Kurt Godel

The Institute is home to an intriguing collection of marginalia. Such notes—appearing in books and offprints, on photographs and squeezes, and on notecards—transform what might seem like static artifacts into dynamic records of scholarly engagement. They document the history of how scholars have interpreted, connected, and published ideas throughout time and space, creating a multilayered conversation that can even stretch across millennia. 

The Institute for Advanced Study came into being at the most inauspicious of times. Founded in the early years of the Great Depression, it took shape during the buildup to the Second World War and under the growing shadow of authoritarian regimes. Its first Director Abraham Flexner published his manifesto on the “The Usefulness of Useless Knowledge” in October 1939, barely a month after the outbreak of hostilities in Europe. Surely this was a daunting moment to defend “the fearless and irresponsible thinker” and advocate for the free expression of knowledge and curiosity.