German physicist Max Planck, a key figure in quantum mechanics and a Nobel Prize winner, had two of his papers from the 1940s retracted by the journal Naturwissenschaften, now The Science of Nature. This retraction puzzled historians Yves Gingras and Mahdi Khelfaoui, as Planck’s work has always been respected. The journal removed the papers entirely, citing “article violation,” but the current editor-in-chief, Suzanne Scarlata, believes it was a mistake likely caused by an algorithm. The retraction was due to a misunderstanding of past publication practices, specifically copyright issues, not scientific errors. The papers were philosophical reflections on scientific knowledge. Despite the retraction, the empty PDFs were still being sold, though they could be downloaded for free.
QUESTION: Why do you think it’s important to preserve historical scientific papers, even if they seem outdated or irrelevant today?
Why did this journal retract two 1940s papers by Max Planck?
