Page 109 - Življenjska pot matematika Iva Laha
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and a new Einsteinian relative age, which is supposed to begin on 1 January 2000 with
the return of two Zagreb-based relativity scientists from the α Centauri star, where the
inhabitants are more intelligent than the Earthlings. They speak Russian and have their
own mathematics and geometry.
The pamphlet is a parody of the ideology of »Einstein's theory of relativity«, which ex-
poses the illusions and irrationality that lead to the collapse of an imagined socio-po-
litical system.
It is recognisable that Lah's fictional capture was mostly written in the more tranquil
period of Yugoslavia's pre-revolutionary period.
After the liberation in 1945, Lah's life was instantly thrown into turmoil, as he was de-
clared an enemy of the Slovene nation, lost his job and was removed from the electoral
register. He had to live in a new political order in which he did not believe. He was almost
forcibly retired when he was still in the thick of winning the war reparations the country
needed.
Ivo Lah died on 23 March 1979 in Ljubljana, forgotten by the authorities and the world,
without a respectful memory.
A mathematician, critical thinker, and visionary, he lived in the wrong time, deprived
of the accolades and glory of his mathematical genius. The socialist people's power
further deprived him of freedom of travel, a miserable salary and pension.
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