Behind it all is surely an idea so simple, so beautiful, that when we grasp it - in a decade, a century, or a millennium - we will all say to each other, how could it have been otherwise? How could we have been so stupid?
John Archibald WheelerRead
The laws of physics that we regard_x000D_ as 'sacred,' as immutable, are anything_x000D_ but.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The laws of physics, though often viewed as unchanging, are actually subject to change and interpretation.
This quote by John Archibald Wheeler suggests that our understanding of the laws of physics, which we often hold as absolute and sacred, is not as fixed as we might believe. It emphasizes the idea that scientific laws are subject to revision and can evolve with new discoveries and insights, inviting a more flexible and open-minded approach to our understanding of the universe.
Themes
PhysicsLawsScienceChangeUnderstanding
In practice
Example use cases
During a lecture on scientific paradigms, one could reference this quote to illustrate how scientific understanding evolves.
More from John Archibald Wheeler
All quotes βNo phenomenon is a real phenomenon until it is an observed phenomenon.
John Archibald WheelerRead
In order to more fully understand this reality, we must take into account other dimensions of a broader reality.
John Archibald WheelerRead
In any field, find the strangest thing and then explore it.
John Archibald WheelerRead
We will first understand how simple the universe is when we recognize how strange it is.
John Archibald WheelerRead
The universe gives birth to consciousness, and consciousness gives meaning to the universe.
John Archibald WheelerRead
Similar quotes
It is only by the abolition of the State, by the conquest of perfect liberty by the individual, by free agreement, association, and absolute free federation that we can reach Communism β the possession in common of our social inheritance, and the production in common of all riches.
Peter KropotkinRead
The concept of substitution lies at the heart of both sin and salvation. For the essence of sin is man substituting himself for God, while the essence of salvation is God substituting himself for man.
John StottRead
When the mind soars in pursuit of the things conceived in space...it pursues emptiness; but when man dives deep within himself, he experiences the fullness of existence.
Meher BabaRead
All truth is crooked, time itself is a circle
Friedrich NietzscheRead
Man is man because he is free to operate within the framework of his destiny. He is free to deliberate, to make decisions, and to choose between alternatives.
Martin Luther King, Jr.Read
I confess that there is nothing to teach: no religion, no science, no writings which will lead your mind back to Spirit. Today I speak this way, tomorrow that, but always the Path is beyond words and beyond mind.
LaoziRead