Wolfgang Pauli
Eugene P Wigner:
Pauli was a brilliant lecturer if he prepared his address. Once,when I invited him to address our colloquium in Princeton, he did not. The audience became restless and, feeling somewhat responsible for the event, I wanted to help out. He did not define the mathematical symbols he used and I thought that if he explained them,it would help us trying to present.
'Pauli,' I said,"could you tell us again what your small a stands for?"(The 'again' was sheer politeness; he had not in fact defined it.)
Pauli was flabbergasted by my question and stood there speechless for a few seconds. However, he recovered.
'Wigner,' he said, "you just have to know everything." The audience did not laugh.
