The Future of Science [1951]

The only known version of this short paper was published in French in Toute la radio, Paris, 18 (May 1951): 141 (B&R C51.15). Neither the letter acknowledged by Russell nor his reply is extant in RA. Although Russell’s correspondent therefore remains unidentified, it may have been Eugène Aisberg (1905–1980), the Ukrainian-born French journalist and engineer who edited Toute la radio. As an essentially technical publication for amateur radio enthusiasts, this monthly journal was a rather curious place for a symposium entitled “The Future of Science”. Russell’s comments were printed alongside longer and more considered statements from three French scientists: Pierre Auger, an experimental physicist and unesco director, René Barthelmy, an electrical engineer and pioneer in the development of television, and Marcel Boll, a professor at the École des Hautes Études Commerciales de Paris and a notable philosopher and popularizer of science. Also featured were the views of French poet and author Jules Romains, whose recent article in Science et vie (1951) prompted Toute la radio to reflect on the future of science in its February issue. Three months later the editor of the latter publication evidently wanted to prolong this weighty discussion. Yet an editorial lead-in to Russell’s prognostication betrayed a certain irritation that he had responded with “what appeared at first glance to be a joke”, while admitting that his “‘humour’ had touched on one of the most unsettling of current concerns”. ¹ Russell forwarded a copy of the symposium to Edith, anticipating her amusement by “French horrors at my flippancy” (n.d. [May 1951]).