At the heart of quantum mechanics is a rule that sometimes governs politicians or CEOs-as long as no one is watching, anything goes.
Interpretation
The quote suggests that the behavior of people in power can be unpredictable and unprincipled when they believe they are not being observed.
Lawrence M. Krauss highlights a parallel between the principles of quantum mechanics and the behavior of authority figures like politicians and CEOs. Just as quantum mechanics allows for particles to exist in multiple states until observed, individuals in power may exhibit questionable actions behind closed doors, revealing a tendency towards unaccountability when they think there is no oversight. This observation raises ethical concerns about leadership and integrity.
In practice
In a speech about corporate ethics, one might say: 'As Lawrence M. Krauss pointedly illustrates, in leadership, integrity is paramount - especially when no one is watching.'
The one experience that I hope every student has at some point in their lives is to have some belief you profoundly, deeply hold, proved to be wrong because that is the most eye-opening experience you can have, and as a scientist, to me, is the most exciting experience I can ever have.
If our species is to survive, our future will probably require outposts beyond our own planet.
The ultimate arbiter of truth is experiment, not the comfort one derives from one's a priori beliefs, nor the beauty or elegance one ascribes to one's theoretical models.
I cannot stress often enough that what science is all about is not proving things to be true but proving them to be false.
To the extent that we even understand string theory, it may imply a massive number of possible different universes with different laws of physics in each universe, and there may be no way of distinguishing between them or saying why the laws of physics are the way they are. And if I can predict anything, then I haven't explained anything.
The illusion of purpose and design is perhaps the most pervasive illusion about nature that science has to confront on a daily basis.
It is now widely realized that nearly all the 'classical' problems of molecular biology have either been solved or will be solved in the next decade. The entry of large numbers of American and other biochemists into the field will ensure that all the chemical details of replication and transcription will be elucidated. Because of this, I have long felt that the future of molecular biology lies in the extension of research to other fields of biology, notably development and the nervous system.
I am not accustomed to saying anything with certainty after only one or two observations.
A theory which is not refutable by any conceivable event is non-scientific. Irrefutability is not a virtue of a theory (as people often think) but a vice.
Science is the search for the truth--it is not a game in which one tries to beat his opponent, to do harm to others. We need to have the spirit of science in international affairs, to make the conduct of international affairs the effort to find the right solution, the just solution of international problems, and not an effort by each nation to get the better of other nations, to do harm to them when it is possible. I believe in morality, in justice, in humanitarianism.
At its heart, engineering is about using science to find creative, practical solutions. It is a noble profession.
Science is simply common sense at its best.
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