A Golden Age of General Relativity? Some remarks on the history of general relativity

TL;DR

This paper critically examines the historical narratives of a 'golden age' or 'renaissance' in general relativity, arguing that these labels are often overstated or lack strong empirical support.

Contribution

It challenges common historical characterizations of a 'golden age' in general relativity, providing a nuanced analysis of the period's actual scientific growth.

Findings

The 'renaissance' label is based on weak empirical evidence.

The 'golden age' description overstates the significance of recent developments.

Historical narratives often exaggerate the importance of specific periods.

Abstract

In papers on the history of general relativity and in personal remembrances of relativists, keywords like "renaissance" and "golden age" of general relativity have been used. We try to show that the first label rests on a weak empirical basis. The second one, while describing a period of vivid growth in research in general relativity, exaggerates the importance of this particular development.