Heuristic versus Theory

Einstein often talked about a “heuristic” approach or a “heuristic” solution as contrasted to a “theory”.

He talked about this so frequently that I had to figure out exactly what he meant. Although there are many definitions for these words, this how I believe Einstein interpreted the words.

For Einstein, “heuristic” means intuition, or trial and error. Using the heuristic approach, you find a solution, but you don’t know why it works.

In contrast, a “theory” not only has a solution, but there is detailed scientific understanding of why the solution works.

Einstein often came up with his solutions based on a “heuristic” approach. Yet he frequently said that this was never satisfactory for him. He always wanted a “theory” to back it up.

Thus, Einstein came up with many of his solutions through Intuition. He then came up with his equations through trial and error. Yet, he always wanted a clear scientific theory to back up his intuition. This is what Einstein was saying when he talked about his heuristic approach versus his desire for a theory.