What do you do when you make a mistake?

Wolfgang Pauli was a brilliant and influential physicist who made significant contributions to quantum mechanics and the theory of the atomic nucleus. However, he was also known for his sharp wit and sometimes cantankerous personality. One particular incident involving Pauli became the stuff of legend in the physics community.

In the early 1930s, Pauli attended a physics conference in Tübingen, Germany. During the conference, Pauli presented a new theory, which he believed to be groundbreaking. However, upon hearing his presentation, another physicist named George Gamow found a mistake in Pauli’s calculations and pointed it out to him publicly.

Pauli, known for his quick and fiery temper, was furious at having his mistake exposed in front of his colleagues. Frustrated, he stormed out of the conference and sent a scathing letter to the organizers, expressing his discontent with the whole affair.

However, a few days later, Pauli realized that Gamow was correct, and his theory did indeed contain an error. Pauli, recognizing his mistake and feeling remorseful for his angry outburst, decided to make amends in a rather unconventional way.

He wrote another letter to the conference organizers, this time apologizing for his previous letter. However, instead of sending it directly, he enclosed the letter in an envelope and addressed it to “Professor George Gamow, Washington, D.C.” Pauli then asked a colleague to hand-deliver the letter to Gamow at the next conference they both attended.

The prank was that there was no conference in Washington, D.C. at that time, and Pauli knew it. The intended result was that the postman would need to return the letter to the sender, in this case, Professor Gamow, resulting in an unexpected reunion and an opportunity for Pauli to apologize in person.

The story goes that Pauli’s plan worked, and Gamow received the letter addressed to him. When Gamow saw the letter, he immediately realized Pauli’s prank and couldn’t help but chuckle at the physicist’s unusual sense of humor. The two eventually reconciled, and the incident became a humorous anecdote shared among physicists for years to come.

This story illustrates Wolfgang Pauli’s personality and the unique ways he interacted with his colleagues. Despite his sometimes gruff demeanor, he had a mischievous side and a sense of humor that added a touch of levity to the often serious world of physics.