Max Born
Made fundamental contributions to quantum mechanics, particularly the Born rule for calculating probabilities.
Most quoted
"It is natural that a man should consider the work of his hands or his brain to be useful and important. Therefore nobody will object to an ardent experimentalist boasting of his measurements and rather looking down on the 'paper and ink' physics of his theoretical friend, who on his part is proud of his lofty ideas and despises the dirty fingers of the other."
— from Experiment and Theory in Physics, 1943
"The human race has today the means for annihilating itself—either in a fit of complete lunacy, i.e., in a big war, by a brief fit of destruction, or by a careless handling of atomic technology, through a slow process of poisoning and of deterioration in its genetic structure."
— from Letter, 1957
"The human race has today the means for annihilating itself—either in a fit of complete lunacy, i.e., in a big war, by a brief fit of destruction, or by careless handling of atomic technology, through a slow process of poisoning and of deterioration in its genetic structure."
— from Atomic Physics and Human Knowledge, 1957
All quotes by Max Born (371)
The world as we have created it is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking.
If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough.
Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.
The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant.
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.
The value of a man should be seen in what he gives and not in what he is able to receive.
Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value.
Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding.
The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it.
In matters of truth and justice, there is no difference between large and small problems, for issues concerning the treatment of people are always big.
The pursuit of truth and beauty is a sphere of activity in which we are permitted to remain children all our lives.
The belief in the causality of natural processes is a matter of faith, not of scientific proof.
Physics is not a religion. Science is not a religion. It is a method of inquiry, not a belief system.
The idea of an objective reality of the electron is not tenable.
The quantum mechanics of collision processes is based on the idea that the probability of a certain outcome is given by the square of the absolute value of a complex amplitude.
The wave function does not describe the particle itself, but rather the probability of finding the particle at a certain place and time.
We are faced with the problem of reconciling the wave and particle aspects of matter.
The statistical interpretation of quantum mechanics is the only consistent one.
The exact prediction of individual events is impossible in quantum mechanics.
Contemporaries of Max Born
Other Physicss born within 50 years of Max Born (1882–1970).