Whether in the intellectual pursuits of science or in the mystical pursuits of the spirit, the light beckons ahead, and the purpose surging in our nature responds.
Arthur EddingtonRead
Oh leave the Wise our measures to collate. One thing at least is certain, light has weight. One thing is certain and the rest debate. Light rays, when near the Sun, do not go straight.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote discusses the complex nature of light and its behavior near the Sun, revealing the intricacies of scientific understanding.
Arthur Eddington's quote reflects on the challenges of scientific inquiry and understanding, particularly in how light behaves in the gravitational field of the Sun. It suggests that while there may be established truths in science, there remains much debate and uncertainty about the nature of reality, emphasizing the importance of exploration and questioning in the pursuit of knowledge.
Themes
LightScienceCuriosityGravityKnowledge
In practice
Example use cases
In a lecture about the nature of light and space, one might quote Eddington to emphasize the complexities involved in understanding astrophysics.
More from Arthur Eddington
All quotes →The physical world is entirely abstract and without actuality apart from its linkage to consciousness.
Arthur EddingtonRead
It is one thing for the human mind to extract from the phenomena of nature the laws which it has itself put into them; it may be a far harder thing to extract laws over which it has no control. It is even possible that laws which have not their origin in the mind may be irrational, and we can never succeed in formulating them.
Arthur EddingtonRead
Whatever else there may be in our nature, responsibility toward truth is one of its attributes.
Arthur EddingtonRead
In the world of physics we watch a shadowgraph performance of the drama of familiar life. The shadow of my elbow rests on the shadow table as the shadow ink flows over the shadow paper. It is all symbolic, and as a symbol the physicist leaves it. ... The frank realisation that physical science is concerned with a world of shadows is one of the most significant of recent advances.
Arthur EddingtonRead
So far as physics is concerned, time's arrow is a property of entropy alone.
Arthur EddingtonRead
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