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
An experiment is a question which science poses to Nature and a measurement is the recording of Nature's answer.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Science seeks answers from Nature through experiments and measurements.
This quote by Max Planck emphasizes the fundamental relationship between scientific inquiry and the natural world. It suggests that through experimentation, scientists pose questions that help uncover the truths of nature, while measurements serve as the means to document the responses of nature, thereby transforming abstract inquiries into concrete understanding.
Themes
ScienceExperimentNatureMeasurementsInquiryKnowledge
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a science classroom to inspire students to explore scientific methods.
More from Max Planck
All quotes βAnybody 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.'
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No burden is so heavy for a man to bear as a succession of happy days.
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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.
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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.
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Experiment is the only means of knowledge at our disposal. Everything else is poetry, imagination.
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