“Not only does God play dice, but… he sometimes throws them where they cannot be seen.”
- January 8, 1942 – March 14, 2018
- British
- Theoretical physicist, science writer
- Announced the black hole singularity theorem and Hawking radiation, and contributed to the popularization of science with his book “Talking about the Universe”
Quote
“Not only does God play dice, but… he sometimes throws them where they cannot be seen.”
Explanation
This quote is a famous line by Albert Einstein, often cited in his correspondence with the physicist Niels Bohr during their debates on the philosophical implications of quantum mechanics. Einstein was expressing his discomfort with the randomness and indeterminacy inherent in quantum theory, famously encapsulating his skepticism about the theory’s completeness and its probabilistic nature. The phrase “God does not play dice” is often attributed to Einstein as a rejection of the idea that fundamental processes in the universe are driven by randomness rather than deterministic laws.
In this extended version, Einstein suggests that not only is randomness at the core of quantum phenomena, but it may also operate in ways that are unpredictable or even hidden from us. He implies that there are elements of reality that are invisible to us, challenging the notion that everything is knowable or subject to the laws of physics. For Einstein, this was a crucial point of contention with the emerging quantum mechanics, which he felt did not provide a complete picture of the universe. The unpredictability suggested by quantum mechanics seemed to violate the deeply-held belief in a deterministic universe—a universe where if we knew the initial conditions and laws, we could predict everything.
In contrast, quantum mechanics, as developed by Bohr and others, introduced the idea that at the microscopic level, uncertainty is a fundamental feature of reality. Particles do not have definite properties until measured, and their behavior is described in terms of probabilities, not certainties. The famous Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle encapsulated this idea, suggesting that certain pairs of physical properties, such as position and momentum, cannot both be known to arbitrary precision at the same time. Einstein’s objection to quantum mechanics stemmed from this fundamental indeterminacy—he felt that the theory could not be complete because it left fundamental aspects of nature, like causality and determinism, unexplained.
Today, Einstein’s criticism is often viewed in the context of the interpretation of quantum mechanics. While quantum mechanics remains one of the most successful and experimentally verified theories in physics, the philosophical implications of its indeterminacy continue to spark debates. Some physicists have explored hidden variable theories to restore determinism, while others, like the many-worlds interpretation, attempt to provide a deterministic framework without violating the inherent uncertainty in quantum mechanics. This quote captures Einstein’s lasting legacy: his refusal to accept randomness as the final answer to the questions about the universe’s workings, despite the overwhelming success of quantum mechanics.
