Amelie Auffret

Igor and Grichka Bogdanoff were identical twin brothers, born in 1949, who became well-known French television presenters. They hosted popular programs focused on science fiction, popular science, and cosmology, introducing French audiences to series like Star Trek and Doctor Who. Their careers took a controversial turn when it was revealed that their doctoral degrees in physics and mathematics were awarded based on academic papers that were widely criticized as nonsensical and lacking scientific rigor, despite having been published in peer-reviewed journals. This controversy, known as the Bogdanov affair, led to widespread debate about academic standards and the nature of scientific peer review. The twins also made unsubstantiated claims about their ancestry and early lives, which were debunked by researchers. In their later years, they became subjects of internet memes, particularly within the cryptocurrency community, and both passed away in late 2021 and early 2022.

Born in 1949, Igor and Grichka Bogdanoff were identical twins. Their parents were Maria "Maya" Dolores Franzyska Kolowrat-Krakowská and Yuri "Youri" Mikhaïlovitch Bogdanoff. The twins' parents divorced early, and they were largely raised by their maternal grandmother. Their maternal lineage involved a scandal concerning their grandmother, Bertha Kolowrat-Krakowská, and an extramarital affair. The Bogdanoff twins made numerous exaggerated and unverified assertions about their background, including claims of exceptionally high childhood IQs and noble Russian and Tatar ancestry for their father. Genealogists found little evidence to support these grand claims. Similarly, their accounts of their parents' meeting and their father's background were found to be inaccurate by journalist Maud Guillaumin, who discovered their father had a more modest history as a farm laborer after emigrating from the Soviet Union.

The Bogdanoff brothers launched their media careers with the television show "Temps X" (Time X), which aired from 1979 to 1989. This program was instrumental in introducing a variety of science fiction series, such as "The Prisoner," "Star Trek," and "Doctor Who," to the French audience, and also featured musical guests. Later, in 2002, they began a new show called "Rayons X" (X Rays) on France 2, which also included a special program on cosmology. Academically, Grichka Bogdanoff earned a Ph.D. in mathematics in 1999, and Igor Bogdanoff obtained a Ph.D. in theoretical physics in 2002, both from the University of Burgundy. Both received the minimum passing grade for their doctorates.

The Bogdanoff brothers became embroiled in a significant academic controversy known as the Bogdanov affair. In 2001 and 2002, they published several papers in physics journals. This led to accusations, notably from physicist Max Niedermaier, that their doctoral theses and published works were composed of jargon and nonsensical physics, akin to a hoax. The situation gained widespread attention through online discussions and media coverage, drawing parallels to the Sokal affair. While some academics defended their work, others, like Ignatios Antoniadis, who had approved Grichka's thesis, later retracted their positive assessment, citing incompetence and ignorance of basic physics. Journals that published their papers acknowledged flaws in their peer-review process, admitting the papers should not have been published.

“The abstracts are delightfully meaningless combinations of buzzwords ... which apparently have been taken seriously.”

“Physics bitten by reverse Alan Sokal hoax?”

“I had given a favorable opinion for Grichka's defense, based on a rapid and indulgent reading of the thesis text. Alas, I was completely mistaken. The scientific language was just an appearance behind which hid incompetence and ignorance of even basic physics.”

“Regrettably, despite the best efforts, the refereeing process cannot be 100% effective. Thus the paper ... made it through the review process even though, in retrospect, it does not meet the standards expected of articles in this journal... The paper was discussed extensively at the annual Editorial Board meeting ... and there was general agreement that it should not have been published. Since then several steps have been taken to further improve the peer review process in order to improve the quality assessment on articles submitted to the journal and reduce the likelihood that this could happen again.”

“It would take up too much space to enumerate all the mistakes: indeed it is difficult to say where one error ends and the next begins.”