Scientific Autobiography
by Max Planck · Wissenschaftliche Selbstbiographie
Assigned by 2 of the 9 reading lists, catalogue entry only
- Written
- 1948
- Language
- German
- Length
- Short · 60 ppunder 120 pages
- Difficulty
- Moderate2 of 5 for a first-year reader
We recommendScientific Autobiography and Other Papers, translated by Frank GaynorPhilosophical Library, 1949The English text used in Great Books, with four related lectures.
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A short memoir Planck wrote in the last year of his life, published after his death in 1947. He recounts his decision to study physics against advice that the subject was finished, his early work on entropy and the second law, the years of frustration before the radiation formula of 1900 and the quantum of action it required, and his later reflections on causality and free will. It is a plain account of how a cautious man made a revolutionary discovery he did not at first believe.
No reading guide yet
The catalogue entry above is complete: the dates, the form, the themes and every program that assigns Scientific Autobiography are verified against each program's published list.
What is missing is the part that takes real work: the summary, the key passages, and a recommended translation. The edition named below is the one most programs assign, so the buy links are useful already.
