#1

1. X started his career with two controversial works. The first was a thinly-veiled parody of the Soviet Union, and the second was a rather racist and patronizing account of African people, worsened by situations such as the protagonist Y killing a chimpanzee, ripping out its innards, and wearing only the skin to fool his adversaries. X's employers were also alleged to possess Nazi sympathies during the World War II. However, X's views later on matured and he went on to become one of the greatest in his profession. Y became a children's favourite and epitome of understanding worldwide. So it's no wonder that these two editions are rarely mentioned because of their nature. In April 2010 a Congolese student in Sweden sought a ban on the second work alleging that it was offensive to Africans. Identify X, Y and the two publications. Incidentally, the total commercialization of Y's 'brand' means that it is illegal to found any sort of organization, club, or activity in the name of Y without permission of Y's copyright owner.



2. This great scientist X almost did not receive his doctorate in Physics as he wasn't able to answer fundamental questions such as the working of a battery in his PhD. interview. Indeed, his interviewer, the great experimentalist Wilhelm Wien, seriously contemplated doing so because of X's total lack of experimental knowledge. He was eventually awarded a grade III doctorate whereas his more illustrious predecessors had received top honours from the same university. He was also known for his complaint, "I don't even know what a matrix is'' , when he came across one in his calculations. That does not take anything away from his intelligence and today he is known for one of the most basic theories in the "New Physics", and interpreted entirely using Matrix theory. The theory is something we all encounter in the first few weeks dreary IITJEE prep courses. And it's the subject of several geeky jokes too. X was?

Questions are pretty easy, I think. More soon. And contributions to make questions better are most welcome.