Max Planck Papers Retracted by Springer Nature Due to Algorithmic Error

Algorithmic Retractions of Historical Physics Papers

Two papers authored by Max Planck, a pioneer of quantum mechanics and 1918 Nobel laureate, were retracted from the journal Naturwissenschaften (now The Science of Nature) by publisher Springer Nature. The retractions, which occurred in 2011, were triggered by the application of modern copyright and plagiarism detection software to historical texts, resulting in the removal of essential scientific records without human oversight.

Causes of the Retractions

The retractions were based on "copyright violations," though the specific circumstances for each paper differ:

Self-Plagiarism and Historical Context

One retracted paper, a 1942 philosophical essay titled "Sinn und Grenzen der exakten Wissenschaft" ("Meaning and Limits of Exact Science"), was flagged for appearing in multiple journals and books. While modern academic standards view the republication of identical material as "self-plagiarism," historians Yves Gingras and Mahdi Khelfaoui note that this practice was widespread before the internet before the internet to ensure different audiences had access to the work.

Duplicate Titles and Algorithmic Error

A second paper from 1940 was retracted despite never having appeared elsewhere. Investigation suggests the retraction was caused by a title conflict. In November 1940, philosopher Aloys Müller published a piece titled "Naturwissenschaft und reale Außenwelt" ("Natural Science and the Real External World"); Planck responded a month later using the exact same title. It is suspected that Springer Nature's copyright bot flagged the identical titles as plagiarism, despite the contents of the essays being entirely different.

Impact on the Historical Record

The removal of these papers is viewed as a distortion of the historical record for several reasons:

• Erasure of Scientific Debate: The retracted 1940 paper contains Planck's opposition to the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics. By removing this text, a key perspective in a foundational controversy in physics is effectively "memory holed."

• Lack of Transparency: Rather than marking the papers as "RETRACTED" while keeping the text available, Springer Nature replaced the articles with a blank white page and a cryptic notice stating, "This article has been withdrawn due to article violation."

• Financial Contradiction: Despite the content being removed, Springer Nature continues to sell the empty PDF for $39.95.

Institutional Response

Suzanne Scarlata, editor-in-chief of The Science of Nature, described the retractions as "crazy" and suggested they were the result of an algorithm acting without human supervision. It is reported that Springer Nature representatives declined to comment on the specifics, citing confidentiality, and reportedly blocked an editorial Scarlata intended to 이 상황을 바로잡기 위해 Scarlata가 작성하려던 사설을 차단했다고 전해진다.