Introducing Privatdozent
New name, same newsletter
What is happening?
I changed the name of the newsletter this morning, from Cantor’s Paradise to Privatdozent:
Privatdozent is a weekly newsletter on the history of mathematics and physics, written by @jorgenveisdal. Follow: Twitter and Facebook.
Why is it happening?
I changed the name for three reasons:
Cantor’s Paradise (CP, the previous name) is a separate publication written specifically for subscribers of Medium, featuring essays from over 150 different authors and a wide range of math-related topics;
The Privatdozent newsletter is, and will remain, solely written by myself and only feature essays on the history of mathematics and physics;
There was confusion among some subscribers about access to CP essays on Medium and through Substack, respectively. To clarify this, the two entities are now separate and distinct;
What does Privatdozent mean?
A Privatdozent (for men) or Privatdozentin (for women) was an academic title commonly used in Germany and Prussia in the 18th, 19th and 20th century. Informally, the title referred to a lecturer who received fees from his students rather than a university salary.
Recommendations
The five most popular essays to date are currently:
“Oppenheimer’s Letter of Recommendation for Richard Feynman” (2020)
“John von Nemann’s Minimax Theorem” (2021)
“When Wiener met Einstein” (2021)
Thank you, as always, for subscribing.
Best,
Jørgen.