If you have somebody who's brilliant and highly creative with a different point of view than you have, and a very different intellectual background, great things can happen.
Kip ThorneRead
We have to have a combination of general relativity that describes the warping of space and time, and quantum physics, which describes the uncertainties in that warping and how they change.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the need to combine general relativity and quantum physics to fully understand the universe's complexities.
Kip Thorne's quote highlights the importance of integrating two fundamental theories of physics: general relativity, which explains the gravitational effects of mass on the fabric of space and time, and quantum physics, which deals with the behaviors and interactions of particles at the microscopic level. By acknowledging the interplay between these two theories, we can better understand the universe's complexities and the inherent uncertainties that come with it.
Themes
General RelativityQuantum PhysicsSpaceTimeUncertaintiesTheory
In practice
Example use cases
In a lecture on modern physics, one could use this quote to express the need for an integrated approach in understanding the universe.
More from Kip Thorne
All quotes →I think that the future of the human race is to spread through the universe, and now is the time that we should be laying the foundations for that.
Kip ThorneRead
Whether you can go back in time is held in the grip of the law of quantum gravity.
Kip ThorneRead
'Closed timelike curve' is the jargon for time travel. It means you go out, come back and meet yourself in the past.
Kip ThorneRead
If you think that the distance from the Earth to the nearest planet where we could live comfortably... is being, like, from New York to Australia... what we've achieved so far, in going to the moon, that's about two-and-a-half inches. So that's the challenge.
Kip ThorneRead
A big misconception is that a black hole is made of matter that has just been compacted to a very small size. That's not true. A black hole is made from warped space and time.
Kip ThorneRead
Similar quotes
If numbers aren't beautiful, I don't know what is.
Paul ErdosRead
With a few honorable exceptions the press of the United States is at the beck and call of the patent medicines. Not only do the newspapers modify news possibly affecting these interests, but they sometimes become their agents.
Samuel Hopkins AdamsRead
You need propellants to accelerate toward Mars, then to decelerate at Mars, again to re-accelerate from Mars to Earth, and finally to decelerate back at Earth. Accordingly, the mass of these required propellants, in short, drives our need for innovative launch vehicles.
Buzz AldrinRead
Thousands of years ago, humans domesticated every possible large wild mammal species fulfilling all those criteria and worth domesticating, with the result that there have been no valuable additions of domestic animals in recent times, despite the efforts of modern science.
Jared DiamondRead
Debunking bad science should be constant obligation of the science community, even if it takes time away from serious research or seems to be a losing battle. One takes comfort from the fact there is no Gresham's laws in science. In the long run, good science drives out bad.
Martin GardnerRead
ZOOLOGY, n. The science and history of the animal kingdom, including its king, the House Fly ("Musca maledicta"). The father of Zoology was Aristotle, as is universally conceded, but the name of its mother has not come down to us.
Ambrose BierceRead