Asked In 1919 Whether It Was True

Proof Is An Idol Before Which The Mathematician Tortures Himself.

I Don't Believe Any Experiment Until It Is Confirmed By Theory. I Find This Is A Witty Inversion Of "conventional" Wisdom.

Our Model Of Nature Should Not Be Like A Building-a Handsome Structure For The Populace To Admire, Until In The Course Of Time Some One Takes Away A Corner Stone And The Edifice Comes Toppling Down. It Should Be Like An Engine With Movable Parts. We Need Not Fix The Position Of Any One Lever; That Is To Be Adjusted From Time To Time As The Latest Observations Indicate. The Aim Of The Theorist Is To Know The Train Of Wheels Which The Lever Sets In Motion-that Binding Of The Parts Which Is The Soul Of The Engine.

Who Will Observe The Observers?

If Someone Points Out To You That Your Pet Theory Of The Universe Is In Disagreement With Maxwell's Equations - Then So Much The Worse For Maxwell's Equations. If It Is Found To Be Contradicted By Observation - Well, These Experimentalists Do Bungle Things Sometimes. But If Your Theory Is Found To Be Against The Second Law Of Thermodynamics I Can Give You No Hope; There Is Nothing For It But To Collapse In Deepest Humiliation.