3 The New York Years (1931–1953)

34 1 Childhood and Youth
ethics, about all practical philosophy and wisdom were very much the same.” They
were still corresponding and visiting each other at the age of 90. However, none of
these friends shared Ernst’s interest in natural history.
Among the PhD students he met at the Museum of Natural History Berlin was
Emil Kattinger. They saw each other daily. He was a great help in Ernst’s preparation
for the PhD examinations: “Every morning in the lab I asked him about all the
novel things he had learned the previous evening and night and with my own good
memory I stored it in case it should be asked in my final exam.” There were no
friendships with girls, although he did enroll in dancing classes as usual in society
at that time.
In a survey of his friendships during his youth, Mayr felt that none of them had
a particularly decisive impact on his development.