AI Summary
5 min readThe Lost Loophole
It starts like a joke. A mathematician, a physicist, and an economist get into a car headed to Trenton, New Jersey, on December 5th, 1947. One of them—Albert Einstein—created the theory of relativity. Another—Oscar Morgenstern—co-created game theory. The third man, Kurt Gödel, is on the brink of royally mucking up his citizenship test. Not because he isn't smart. He might be too smart. He's been over-preparing, studying the entirety of US history, and in the process has discovered something in the American system of governance that he thinks could lead the country down the same perilous path as Italy and Germany.
According to Morgenstern's later memo, Einstein turned around in the car and said, "Now Gödel, are you really well prepared for this examination?" This upset Gödel tremendously, which was exactly what Einstein intended. When they got before the judge, Gödel couldn't help himself. Asked where he came from, he said Austria. Asked what kind of government they had, he said it was a republic, but the constitution was such that it was changed into a dictatorship. "Oh, this is very bad," the judge said. "This could not happen in this country." Gödel replied, "Oh yes, I can prove it." Einstein and Morgenstern were horrified. The judge let it slide. Gödel became a citizen.
But the question has haunted us for nearly 80 years: What exactly did Gödel find?
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What you'll learn
- 1 (00:16) **The Car Ride to Trenton** - A mathematician, physicist, and economist drive to New Jersey for a citizenship test in 1947.
- 2 (02:21) **The Citizenship Test Confrontation** - Gödel can't help but mention his discovery to the judge, horrifying his companions.
- 3 (03:43) **The Enduring Mystery of the Loophole** - The story of Gödel's lost loophole persists nearly 80 years later.
- 4 (05:11) **Gödel's Origin Story** - Rebecca Goldstein explains Gödel's background and his "galaxy brain" ideas.
- 5 (08:00) **Escape to Princeton** - Gödel flees Nazi Vienna and joins the Institute for Advanced Study, befriending a depressed Einstein.
- 6 (11:30) **The Hunt for the Notes** - Goldstein and the hosts try to find Gödel's notes on the loophole, hitting a major obstacle.
- 7 (14:41) **First Translation Findings** - The translated notes confirm Gödel studied hard, but the loophole remains elusive.
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Guests on this episode
Show Notes
Kurt Gödel was a genius mathematician and logician, considered by many scholars to be as influential as Aristotle. He was also buddies with fellow geniuses Albert Einstein and Oskar Morgenstern, the co-creator of Game Theory.
In 1947, Gödel told Morgenstern and Einstein he had identified an inner contradiction in the U.S. Constitution while studying for his citizenship test: the type of loophole that could plunge the United States into a dictatorship not unlike the Nazi regime Gödel had escaped when he immigrated from Austria.
So, what was the loophole? Over the years, everyone from Constitutional law scholars to laypeople on Reddit have wondered. Endless Thread plumbs the depths of Gödel's galaxy brain with the help of philosopher, writer and Gödel expert Rebecca Newberger Goldstein — and learns some surprising lessons about artificial intelligence, a German shorthand called Gabelsberger, and democracy along the way.
Show notes:
- Incompleteness: The Proof and Paradox of Kurt Gödel, by Rebecca Newberger Goldstein (Amazon)
- Oskar Morgenstern's account of Kurt Gödel's naturalization (Institute of Advanced Study)
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