“Our mind, by virtue of a certain finite, limited capability, is by no means capable of putting a question to Nature that permits a continuous series of answers. The observations, the individual results of measurements, are the answers of Nature to our discontinuous questioning.”

— Erwin Schrödinger

As quoted in Schrödinger: Life and Thought (1989) by Walter Moore

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

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Erwin Schrödinger 67

Austrian physicist 1887–1961

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“Nature answers only when she is questioned.”

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Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) logician, one of the first analytic philosophers and political activist

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“We have to remember that what we observe is not nature herself, but nature exposed to our method of questioning.”

Werner Heisenberg (1901–1976) German theoretical physicist

This has also appeared in the alternate form: "What we observe is not nature itself, but nature exposed to our method of questioning."
Physics and Philosophy (1958)
Variant: What we observe is not nature itself, but nature exposed to our method of questioning.
Source: Physics and Philosophy: The Revolution in Modern Science

“In our creation, God asked a question and in our truly living; God answers the question.”

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“Our mind, by virtue of a certain finite, limited capability, is by no means capable of putting a question to Nature that permits a continuous series of answers. The observations, the individual results of measurements, are the answers of Nature to our discontinuous questioning.”

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Erwin Schrödinger 67

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