The idea is Bohr’s, but the wording is not. In his own 1949 account of the October 1927 Solvay conference, Bohr says that when Einstein mocked the idea of a dice-playing God, he answered “by pointing at the great caution, already called for by ancient thinkers, in ascribing attributes to Providence in every-day language.” No documented source has Bohr saying “Einstein, stop telling God what to do,” and Wikiquote lists the dice version as disputed.
“Einstein, stop telling God what to do” popularly attributed to Niels Bohr, but it is a paraphrase. Bohr’s own 1949 account says he answered Einstein’s dice remark by urging “great caution … in ascribing attributes to Providence in every-day language.” (Quotle.info)
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Provenance
What Bohr actually wrote
Work
Discussions with Einstein on Epistemological Problems in Atomic Physics
Published in
Albert Einstein: Philosopher-Scientist (1949)
Occasion described
Fifth Solvay Conference, Brussels, October 1927
Popular wording
Not in this text; no documented source found
On his side, Einstein mockingly asked us whether we could really believe that the providential authorities took recourse to dice-playing (“. . . ob der liebe Gott würfelt”), to which I replied by pointing at the great caution, already called for by ancient thinkers, in ascribing attributes to Providence in every-day language.
Bohr’s own account
This is Bohr’s own written account, and it reports his reply only in indirect speech. It contains no sentence like “Einstein, stop telling God what to do.” The popular line squeezes this measured answer into a one-liner.
Einstein’s side of the exchange is genuine in substance: in a 1926 letter to Max Born he wrote that he was convinced “He [God] is not playing at dice” (Wikipedia, Bohr–Einstein debates ↗).
Bohr’s own account (1949) places the dice exchange at the October 1927 Solvay conference and says he answered by urging caution “in ascribing attributes to Providence in every-day language” (Bohr, Discussions with Einstein ↗).
By April 1985 a punchier version was circulating as hearsay: a UNESCO Courier photo caption says Bohr “is said have retorted ‘Stop telling God what to do.’” (UNESCO Courier, 1985, at Internet Archive ↗). The American Institute of Physics’ online exhibit gives the full “Einstein, stop telling God what to do” form without citing a source (AIP, Einstein and Bohr ↗).
Wikiquote lists “Stop telling God what to do with his dice” under Disputed, with the variant “Einstein, don’t tell God what to do,” and notes that a similar statement is attributed to Enrico Fermi (Wikiquote, Niels Bohr ↗).
The exact wording “Einstein, stop telling God what to do” has no identifiable source, so no copyright status is asserted for it. Bohr’s genuine account, “Discussions with Einstein on Epistemological Problems in Atomic Physics,” was first published in 1949. That is after 1931, so it should be treated as in copyright in the US.
Rights status is our research, not legal advice — and copyright varies by country and edition. For commercial or published use, confirm with the rightsholder. See terms.
Fact-check
Who gets credit, and why it’s shaky
Everyone knows the exchange: Einstein says God does not play dice, and Bohr snaps back. Einstein’s half is well documented. Bohr’s comeback, in its famous form, is not.
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The popular wordingNiels Bohr Paraphrase
Bohr’s own written account reports his reply only indirectly. He says he pointed to “the great caution, already called for by ancient thinkers, in ascribing attributes to Providence in every-day language” (Bohr, 1949 ↗). The snappy “stop telling God what to do” is a later retelling, not his recorded words.
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“…with his dice” versionNiels Bohr Disputed
Wikiquote puts “Stop telling God what to do with his dice” in its Disputed section. It also lists the variants “Einstein, don’t tell God what to do” and C. P. Snow’s 1981 rendering, “You ought not to speak for what Providence can or can not do” (Wikiquote ↗).
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A rival claimantEnrico Fermi Also credited
Wikiquote notes that “a similar statement is attributed to Enrico Fermi” but gives no source for it (Wikiquote ↗). It is another sign that the comeback floated free of any documented speaker.
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The setup lineAlbert Einstein Genuine in substance
Einstein really did put it this way. In a 1926 letter to Max Born he wrote, “I, at any rate, am convinced that He [God] is not playing at dice” (Wikipedia ↗).
✓The thought is Bohr’s, but the line is folklore. Bohr’s own 1949 account says he answered Einstein’s dice remark at the 1927 Solvay conference by urging caution in “ascribing attributes to Providence in every-day language” (read it ↗). He never wrote the one-liner.
Context
Why the exchange mattered
The 1927 Solvay conference in Brussels was where Einstein first seriously challenged the new quantum mechanics, which made physics a matter of probabilities rather than certainties. His objection that God does not play dice was a philosophical complaint as much as a technical one, and Bohr, the theory’s chief defender, answered it in kind.
Bohr’s actual reply was characteristically careful. He warned against carelessly ascribing human attributes to Providence. Retellings sharpened that into a comeback, which is how it now appears on posters, in popular books and on museum pages.
“…the great caution, already called for by ancient thinkers, in ascribing attributes to Providence in every-day language.”
Why the paraphrase is so sticky
The punchy version makes the Bohr–Einstein debate into a duel with a winner. Bohr’s own memoir describes it differently: he says “a most humorous spirit animated the discussions,” and he treats Einstein’s criticism as a valuable prompt for everyone to re-examine their ideas (Bohr, 1949 ↗).
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Filed under
More provenance-checked quotes on the same theme, each with its reuse status.
1885–1962 · Danish physicist, founder of the Copenhagen interpretation
Niels Bohr was a Danish physicist whose model of the atom and whose principle of complementarity shaped quantum theory. He was the leading defender of the new quantum mechanics in his long, friendly debate with Albert Einstein, which began in earnest at the 1927 Solvay conference in Brussels. He later wrote his own account of those debates, which is the best primary evidence for what he actually said to Einstein about God and dice.
For writers & researchers
Cite this
Bohr’s own account
Niels Bohr, “Discussions with Einstein on Epistemological Problems in Atomic Physics,” in Albert Einstein: Philosopher-Scientist (1949). This is Bohr’s own indirect account of his reply. The wording “Einstein, stop telling God what to do” is a later paraphrase with no documented source.
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Quotle.info. “Who really said ‘Einstein, stop telling God what to do’?” Last verified 3 Nov 2026. https://quotle.info/who-said/einstein-stop-telling-god-what-to-do/