The exact words
The letter
In the mid-1920s a group of younger physicists, among them Werner Heisenberg and Erwin Schrödinger, created quantum mechanics, a theory that described atoms with stunning accuracy. Einstein’s friend Max Born added a crucial interpretation: the theory’s equations do not tell you where a particle will be, only the probability of finding it there. At the deepest level, it seemed, nature was ruled by chance.
Einstein, who had helped start the quantum revolution with his work on light in 1905, could not accept this. On December 4, 1926, he wrote to Born: “Quantum mechanics is certainly imposing. But an inner voice tells me that it is not yet the real thing. The theory says a lot, but does not really bring us any closer to the secret of the ‘old one.’ I, at any rate, am convinced that He does not throw dice.” He returned to the image in other letters over the years, and it was soon being quoted as “God does not play dice with the universe.”
What he meant
“The old one” was Einstein’s affectionate name for the deep order of nature. He did not believe in a personal God who answers prayers; his “God” was closer to the rational structure of the universe itself. His objection was scientific: he believed quantum mechanics was incomplete, and that a fuller theory would show that events have definite causes, with probability reflecting only our ignorance.
He spent much of the rest of his life arguing the point, especially with Niels Bohr, starting at the 1927 Solvay Conference in Brussels. Later work, beginning with John Bell’s theorem in 1964 and confirmed by experiments that won the 2022 Nobel Prize in Physics, showed that the simplest versions of the hidden order Einstein hoped for cannot be true. On this point, most physicists today think Einstein was wrong, though his objections sharpened the theory.
How to use it
The line is a good opener for writing about science, certainty and chance. Quote the actual letter when accuracy matters, and avoid presenting it as a statement of religious faith.
What people get wrong
A statement of religious belief, and the exact words “God does not play dice with the universe.”
Einstein wrote “He does not throw dice” about the “old one,” his playful name for the order of nature. He did not believe in a personal God. The popular wording is a paraphrase.
Timeline
- 1925–1926Werner Heisenberg, Erwin Schrödinger and others create quantum mechanics. Max Born proposes that its equations give only probabilities.
- December 4, 1926Einstein writes to his friend Born that the theory is “not yet the real thing” and that “He does not throw dice.”
- 1927At the Solvay Conference in Brussels, Einstein and Niels Bohr begin their famous long-running debate about quantum theory.
- 1964 onwardJohn Bell's theorem and later experiments rule out the kind of hidden, non-random reality Einstein hoped for, at least in its simplest forms.
Use it in a speech
Questions people ask
Did Einstein say “God does not play dice with the universe”?
Not in those exact words. In a 1926 letter to Max Born he wrote that he was “convinced that He does not throw dice,” referring to “the old one.” He repeated the idea in other letters.
What did Einstein mean?
That nature is not fundamentally random. He believed quantum mechanics was incomplete and that a deeper theory would restore cause and effect.
Was Einstein religious?
Not in a conventional sense. He rejected a personal God and used “God” or “the old one” as a figure of speech for the order of the universe.
Did Bohr reply “Stop telling God what to do”?
That reply is often attributed to Niels Bohr, but it comes from later recollections and is not found in a contemporary document.
Cite this quote
These cite the original source directly, so you can use them in an essay or paper. Always check your teacher's required style.
Sources
- The Born–Einstein Letters, translated by Irene Born (Macmillan, 1971).
- Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, “The Einstein–Podolsky–Rosen Argument in Quantum Theory.”