Love, Theoretically

The Jonathan Smith-Turner article published in Annals of Theoretical Physics 15 years prior to the beginning of the novel is a symbol that highlights The Unnecessary Politicization of Academia. A hoax article Jack published when he was 17 to avenge his mother illuminated the bias and lack of intellectual rigor in the peer review process of Annals under the editorship of Christophe Laurendeau. Its initial publication took the world of physics by storm, adding fuel to the fire of the infighting between theorists and experimentalists over which discipline was more important. Jack’s intention for writing the article was to disgrace Laurendeau as an academic, which he did, but the larger impact of the article was that it convinced experimentalists that theorists were not serious academics and led to professional ruin and cuts to funding for theorists everywhere. Especially as the article was not meant to validate this opinion, the publication of the article highlights how petty and unnecessary the politicization of academia is and how politics can have an even larger impact on the field than the actual intellectual labor.

Not only is the article’s initial publication symbolic of what is wrong with the politics of academia, but the aftershocks of the article also highlight how academic politics can make or break the careers of those involved. While Elsie struggled to get funding for researching theory, the article made Jack notorious and led to his rise as a renowned physicist with a prestigious professorship and substantial grants. Jack’s silence on the article also emphasizes the privilege he has not only due to the article but because of his status as a white man working in STEM. Elsie points out to Jack that he does not have to consider the effects of his article because they don’t impact him negatively, whereas he cannot see the harm he has done to Elsie and other theorists. Jack’s second article is nearly as important in the novel as his first, as his apology and breaking of the silence around his beliefs on theorists symbolizes how he can use his prestige and privilege to benefit the academic community as a whole rather than just standing by and letting others suffer.