Relativity in Spain

Abstract

The reception of relativity in Spain was a phenomenon dominated by mathematicians with extensive linkages to Italian mathematics; as a result, general relativity dominated scientific discussions. Many of the leading figures were conservative Catholics and, indeed, one could make the case that, in ideological terms, relativity became a conservative cause in Spain. In order to determine why this should have been so we must investigate the sources of demand for information about relativity. In general, the most conspicuous “consumers” of Einstein’s theories in Spain were engineers, also a Catholic, socially conservative group. Engineers, we will see, differed greatly in their ability to understand relativity, although enthusiasm for Einstein was not affected by intellectual disability. Inasmuch as the scientific reception was significantly tailored to the demands of the engineering community, who, in turn, produced most of the popularizations of relativity for the general public, we treat the reception of relativity as a seamless web, a culturewide phenomenon engaging different levels of society and domains of discourse simultaneously, with multiple feedbacks among them. To view the reception of relativity thus – as a phenomenon which ripples through an entire culture – we must disabuse ourselves of the view that the distinction between “scientific” and “popular” receptions is a meaningful one. The ideas clearly lose physical meaning the farther they stray from mathematical language. But a contextual approach must focus on what was perceived or found useful by different groups appropriating relativity, without attempting to assess the physical validity of the discussion at each point. To do so would only belabor the obvious.¹