History of RSB Interview: David Sherrington November 23, 2020, 9:00-11:00am (EST). Final revision: January 13, 2021 Interviewers: Patrick Charbonneau, Duke University,
[email protected] Francesco Zamponi, ENS-Paris Location: Over Zoom, from Prof. Sherrington’s house in Oxford, UK. How to cite: P. Charbonneau, History of RSB Interview: David Sherrington, transcript of an oral history conducted 2020 by Patrick Charbonneau and Francesco Zamponi, History of RSB Project, CAPHÉS, École normale supérieure, Paris, 2021, 39 p. https://doi.org/10.34847/nkl.072dc5a6 PC: Thank you very much, David, for agreeing to sit with down us. As we discussed, the purpose of this interview is mostly to talk about the spin glass and replica symmetry breaking period from 1975 to 1995. But first, we’d like to go into what led to that period. You sent us some notes about your youth and background that help us situate your upbringing in the UK, but those notes don't mention anything about physics. Where does your interest in physics come from, and what led you to pursue a PhD in physics? DS: Well, I think maybe from childhood I was always inclined towards mathematics, so it was going to be some mathematical subject. In my secondary school, I actually had to specialize in what we called the sixth form1, so some science subjects, which for me were mathematics, physics, and chemistry. I had outstanding teachers, and I liked those things. I guess I was probably inclining towards mathematics or maybe chemistry, but then I decided that really, no, it was going to be physics.