Trying to capture the physicists' precise mathematical description of the quantum world with our crude words and mental images is like playing Chopin with a boxing glove on one hand and a catcher's mitt on the other.
Interpretation
Using simple language to describe complex scientific concepts can be difficult and imprecise.
George Johnson uses an analogy to depict the challenge of articulating the complexities of quantum physics through ordinary language. Just like playing a nuanced piece of music with cumbersome equipment hampers performance, translating intricate scientific principles into everyday words and imagery often leads to misunderstandings and oversimplifications.
In practice
In a lecture on quantum mechanics, a professor might use this quote to emphasize the challenges of explaining advanced concepts.
Whenever you read a book or have a conversation, the experience causes physical changes in your brain. It's a little frightening to think that every time you walk away from an encounter, your brain has been altered, sometimes permanently.
Going to Mars would evolve humankind into a two-planet species.
Mathematics is not only real, but it is the only reality.
You'll often hear the phrase "science doesn't know everything." Well, of course it doesn't know everything. But just because science doesn't know everything doesn't mean that it knows nothing.
We must still think of ourselves as pioneers to understand the importance of space.
A fundamental principle of information theory is that you can’t guarantee outcomes… in order for an experiment to yield knowledge, it has to be able to fail. If you have guaranteed experiments, you have zero knowledge
It is hard to think of practical applications of the black hole. Because practical applications are so remote, many people assume we should not be interested. But this quest to understand the world is what defines us as human beings.
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