Abraham Flexner co-founded the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) together with philanthropists Louis Bamberger and Caroline Bamberger Fuld in 1930. The IAS is located in Princeton, and is an independent, postdoctoral research center for theoretical research best known as the academic home of Albert Einstein, Hermann Weyl, or John von Neumann. Learn more about the: Institute for Advanced Study [Institute for Advanced Study](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Institute_for_Advanced_Study) A. Flexner is pleading for the **abolition of the word “use” when it comes to fundamental science.** He believes that scientists should be free to focus on the problems that they find interesting without needing to worry about the immediate applicability of their discoveries.** Science should be made for the sheer purpose of satisfying one’s curiosity.** Gauss’s “Non Euclidian Geometry” seemingly had no practical application at the time. His work was essential to Einstein’s work on relativity without which we would not have satellites orbiting the earth today. **From Gauss, to Einstein, to the practical use of satellites several centuries went by.** This is one of the great examples that goes to show that major advancements in science although they seem not to have immediate applicability are able to completely change human lives several decades later. The pursuit of **utility** limits human curiosity and the freedom of scientists to explore. A. Flexner believed that scientists should not be bothered to produce utility but instead pursue problems out of sheer curiosity and eventually utility could be derived from their findings. ***“Ich probiere”*** Paul Ehrlich’s main goal was to satisfy his curiosity, he was not thinking of the usefulness of his research. His research would later allow to distinguish between different types of blood cells, which led to the capability to diagnose numerous blood diseases. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1908. Learn more about Paul Ehrlich: [Paul Ehrlich](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Ehrlich) ***“Thus it becomes obvious that one must be wary in attributing scientific discovery wholly to anyone person.“*** Almost all scientific discoveries are the fruition of the work of multiple people along several decades. This paper was written in 1939 when scientific collaboration of big groups was still rare. Today, we have experiments like the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), an experiment that lasts several decades with the collaboration of thousands of scientists out of hundreds of countries. Learn more about the LHC: [Large Hadron Collider (LHC)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Large_Hadron_Collider) Shouldn't the year of the discovery of electromagnetic induction be 1831 instead of 1841? Guglielmo Marconi was an Italian inventor and electrical engineer who is know as the inventor of radio. He share the 1909 Nobel prize in Physics. You can learn more about Marconi here: [Guglielmo Marconi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guglielmo_Marconi)  The IAS had a **major impact on mathematics, physics, economic theory, and world affairs**. Here are some statistics: - In mathematics **41 out of 57 Fields Medalists** have been affiliated with the Institute - **33 Nobel Laureates** have been working at the IAS - **9 out of 16 Abel Prizes** awarded, were garnered by Institute professors or visiting scholars - **39 of the 56 Cole Prizes** awarded, have gone to scholars associated with the IAS at some point in their career - IAS people have won** 20 Wolf Prizes in mathematics and physics** ### TL;DR This is a fascinating paper written in 1939 about **the importante of curiosity in fundamental discoveries.** A. Flexner argues that **scientists should never be worried about the “use or utility” of their research.** They should be driven by their curiosity, and be free to explore, only then will fundamental discoveries be possible. This was one of the motivations that lead Flexner to found the Institute for Advanced Study.  ## Abraham Flexner Abraham Flexner was an American educator, best known for: - his role in the **20th century reform of medical and higher education** in the United States and Canada, thanks to the Flexner Report published in 1910 - being the **founder of the Institute for Advanced Study** in Princeton, which brought together some of the greatest minds in history, like Albert Einstein, Hermann Weyl, John von Neumann and Kurt Gödel, to collaborate on intellectual discovery and research Lear more about Flexner here: [Abraham Flexner](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Flexner)  The author argues that the scientists are not to blame for the repercussions of their scientific discoveries. This paper was written in 1939 previous to the launch of the atomic bombs on August 6 and 9 of 1945. The atomic bomb was developed by a team of scientists, amongst the brightest minds at the time. This is **a very interesting video of Feynman discussing the "morality"** of his contributions to the the Manhattan Project: [](http://brightcove.vo.llnwd.net/e1/uds/pd/77374810001/77374810001_1158185116001_Richard-Feynman---Manhattan-Project---YouTube.mp4?pubId=77374810001&videoId=1158173173001) A. Flexner argues **that great discoveries are made by men and women driven by the simple desire to satisfy their curiosity.** Practical inventors, like Marconi, use discoveries made by others to make millions. Marconi's inventions would never have been possible without the work of scientists that are not driven by utility or practicality. Flexner believes that the scientist are the ones to praise and not the practical inventors. A. Flexner praises Louis Paster was different type of scientist, capable of adding a theoretical/useless aspect to practical problems. Pasteur was a great scientist that was not afraid of attacking *practical* problems. He would solve practical problems out of sheer curiosity and be able to make general theoretical conclusions that would seem useless at the time but would have great impact later on.