It was about three o'clock at night when the final result of the calculation [which gave birth to quantum mechanics] lay before me ... At first I was deeply shaken ... I was so excited that I could not think of sleep. So I left the house ... and awaited the sunrise on top of a rock.
Werner HeisenbergNatural science, does not simply describe and explain nature; it is part of the interplay between nature and ourselves
Werner Heisenberg...separation of the observer from the phenomenon to be observed is no longer possible.
Werner HeisenbergI think that modern physics has definitely decided in favor of Plato. In fact the smallest units of matter are not physical objects in the ordinary sense; they are forms, ideas which can be expressed unambiguously only in mathematical language.
Werner HeisenbergThe more closely you look at one thing, the less closely can you see something else.
Werner HeisenbergIt is probably true quite generally that in the history of human thinking the most fruitful developments frequently take place at those points where two different lines of thought meet. These lines may have their roots in quite different parts of human nature, in different times or different cultural environments or different religious traditions: hence if they actually meet, that is, if they are at least so much related to each other that a real interaction can take place, then one may hope that new and interesting developments may follow.
Werner Heisenberg