Interview With Walter Isaacson, Author of Einstein: His Life And Universe - Page 3

Walter: That he was an aloof loner, an image he liked to foster. The latest personal papers, along with the trove of letters in the archives, show that Einstein was passionate, made close friendships and had deeply emotional relationships, throughout his life — from his days as a student to his genial later years in Princeton. He could defy the prevailing currents, but he loved spending time with other people, be
they scientific colleagues or personal friends or acquaintances or kids.

Scott: How do you reconcile Einstein’s religious stands with his scientific discoveries? (The famous "God does not play dice with the universe" quote being the obvious example.)

Walter: Einstein saw no conflict between science and religion and wrote many essays and gave many speeches saying so. My chapter called “Einstein's God" was to me one of the most interesting sections to write. His concept of God was a reflection of the harmonies and certainties of nature's laws. That's what made him a "realist": someone convinced that an ultimate reality exists independent of our observations or abilities to observe it. And that was at the root of his discomfort with quantum mechanics.  

He often said that when judging a theory he would ask himself if that's the way God would have made the universe. And when he didn't believe an experimental result, he once said: "Subtle is the Lord, but malicious he is not." (Near the end of his life, he was standing at Princeton next to a fireplace mantle where that quote of his had been carved, and he was discussing how quantum mechanics was proving more solid than he thought, and he pointed to the quote and quipped, "Well, maybe He is a bit malicious.")

When he spoke about God not playing dice, Einstein was express faith that there were harmonious laws of nature that explained everything, and God did not let things happen merely by chance. That's not how He would have made the universe.

Thanks. Walter.

Article Author: Scott Butki

Scott Butki was a newspaper reporter for more than 10 years before making a career change into education.

He is an in-house media critic, a recovering Tetris addict and a proud uncle.

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