Is It Crazy Enough?

I have heard a true story, as told by Freeman Dyron…

A few months ago, Werner Heisenberg and Wolfgang Pauli believed that they had made an essential step forward in the direction of a theory of elementary particles.

Both the names are world-famous: Heisenberg and Pauli — two of the greatest scientists of any time, and they were thinking that they had come across the basic theory to explain the structure of the elements.

Pauli happened to be passing through New York, and he was prevailed upon to give a lecture explaining the new ideas to an audience which included Niels Bohr — another famous name, another great name in science. Pauli spoke for an hour, and then there was a general discussion during which he was criticized rather sharply by the younger generation of scientists. Finally, Niels Bohr was called on to make a speech summing up the argument. “We are all agreed,” he said, “that your theory is crazy, Pauli. The question which divides us is whether it is crazy enough to have a chance of being correct. My own feeling is that it is not crazy enough.”

Osho – Divine Melody