Science cannot solve the ultimate mystery of nature. And that is because, in the last analysis, we ourselves are a part of the mystery that we are trying to solve.
Max PlanckRead
Anybody who has been seriously engaged in scientific work of any kind realizes that over the entrance to the gates of the temple of science are written the words: 'Ye must have faith.'
Interpretation
Scientific inquiry requires a profound belief in the principles and potential of science.
Max Planck's quote emphasizes that despite the rigorous methods and evidence-based approach of science, there remains an essential element of faith in the scientific endeavor. This faith is not a blind belief, but rather a deep trust in the scientific process, the quest for knowledge, and the hope that future discoveries will unravel the mysteries of the universe.
In practice
In a presentation about the importance of scientific research, this quote can emphasize the role of belief in innovation.
Science cannot solve the ultimate mystery of nature. And that is because, in the last analysis, we ourselves are a part of the mystery that we are trying to solve.
No burden is so heavy for a man to bear as a succession of happy days.
It is not the possession of truth, but the success which attends the seeking after it, that enriches the seeker and brings happiness to him.
We have no right to assume that any physical laws exist, or if they have existed up until now, that they will continue to exist in a similar manner in the future.
Experiment is the only means of knowledge at our disposal. Everything else is poetry, imagination.
There is no matter as such—mind is the matrix of all matter.
These slender little people (Homo Habilis), the size of modern 12 year olds, were devoid of fangs and claws and almost certainly slower on foot than the four legged animals around them. They could have succeeded in their new way of life only by relying on tools and sophisticated cooperative behavior
When we take a slight survey of the surface of our globe a thousand objects offer themselves which, though long known, yet still demand our curiosity.
If you're going to go into space, you have to have an objective, a mission. Where do you want to go? Earth orbit? The moon? Mars? What's the technology to get there? You develop the technology for the mission.
Mathematics is a more powerful instrument of knowledge than any other that has been bequeathed to us by human agency.
Consequently, if my theory be true, it is indisputable that before the lowest Silurian stratum was deposited, long periods elapsed, as long as, or probably far longer than, the whole interval from the Silurian age to the present day; and that during these vast, yet quite unknown, periods of time, the world swarmed with living creatures. To the question why we do not find records of these vast primordial periods, I can give no satisfactory answer.
I can never satisfy myself until I can make a mechanical model of a thing. If I can make a mechanical model, I can understand it. As long as I cannot make a mechanical model all the way through I cannot understand.
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