Post #2549983

2025-12-04 15:43 UTC

&quot;I, at any rate, am convinced that He is not playing at dice.&quot; Einstein sent a letter to Max Born #OTD in 1926, in which he gave his oft-quoted objection to the probabilistic interpretation of the wavefunction in quantum mechanics. You may be surprised by where this is headed. (1/n) https://physicstoday.aip.org/letters/albert-einstein-to-max-born-1

Replies (8)

@mcnees@mastodon.social 2025-12-04 15:44

Born was disappointed that Einstein would oppose the probabilistic interpretation of quantum mechanics on philosophical grounds, instead of a more concrete objection. He felt like this attitude marked a generation gap in physics, with him on one side and Einstein on the other. (2/n)

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@knud@mastodon.social 2025-12-04 15:51

@mcnees@mastodon.social I still think he meant Helium.

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@mothninja@beige.party 2025-12-04 15:52

@mcnees@mastodon.social this is a *majestic* thread, thank you

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@mediaevalfishsandwich@zeroes.ca 2025-12-04 19:43

@mcnees@mastodon.social 😅 "Magic" perhaps also a sarcastic takedown of Einstein's objections to a truly random and uncertain universe. https://genius.com/Olivia-newton-john-magic-lyrics

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@michaelgemar@mstdn.ca 2025-12-04 21:41

@mcnees@mastodon.social What a fantastic story.

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@roller@twit.social 2025-12-04 22:54

@mcnees@mastodon.social nice post. He certainly had some famous (in the UK) relatives!

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@ASegar@mastodon.social 2025-12-05 00:09

@mcnees@mastodon.social Is Olivia Newton-John's middle name a homage to Isaac or the unit of force? Asking for a friend.

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@Lyle@cville.online 2025-12-05 12:40

@mcnees@mastodon.social “God does not play” would make a great album title

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