Understanding Einstein’s Viewpoint on Quantum Mechanics

• Main Author: Fátima Masot-Conde
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Estonian Association of the History and Philosophy of Science 2015-10-01
• Series: Acta Baltica Historiae et Philosophiae Scientiarum
• Subjects: Bohr; Einstein; mathematics; quantum mechanics
• Online Access: http://www.bahps.org/03_Masot-Conde-2015-2-03.pdf

The controversy between Einstein and Bohr about quantum mechanics is a classic. On the one hand, Einstein rejected it because of its unpredictable essence, while Bohr had no trouble accepting the limits imposed by Nature on human knowledge, being happy with just a statistical description. Time has passed, and quantum mechanics works beyond any reasonable doubt. That possibly means that Bohr’s world vision was right and we should abandon Einstein’s idea of Nature working as a deterministic clock’s machinery. However, despite the success of the quantum theory, some of its implications still seem absurd, while the world shows a more and more mathematical essence, just as Einstein thought. In this paper, Einstein’s point is defended in the light of the resemblance between Mathematics and the natural world.