176
DOCS. 250-251
JANUARY 1911
I will inform
you
later about the
time
of
our
arrival.
With best
regards to
you
and
Mrs.
Lorentz,
and
many
thanks,
Yours
in
sincere
admiration,
A.
Einstein
250a. To
an
Association of Students of the Natural
Sciences, University
of
Amsterdam
Zurich,
28
January 1911
To the
"Natuur-Philosophische Fakulteit,"[1]
Amsterdam
Highly
esteemed Gentleman:
I
was
delighted
with
your
kind invitation.
Unfortunately,
it
is
impossible
for
me
to
accept
it
because
I have
very
little time available for
my
trip
to
the
Netherlands.[2]
Respectfully, yours very truly,
A.
Einstein
251. To
Emil Zürcher
Zurich,
29
January 1911
Highly
esteemed
Dr.
Zürcher:[1]
It
is
very
difficult for
me to
write
about
my
friend
Prof.
Zangger
without
his
knowledge.[2]
I
must
therefore
ask
you
at
the
outset to please
let
me
know
whether
I
may
tell him
about
your inquiry.
I
see
from
your
letter that
Prof.
Zangger
stands
at
a
crossroads;
the
question is
whether
it would be
good
for
him to
exchange
his
present
position
for
one
in
engineer-
ing,
or more
specifically,
for
a
position
that
requires
knowledge
of
physics.[3]
Mr.
Zangger
has
a very
sharp
eye
when it
comes
to questions
of
physics.
On
several
occasions he
has drawn
my
attention
to
very
important
scientific
publications
in
my
field
that
I
otherwise
would have
missed.[4]
He
is
also
very knowledgeable
and has carried
out
experiments
in
a
variety
of
areas.[5]
It
is
only
in the
area
of
independent
exact
calculations
that
he
is
lacking
in
experience
and
practice.
I have
no
doubt that
he could
be
an
excellent
physicist,
just
as
he
now
excels in medicine and forensic medicine.
Unfortunately,
you
did
not
mention the field in
which
he would work
nor
the
character of the
activity
in
which he would
be
engaged
there. Hence
I
cannot
address
the
question
how
that
position
matches
his
special qualities
and scientific
experience.