History of RSB Interview: Imre Kondor February 26, 2021, 10am-12pm (EST). Final revision: May 26, 2021 Interviewer: Patrick Charbonneau, Duke University,
[email protected] Location: Over Zoom, from Prof. Kondor’s home in Budapest, Hungary. How to cite: P. Charbonneau, History of RSB Interview: Imre Kondor, transcript of an oral history con- ducted 2021 by Patrick Charbonneau, History of RSB Project, CAPHÉS, École normale su- périeure, Paris, 2021, 28 p. https://doi.org/10.34847/nkl.8feanaw7 PC: Professor Kondor, thank you very much for taking time to chat with us. As we discussed ahead of the interview, the purpose of this discussion is to go over to the period during which replica symmetry breaking was formu- lated and developed. But to get to that, I have a few background questions I'd like to go over. In particular, in notes that you sent us ahead of this interview you mentioned that you hesitated between pursuing a career in piano and one in physics1. Can you first review what led you to be inter- ested in physics and then to choose physics over music? IK: I was interested in many things. Too many, possibly. At an early age— something like 12—I had this very remarkable teacher of chemistry in school, who created a fantastic enthusiasm not only in me but in basically the whole class. He must have been a very remarkable person. I'm not able to recall any specific trick he used. Some years later, I had a chat with an ex-classmate and asked him what the secret might have been.