It takes so long to train a physicist to the place where he understands the nature of physical problems that he is already too old to solve them.
Eugene WignerRead
When the province of physical theory was extended to encompass microscopic phenomena through the creation of quantum mechanics, the concept of consciousness came to the fore again. It was not possible to formulate the laws of quantum mechanics in a fully consistent way without reference to the consciousness.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote highlights the intrinsic link between consciousness and the laws of quantum mechanics.
Eugene Wigner's quote reflects on the intersection of consciousness and physical theory, emphasizing that as quantum mechanics emerged to explain microscopic phenomena, the role of consciousness became pivotal. Wigner suggests that one cannot fully understand or formulate quantum mechanics without acknowledging the influence of consciousness, indicating a deeper philosophical inquiry into the nature of reality and observation in quantum physics.
Themes
ConsciousnessQuantum MechanicsTheoryPhysicsPhilosophy
In practice
Example use cases
In a lecture on quantum physics, this quote can illustrate the importance of consciousness in understanding quantum theories.
More from Eugene Wigner
All quotes →It was not possible to formulate the laws of quantum mechanics in a fully consistent way without reference to the consciousness.
Eugene WignerRead
The full meaning of life, the collective meaning of all human desires, is fundamentally a mystery beyond our grasp. As a young man, I chafed at this state of affairs. But by now I have made peace with it. I even feel a certain honor to be associated with such a mystery.
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The great mathematician fully, almost ruthlessly, exploits the domain of permissible reasoning and skirts the impermissible. That his recklessness does not lead him into a morass of contradictions is a miracle in itself: certainly it is hard to believe that our reasoning power was brought, by Darwin's process of natural selection, to the perfection which it seems to possess.
Eugene WignerRead
The miracle of the appropriateness of the language of mathematics for the formulation of the laws of physics is a wonderful gift which we neither understand nor deserve.
Eugene WignerRead
The simplicities of natural laws arise through the complexities of the language we use for their expression.
Eugene WignerRead
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