Why was Relativity Accepted?
@article{Brush1999WhyWR, title={Why was Relativity Accepted?}, author={Stephen G. Brush}, journal={Physics in Perspective}, year={1999}, volume={1}, pages={184-214} }
Historians of science have published many studies of the reception of Einstein’s special and general theories of relativity. Based on a review of these studies, and my own research on the role of the light-bending prediction in the reception of general relativity, I discuss the role of three kinds of reasons for accepting relativity: (1) empirical predictions and explanations; (2) social-psychological factors; and (3) aesthetic-mathematical factors. According to the historical studies…
37 Citations
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