Erwin Schrodinger — "Even if I should be right in this, I do not know whether my way of approach is r…"
Even if I should be right in this, I do not know whether my way of approach is really the best and simplest. But, in short, it was mine.
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About Erwin Schrodinger (1887-1961)
Austrian physicist who shared the 1933 Nobel for the wave equation that bears his name and the famous cat thought-experiment. Closely associated with Werner Heisenberg (matrix-mechanics rival who reached the same physics by different math) and Albert Einstein (his pen-pal on quantum interpretation). For an intellectual contrast, see Niels Bohr, Danish physicist and architect of the Copenhagen interpretation — Schrödinger's cat thought-experiment was specifically designed to ridicule Bohr's 'observer-dependent reality' reading of quantum mechanics — Schrödinger thought the Copenhagen interpretation was absurd; the cat was meant as reductio ad absurdum.
Details
A self-aware and slightly defiant statement on his scientific methodology.
Date: Mid 20th century
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Understanding this quote
What it means
The speaker admits their approach may not be the most efficient or correct, yet claims it as authentically their own. Intellectual humility meets personal ownership: you don't need the perfect method, only an honest one. Originality matters more than optimization. A personal path carries inherent worth not because it beats alternatives, but because it reflects genuine independent thought rather than borrowed convention.
Relevance to Erwin Schrodinger
Schrödinger developed wave mechanics in 1926 as an alternative to Heisenberg's matrix mechanics — both valid quantum frameworks, fiercely debated at the time. He worked largely independently, grounded in classical wave intuition. He admitted uncertainty about his wave function ψ's physical meaning; Born's probability interpretation later corrected him. His philosophical writings, especially "What Is Life?", also charted unconventional territory. He embodied confident uncertainty: committed to his approach while honestly acknowledging its limitations.
The era
The 1920s–30s quantum revolution produced multiple competing formalisms to describe atomic behavior — Heisenberg's matrices, Schrödinger's waves, Dirac's synthesis. No established correct approach existed; physicists were inventing frameworks in real time while Einstein-Bohr debates raged over interpretation. Scientists faced radical uncertainty about which methods would prove fundamental. Claiming ownership of your approach rather than waiting for consensus was practically a survival strategy in frontier physics.
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