«Die Quantenmechanik ist sehr achtung-gebietend. Aber eine innere Stimme sagt mir, daß das doch nicht der wahre Jakob ist. Die Theorie liefert viel, aber dem Geheimnis des Alten bringt sie uns kaum näher. Jedenfalls bin ich überzeugt, daß der nicht würfelt.»
«Quantum mechanics is certainly imposing.
But an inner voice tells me that it is not yet the real thing.
The theory says a lot, but does not really bring us any closer to the secret of the 'old one'.
I, at any rate, am convinced that He is not playing at dice."
»
«La mécanique quantique est certainement impressionnante.
Mais une voix intérieure me dit que ce n'est pas encore le mot de la fin.
La théorie a beaucoup à offrir, mais elle ne nous rapproche guère des secrets de l'Ancien.
En tout cas, je suis convaincu qu'Il ne joue pas aux dés


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4 December, 1926 Dear Bom
You will have to be a little patient. My son-in-law is certain to read the play, and will write to you.
But the poor man has to economise with his strength, as his heart is in poor condition.
I have reminded him again to give an opinion on the play as soon as possible.
I liked the beginning of the play very much, and I think its impact will not be lost on him.
Quantum mechanics is certainly imposing. But an inner voice tells me that it is not yet the real thing.
The theory says a lot, but does not really bring us any closer to the secret of the 'old one'.
I, at any rate, am convinced that He is not playing at dice.
Waves in 3-dimensional space, whose velocity is regulated by potential energy (for example, rubber bands) .
I am working very hard at deducing the equations of motion of material points regarded as singularities,
given the differential equation of general relativity.
With best wishes
Yours A. Einstein
 
 
12 October, 1953, Dear Bom
Don't lose any sleep over your friend's book.
Everybody does what he considers right or, in deterministic terms, what he has to do.
If he manages to convince others, that is their own affair.
I myself have certainly found satisfaction in my efforts,
but I would not consider it sensible to defend the results of my work as being my own 'property',
as some old miser might defend the few coppers he had laboriously scraped together.
I do not hold anything against him, nor of course against you.
After all, I do not need to read the thing.
If anyone can be held responsible for the fact that you are migrating back to the land of the mass-murderers of our kinsmen,
it is certainly your adopted fatherland - universally notorious for its parsimony.
But then we know only too well that the collective conscience is a miserable little plant
which is always most likely to wither just when it is needed most.
For the presentation volume to be dedicated to you, I have written a little nursery song about physics,
which has startled Bohm and de Broglie a little.
It is meant to demonstrate the indispensability of your statistical interpretation of quantum mechanics,
which Schroedinger, too, has recently tried to avoid. Perhaps it will give you some amusement.
After all, it seems to be our lot to be answerable for the soap bubbles we blow.
This may well have been so contrived by that same 'non-dice- playing God'
who has caused so much bitter resentment against me,
not only amongst the quantum theoreticians but also among the faithful of the Church of the Atheists.
Best regards, also to your wife
Yours A. Einstein