Yeah there was this guy Kolman who was pretty bad, from the book:
Kolman labeled mathematical physics “wrecking” and branded
“mathematical abstraction” a weapon of counterrevolution:
“Matter disappears, only equations remain”—this Leninist description of academic papism in modern physics gives the clue to the understanding of the wrecker’s predilection for the mathematization of every science. The wreckers do not dare to say directly that they want to restore capitalism, they have to hide behind a convenient mask. And there is no more impenetrable mask to hide behind than a curtain of mathematical abstraction.
He actually accepted cybernetics but tried to do so on a weird argument that the old philosophy was right, but all the other Stalin era philosophers were wrong in fighting cybernetics on their understanding of dialectical materialism. It got ridiculous, and no one wanted to hire him at any of the institutes post 1953.
Some of the cybernetics critics were even worse. There was a vitriolic 1953 attack on it called "Whom Does Cybernetics Serve" which literally argued Marx foresaw cybernetics and prepared arguments against it in advance. Kolman did the same thing, but saying Marx in fact foresaw direct approval of cybernetic machinery.
Yeah, well, Lysenko is the best known one. But yeah, "this confuses me so it is actually a bourgeois conspiracy, my uncle knows Stalin so I'm gonna have all professors researching that demoted" was a prevalent attitude these years unfortunately. They still had great science though, especially physics and math.
Yeah there was this guy Kolman who was pretty bad, from the book:
Kolman labeled mathematical physics “wrecking” and branded “mathematical abstraction” a weapon of counterrevolution: “Matter disappears, only equations remain”—this Leninist description of academic papism in modern physics gives the clue to the understanding of the wrecker’s predilection for the mathematization of every science. The wreckers do not dare to say directly that they want to restore capitalism, they have to hide behind a convenient mask. And there is no more impenetrable mask to hide behind than a curtain of mathematical abstraction.
He actually accepted cybernetics but tried to do so on a weird argument that the old philosophy was right, but all the other Stalin era philosophers were wrong in fighting cybernetics on their understanding of dialectical materialism. It got ridiculous, and no one wanted to hire him at any of the institutes post 1953.
Some of the cybernetics critics were even worse. There was a vitriolic 1953 attack on it called "Whom Does Cybernetics Serve" which literally argued Marx foresaw cybernetics and prepared arguments against it in advance. Kolman did the same thing, but saying Marx in fact foresaw direct approval of cybernetic machinery.
Yeah, well, Lysenko is the best known one. But yeah, "this confuses me so it is actually a bourgeois conspiracy, my uncle knows Stalin so I'm gonna have all professors researching that demoted" was a prevalent attitude these years unfortunately. They still had great science though, especially physics and math.
Yeah the lysenko affair was only in one institute there were several others each with their own things going on.