Marcel-Paul Schützenberger
Encyclopedia
Marcel-Paul "Marco" Schützenberger (October 24, 1920 – July 29, 1996) was a French
mathematician
and Doctor of Medicine. His work had impact across the fields of formal language
, combinatorics
, and information theory
. In addition to his formal results in mathematics
, he was "deeply involved in [a] struggle against the votaries of Darwinism
," a stance which has resulted in some mixed reactions from his peers and from critics of his stance on evolution
. Several notable theorems and objects in mathematics bear his name (for example Schutzenberger group
). Paul Schützenberger
was his great-grandfather.
Prize from the French Academy of Medicine.
Biologist Jaques Besson, a co-author with Schützenberger on a biological topic, while noting that Schützenberger is perhaps most remembered for work in pure mathematical fields, credits him for likely being responsible for the introduction of statistical sequential analysis in French hospital practice.
-Schützenberger Theorem and the Kleene-Schützenberger Theorem), and one in combinatorics (the Schützenberger Theorem). With Alain Lascoux
, Schützenberger is credited with the foundation of the notion of the plactic monoid, reflected in the name of the combinatorial structure called by some the Lascoux–Schützenberger tree.
Mathematician Dominique Perrin has credited Schützenberger with "deeply [influencing] the theory of semigroups", and "deep results on rational functions and transducers," amongst other impacts on mathematics.
Schützenberger himself admitted that biology was not his speciality, but stated that "[t]he participation of mathematicians in the overall assessment of evolutionary thought has been encouraged by the biologists themselves, if only because they presented such an irresistible target." Thus his assertion of the probability of random mutations consistently giving negative results brought about a symposium in 1966 (the Wistar Symposium) where he first presented openly (along with MIT professor Murray Eden) the problems with bringing accurate mathematical probabilities using neo-Darwinism
.
National honors
Posthumous recognitions
After his death, two journals in theoretical mathematics dedicated issues to Schützenberger's memory. He was commemorated in this manner by Theoretical Computer Science in 1998 and again by the International Journal of Algebra and Computation in 1999.
The mathematician David Berlinski provided this dedication in his 2000 book The Advent of The Algorithm --- The Idea that Rules the World: À la mémoire de mon ami . . M. P. Schützenberger, 1921-1996.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
mathematician
Mathematician
A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
and Doctor of Medicine. His work had impact across the fields of formal language
Formal language
A formal language is a set of words—that is, finite strings of letters, symbols, or tokens that are defined in the language. The set from which these letters are taken is the alphabet over which the language is defined. A formal language is often defined by means of a formal grammar...
, combinatorics
Combinatorics
Combinatorics is a branch of mathematics concerning the study of finite or countable discrete structures. Aspects of combinatorics include counting the structures of a given kind and size , deciding when certain criteria can be met, and constructing and analyzing objects meeting the criteria ,...
, and information theory
Information theory
Information theory is a branch of applied mathematics and electrical engineering involving the quantification of information. Information theory was developed by Claude E. Shannon to find fundamental limits on signal processing operations such as compressing data and on reliably storing and...
. In addition to his formal results in mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
, he was "deeply involved in [a] struggle against the votaries of Darwinism
Neo-Darwinism
Neo-Darwinism is the 'modern synthesis' of Darwinian evolution through natural selection with Mendelian genetics, the latter being a set of primary tenets specifying that evolution involves the transmission of characteristics from parent to child through the mechanism of genetic transfer, rather...
," a stance which has resulted in some mixed reactions from his peers and from critics of his stance on evolution
Evolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
. Several notable theorems and objects in mathematics bear his name (for example Schutzenberger group
Schutzenberger group
In abstract algebra, in semigroup theory, a Schutzenberger group is a certain group associated with a Green H-class of a semigroup. The Schutzenberger groups associated with different H-classes are different. However, the groups associated with two different H-classes contained in the same D-class...
). Paul Schützenberger
Paul Schützenberger
Paul Schützenberger , French chemist, was born at Strasbourg, where his father Georges Frédéric Schützenberger was professor of law, and his uncle Charles Schützenberger professor of chemical medicine....
was his great-grandfather.
Contributions to medicine and biology
Schützenberger's first doctorate, in medicine, was awarded in 1948 from the Faculté de Médecine de Paris. His doctoral thesis, on the statistical study of gender at birth, was distinguished by the Baron LarreyDominique Jean Larrey
Dominique Jean Larrey was a French surgeon in Napoleon's army and an important innovator in battlefield medicine.-Biography:...
Prize from the French Academy of Medicine.
Biologist Jaques Besson, a co-author with Schützenberger on a biological topic, while noting that Schützenberger is perhaps most remembered for work in pure mathematical fields, credits him for likely being responsible for the introduction of statistical sequential analysis in French hospital practice.
Contributions to mathematics and linguistics
Schützenberger's second doctorate was awarded in 1953 from Université Paris III. This work, developed from earlier results is counted amongst the early influential French academic work in information theory. His later impact in both linguistics and combinatorics is reflected by two theorems in formal linguistics (the ChomskyNoam Chomsky
Avram Noam Chomsky is an American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, and activist. He is an Institute Professor and Professor in the Department of Linguistics & Philosophy at MIT, where he has worked for over 50 years. Chomsky has been described as the "father of modern linguistics" and...
-Schützenberger Theorem and the Kleene-Schützenberger Theorem), and one in combinatorics (the Schützenberger Theorem). With Alain Lascoux
Alain Lascoux
Alain Lascoux is a French mathematician at the University of Marne la Vallée and Nankai University. His research fields include algebraic combinatorics, particuarly Hecke algebra and Young tableau....
, Schützenberger is credited with the foundation of the notion of the plactic monoid, reflected in the name of the combinatorial structure called by some the Lascoux–Schützenberger tree.
Mathematician Dominique Perrin has credited Schützenberger with "deeply [influencing] the theory of semigroups", and "deep results on rational functions and transducers," amongst other impacts on mathematics.
Stance on Darwinism
Schützenberger's stance on "neo-Darwinism" has been the source of criticism from biologists and mathematicians. While some of his peers have chosen to pass over this aspect of Schützenberger as "too personal" to discuss, nonetheless praising it as one of his "bête-noires" alongside his thinking on artificial intelligence, or have characterized it as his being "passionately interested ... in the many flaws in the Darwinian theory of evolution as it is commonly presented," others have pointed out that his stance on Darwinism sometimes resulted in "street fighting":
Unfortunately the dialogue, with those who did not share his point of view, quickly turned into street fighting: with Schütz[enberger] to blame, said his adversaries. Note, however, that the big names MayrErnst MayrErnst Walter Mayr was one of the 20th century's leading evolutionary biologists. He was also a renowned taxonomist, tropical explorer, ornithologist, historian of science, and naturalist...
and MonodJacques MonodJacques Lucien Monod was a French biologist who was awarded a Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1965, sharing it with François Jacob and Andre Lwoff "for their discoveries concerning genetic control of enzyme and virus synthesis"...
always had a constant interest in his ideas and respected his culture, his person, and his always set scientific standpoint.
Schützenberger himself admitted that biology was not his speciality, but stated that "[t]he participation of mathematicians in the overall assessment of evolutionary thought has been encouraged by the biologists themselves, if only because they presented such an irresistible target." Thus his assertion of the probability of random mutations consistently giving negative results brought about a symposium in 1966 (the Wistar Symposium) where he first presented openly (along with MIT professor Murray Eden) the problems with bringing accurate mathematical probabilities using neo-Darwinism
Neo-Darwinism
Neo-Darwinism is the 'modern synthesis' of Darwinian evolution through natural selection with Mendelian genetics, the latter being a set of primary tenets specifying that evolution involves the transmission of characteristics from parent to child through the mechanism of genetic transfer, rather...
.
Offices, honors, and recognitions
Professorships and other teaching- Professor in the Faculty of Sciences at the University of PoitiersUniversity of PoitiersThe University of Poitiers is a university in Poitiers, France. It is a member of the Coimbra Group.-History:Founded in 1431 by Pope Eugene IV and chartered by King Charles VII, the University of Poitiers was originally composed of five faculties: theology, canon law, civil law, medicine, and...
(1957–1963) - Lecturer in the Faculty of Medicine at Harvard UniversityHarvard UniversityHarvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
(1961–1962) - Director of Research at the CNRS (1963–1964)
- Professor at the University of ParisUniversity of ParisThe University of Paris was a university located in Paris, France and one of the earliest to be established in Europe. It was founded in the mid 12th century, and officially recognized as a university probably between 1160 and 1250...
(1964–1970) - Professor in the Faculty of Sciences at the University of Paris VIIUniversity of Paris VII: Denis DiderotParis Diderot University, also known as Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7, is a French leading University located in Paris, France. It is one of the heirs of the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Paris , which was one of the earliest established in Europe, founded in the mid 12th century...
(1970-until his death in 1996)
National honors
- In 1988, after having been a Correspondant since 1979, Schützenberger was made a full Membre of French Academy of SciencesFrench Academy of SciencesThe French Academy of Sciences is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French scientific research...
.
Posthumous recognitions
After his death, two journals in theoretical mathematics dedicated issues to Schützenberger's memory. He was commemorated in this manner by Theoretical Computer Science in 1998 and again by the International Journal of Algebra and Computation in 1999.
The mathematician David Berlinski provided this dedication in his 2000 book The Advent of The Algorithm --- The Idea that Rules the World: À la mémoire de mon ami . . M. P. Schützenberger, 1921-1996.
Trivia
- The character "Dr. Schütz" in Boris VianBoris VianBoris Vian was a French polymath: writer, poet, musician, singer, translator, critic, actor, inventor and engineer. He is best remembered today for his novels. Those published under the pseudonym Vernon Sullivan were bizarre parodies of criminal fiction, highly controversial at the time of their...
's 1948 novel, Et on tuera tous les affreux, is said to have been inspired by Schützenberger.
External links
- Publications of Marcel-Paul Schützenberger (A list of 266 works authored or co-authored by Schützenberger from 1943 to 2000.)
- In Memoriam: Marcel-Paul Schützenberger, 1920-1996