Monday, April 7, 2014

Did Wigner actually say this?

It is folklore that Eugene Wigner said
"It is nice to know that the computer understands the problem. But I would like to understand it too."
But did he actually say it? Where and when?

I have been trying to track it down. The earliest reference I can find is in the beginning of Chapter 5 of a 1992 book by Nussenzweig, which just says it is attributed to Wigner.

It is a great quote so it would be nice to know that Wigner actually said. I welcome any more information.

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