binding, and it is in this sense that space, matter and time are all connected."
Whether through this simplification the Helwan elementary school science teacher succeeded in driving his point home to his readers is difficult to say.
* The author is a professor of history and head of Al-Ahram History Studies Centre.
