If the facts don't fit the theory, change the facts

hurryon

Well, it is confusing the meaning of the quote, "If the facts don't fit the theory, change the facts" by Albert Einstein.

Anyone knows the exact meaning of it?

Pengwuino

That really doesn't sound like something Einstein would say... or any serious physicist for that matter.

Cyrus

It's a joke hurryon.

hurryon

I just saw the quote in a text book. Well, do you mean that the quote is not by Albert?

Cyrus

You and Albert are on a first name basis now?

Pengwuino

Yah it's probably a joke quote. Makes sense coming from the man who so profoundly changed our understanding of physics theoretically.

No not you cyrus.

Cyrus

You don't have to thank me.

Gad

TheStatutoryApe

It sounds like sarcasm and I can't find a source for the quote.

cristo

It's not necessarily a joke, or sarcasm. The quote could be interpreted as saying that if one's theory predicts something that hasn't been observed, one should go out and try to observe it (hence "change the facts" as we currently see them).

Obviously, I can't say for sure, but I severly doubt Einstein meant that one should literally change the facts! (Of course, without reference, there is nothing to say that the quote has been corrected attributed to Einstein.)

Andre

The quote is popularly attributed to Einstein only. It's been used -out of context(?)- when scientific fraud was suspected/apparent. Perhaps it relates to relativety features, "changing facts" like mass, time and dimensions.

There is also the Keynes changing fact quote with an apparent opposite meaning:

But this is very impopular, changing minds.

russ_watters

Could you tell us the name of the textbook and give some context to the quote?

Jimmy Snyder

What he meant was that the fact that he didn't say it doesn't fit the theory that he did, so he is often quoted as having said it, but no one ever provides a source for it.

zoobyshoe

If Einstein was heard saying this, he was probably quoting Spinoza:

http://thinkexist.com/quotes/benedict_spinoza/

I wasn't able to find the context in which Spinoza said it, though.

Here's the Wiki article on Spinoza:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baruch_Spinoza

ExactlySolved

Quotes from Dirac:

It seems that Einstein was expressing a similar sentiment. What I find funny is that this idea is beyond the comprehension of this forum, since the majority opinion on string theory around here seems to be quite skeptical, even though the majority opinion of professional theorists is that string theory is is a correct description of physics beyond the standard model.

rootX

Quotes don't need to have a meaning.
Any particular meaning wouldn't change anything.

neu

"Facts" can sometimes be subjective, or rather person-relative.