Lost manuscript shows Schrödinger believed universe could be random
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Physicist Erwin Schrödinger, one of the founders of quantum mechanics, argued in a newly discovered manuscript that the universe contains inherent unpredictability, a belief he held before the development of quantum theory.
For over 80 years, the three-page document remained in an Austrian library until historian Flavio Del Santo of the University of Geneva examined it. The manuscript responds to a 1940s debate about whether quantum mechanics disproved determinism, the idea that all events are predetermined.
Schrödinger challenged a claim by mathematician and physicist Edmund Taylor Whittaker, who argued that hidden variables could not explain quantum behavior. Whittaker proposed that if photons carried instructions determining whether they would pass through a filter, changing the filter’s angle would invalidate those instructions. Schrödinger countered that hidden variables didn’t need to be limited to two values, and he created a mathematical model showing how a variable with a broader range could predict quantum probabilities without relying on pure chance.
The model also accounted for how a photon’s hidden variable would change after passing through the filter, allowing for predictions in subsequent measurements. Though Schrödinger did not publish the manuscript, possibly because a similar model appeared shortly before by Heinrich Pelzer, his work demonstrates a commitment to exploring possibilities beyond established assumptions. Despite being often portrayed as a proponent of determinism, Schrödinger actually believed the laws of nature might be fundamentally statistical, viewing classical determinism as a prejudice.
