"The most important decision we can make is whether this is a friendly or hostile universe. From that one decision all others spring."
— Albert Einstein

January 1, 1970

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Added on April 10, 2026
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Albert Einstein
Original Language: English

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A variant is found in Irving Oyle's The New American Medicine Show (1979) on p. 163, where Oyle writes: 'There is a story about Albert Einstein's view of human existence. Asked to pose the most vital question facing humanity, he replied, "Is the universe friendly?"' This variant is repeated in a number of books from the 1980s and 90s, so it probably pre-dates the "friendly or hostile" version. And the idea that the most important question we can ask is "Is the universe friendly?" dates back much