Albert Einstein
Quantum Mechanics and a Talk with Einstein
in
Physics
and Beyond
Werner
Heisenberg
Harper
1971
Much has been written about the truly remarkable and unique
contribution of Einstein in the realms of science and humanities. It is
ardently hoped that what is presented here Is
not merely a recapitulation, nor a senseless addition to the already highly
developed and abundantly available knowledge. Nevertheless, certain of
Einstein's thoughts were felt to be usefully expanded upon and an attempt has
been made to highlight his unique and unusual capacity for insisting on
naturalness of theory and its immediacy to daily experience. Therefore, to
illustrate the elements of wholeness and comprehensivity
in Einstein's mind, we draw upon a conversation which occurred between
Heisenberg and Einstein. Hopefully at an even deeper level, the power and
utility, even the essentiality, of the experience and understanding of
wholeness as expressed in the thought of Einstein, will be illustrated. We
begin with a quote taken from a discussion in which Heisenberg and Einstein
are discussing the validity of Heisenberg's theory. At this point in time,
Einstein had been established as the eminent authority on the field of physics,
while Heisenberg is merely a young but brilliant physicist who has just
recently suggested his famous concept of the uncertainty principle.
“But you don't seriously believe,” Einstein protested, “that none but the observable magnitudes must
go into the physical theory?”
“Isn't
that precisely what you've done in relativity?” I asked in some surprise.
“After all, you did stress that it is impermissible to
speak of absolute time, simply because absolute time cannot be
observed; that only clock readings, be it on a 'moving reference system or
the system at rest, are relevant to the determination of time.”
“Possibly I did use this kind of reasoning,” Einstein
admitted, “but it is nonsense all the same. Perhaps I could put
it more diplomatically by saying that it may be heuristically useful to keep in
mind what one has observed. But in principle it is quite wrong to try founding
a theory on observable magnitudes alone. In reality, the very opposite happens.
It is the theory which decides what we can observe.(my underline)”
Commentary: I'll repeat this remarkable sentence which
has not been often ascribed to Einstein, "It is the theory which
decides what we can observe." Obviously,
the theory evolves from the awareness of the scientist; therefore what we observe
is determined by our awareness, not the other way around. In this exchange,
Einstein has indicated that the concern with observation in experiment is not
the only basis of the formulation of the theory. But rather the theory
must be firmly anchored in the wholenesss of the scientist’s personal
experience. Einstein's tie and unwavering link to experience keeps him
grounded to reality, and enhances the value of theoretical
work. If the theory is merely a representation of the observed
data then the restriction of the validity of the theory to the accumulated data
is completely necessary. Thus the theory
becomes limited in utility and magnitude and temporal duration. The subtlety of
the point which Einstein is making here is
perhaps missed by many.
Its brilliance and penetrating quality gives us even
further motivation to observe that this speecific statement has occurred in
various forms in other great thinkers. Let us put these expressions
in parallel.
We have from three separate areas the following statements.
Einstein: It is the theory which decides what
we can observe.
Huxley: Knowledge is a function of Being.
Vedic : Knowledge
is structured in consciousness.
All these statements imply that the inner quality of experience
essentially determines the knowledge which we experience. In the first case
Einstein said the theory decides what will be observed, which is equivalent
to, the structure of outer experience is determined by the theoretical
formulation produced from within the mind.. as
consciousness varies or changes, the knowledge of the outer world
varies, in terms of structure and content. Theories are evolved in harmony
with
the state of one's consciousness which is the state of mind with
which one experiences. Thus, Einstein's theory of relativity for example
occurs, that is, arises, in a mind which is exceptionally expanded and highly
evolved, both of which imply development of a high degree of consciousness. Further,
that Einstein's theories indicated that all of perception is relative.
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