Patent Disagreements
in the Histories of Special Relativity
Alberto A. Martínez
California Institute
of Technology
For
decades, historians have disagreed on the relative importance of
various factors in the emergence of special relativity. I will review
and contrast conflicting aspects of several noteworthy histories.
I'll distinguish different kinds of documentary evidence, to then
rank the formative roles played by various factors (trains, clocks,
starlight, loved ones, art, bullets, running water, and more).