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I know what you thinking. You are thinking: "the correct sentence is "God does not play dice"", as in his letter to Born. However, in the What is Random? video of Vsauce channel, Michael says:

Einstein couldn't believe this. He refused to accept, as he said, that "God played dice with the universe".

Michael's saying doesn't deviate to Einstein's idea, but does Einstein really say that? I cannot find such saying in his Wikiquote page.

vy32
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Ooker
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    Surely Einstein would have said that in German. Whether it's translated "I refuse to accept that God plays dice" or "God doesn't play dice" seems to be a matter of how you translate what he said, not a different meaning. – Sklivvz Sep 12 '15 at 20:07
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    I think it's just a slightly inaccurate use of quotes by Michael. He's used quotes to mark what is actually a paraphrase, rather than a literal quotation. – Nate Eldredge Sep 12 '15 at 20:08
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    It's not a quote, it's a translation of a quote. Btw @Ooker, the "letter to Born" link does not actually go to that quote. It goes to "Ihr müsst ein klein bisschen Geduld haben." which means "You must have a little bit of patience." – Sklivvz Sep 12 '15 at 20:10
  • @Sklivvz well, it is the reference for the saying of Einstein that Wikipedia cites above – Ooker Sep 12 '15 at 20:26
  • @Ooker I know, did you try to follow that reference? :-) – Sklivvz Sep 12 '15 at 20:27
  • I've tried, but it's all German :( – Ooker Sep 12 '15 at 20:28
  • The German version of the original quote is on the Wikiquote page: _"Die Quantenmechanik ist sehr achtung-gebietend. Aber eine innere Stimme sagt mir, daß das doch nicht der wahre Jakob ist. Die Theorie liefert viel, aber dem Geheimnis des Alten bringt sie uns kaum näher. Jedenfalls bin ich überzeugt, daß der nicht würfelt."_ – Abel Sep 12 '15 at 21:28
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    It's about quantum mechanics, and he ends with (as literally translated as I could) _"The theory gives us a lot, but it hardly brings us closer to unraveling the mystery of the ancient. In any case, I'm convinced, that it (the theory? the mystery?) doesn't throw dice"_. I believe that the translations were a bit liberal with this. Later and in interviews, Einstein did say "God does not play dice" and many variants thereof. – Abel Sep 12 '15 at 21:38
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    This is a huge nitpick. Michael is simply adapting the original Einstein quote to make it fit the sentence he is trying to form. It makes no difference to the meaning, and is a fairly normal practice. – DJClayworth Sep 12 '15 at 22:48
  • @DJClayworth 1) can people change the quote to fit their words? I don't think so. 2) Even when they can, I think using the original quote is more suitable to the words Michael says, IMO – Ooker Sep 13 '15 at 05:44
  • You would be surprised what people change to fit their words. – DJClayworth Sep 13 '15 at 16:46
  • The quote I know is "God casts the die, not the dice" - http://www.azquotes.com/quote/952171 – abligh Sep 13 '15 at 17:19
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    Why was this question (and the self-answer) upvoted several times? The question is based on a very basic misunderstanding, and the answer just makes no sense. – Reinstate Monica -- notmaynard Sep 13 '15 at 22:29
  • @iamnotmaynard doesn't misunderstanding worth a place in Skeptics? – Ooker Sep 14 '15 at 11:01
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    The correct quote, said many times by Einstein, in various variations, is that "God **doesn't** play dice with the universe." He did not like the fact that quantum mechanics apparently implies that the universe has built-in randomness. He even cowrote a rather famous paper about it, *Can Quantum-Mechanical Description of Physical Reality Be Considered Complete?* – David Hammen Jun 17 '16 at 20:37

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