Portrait of Erwin Schrodinger

Erwin Schrodinger

Wave mechanics

Modern influential 158 sayings

Sayings by Erwin Schrodinger

The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance, but the illusion of knowledge.

Unknown — Attributed, but its origin is often debated and sometimes attributed to Daniel Boorstin.
General Unverifiable

The only way to do great work is to love what you do.

Unknown — Attributed, a common inspirational quote, not definitively linked to Schrodinger.
General Unverifiable

If you cannot explain it simply, you do not understand it well enough.

Unknown — Attributed to various people, including Einstein, but not definitively Schrodinger.
General Unverifiable

The future is uncertain, but that is precisely what makes it interesting.

Unknown — Attributed, but specific source is elusive.
General Unverifiable

We are all stardust.

Unknown — Attributed, a popular scientific and poetic phrase, not uniquely Schrodinger's.
General Unverifiable

The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious.

Unknown — More famously attributed to Albert Einstein.
General Unverifiable

The only constant in life is change.

Unknown — Attributed to Heraclitus, not Schrodinger.
General Unverifiable

Imagination is more important than knowledge.

Unknown — More famously attributed to Albert Einstein.
General Unverifiable

Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind.

Unknown — More famously attributed to Albert Einstein.
Religious Unverifiable

The only real valuable thing is intuition.

Unknown — More famously attributed to Albert Einstein.
General Unverifiable

The important thing is not to stop questioning.

Unknown — More famously attributed to Albert Einstein.
General Unverifiable

Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.

Unknown — More famously attributed to Albert Einstein.
General Unverifiable

I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination.

Unknown — More famously attributed to Albert Einstein.
General Unverifiable

The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination.

Unknown — More famously attributed to Albert Einstein.
General Unverifiable

I don't like it, and I'm sorry I ever had anything to do with it.

1952 — Referring to the concept of quantum jumps and the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics.
Self-Deprecating Unverifiable

I am no friend of probability theory, I have hated it from the first moment when our dear friend Max Born gave it birth. For it could be seen how easy and simple it made everything, in principle, everything ironed and the true problems concealed. Everybody must jump on the bandwagon...

Undated, likely mid-20th century — Expressing his strong dislike for the probabilistic nature of quantum mechanics.
Self-Deprecating Unverifiable

If a man never contradicts himself, the reason must be that he virtually never says anything at all.

Mid 20th century — A witty philosophical observation on consistency and expression.
General Confirmed

We do not belong to this material world that science constructs for us. We are not in it; we are outside. We are only spectators. The reason why we believe that we are in it, that we belong to the picture, is that our bodies are in the picture.

Mid 20th century — Philosophical reflection on consciousness and the objective world.
General Unverifiable

If we were bees, ants, or Lacedaemonian warriors, to whom personal fear does not exist and cowardice is the most shameful thing in the world, warring would go on forever. But luckily we are only men — and cowards.

Mid 20th century — A witty and cynical observation on human nature and conflict.
General Unverifiable

Needless to say, taken literally, this is just as absurd. For an adult organism the energy content is as stationary as the material content. Since, surely, any calorie is worth as much as any other calorie, one cannot see how a mere exchange could help.

Mid 20th century — Critiquing a scientific concept, likely in a biological context.
General Unverifiable
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