Talk to people... everything good I've done has come from conversations with people. Science is a very social phenomenon.
John C. MatherRead
There's no such thing as saying that we'll ever find the ultimate cause of stuff. We can only work to push our understanding one step further.
Interpretation
What this quote means
We may never fully understand the origins of everything, but we can continue to seek knowledge incrementally.
In this quote, John C. Mather emphasizes the idea that the quest for knowledge is ongoing and perhaps never complete. Rather than expecting to uncover a final answer to the mysteries of existence, we should aim to advance our understanding step by step, acknowledging that each discovery adds to our overall comprehension of the universe.
Themes
UnderstandingKnowledgeInquiryScienceCuriosity
In practice
Example use cases
In a lecture about scientific advancement, you might cite this quote to emphasize the importance of ongoing research.
More from John C. Mather
All quotes βMany of the problems facing the nation and the world today may only be solved if their technical elements are understood - climate change, energy supply, health care, and infrastructure, to name just a few.
John C. MatherRead
Even your chin is made up of exploded stars.
John C. MatherRead
My interest in science started quite early. My earliest school recollection, from age 6, is actually of mathematics, realizing that one could fill an entire page with digits and never come to the largest possible number, so I saw what was meant by infinity.
John C. MatherRead
Astronomers can look back in time. We can look at things as they used to be. We have an idea there was a Big Bang explosion 13.7 billion years ago. We have a story of how galaxies and stars were made. It's an amazing story.
John C. MatherRead
We are discovering what the universe is really like, and it is totally magnificent, and one can only be inspired and awestruck by what we find.
John C. MatherRead
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The idea that there could be other universes out there is really one that stretches the mind in a great way.
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In my mind, there is no question that they're out there. My Career is well established. My texts books are required reading in all the major capitals on planet earth. If you want to become a physist to learn about the unified feild therory-you read my books. Therefore, I'm in a position to say: Yes- Most likely they're out their, perhaps even visited, perhaps on our moon.
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One factor that has remained constant through all the twists and turns of the history of physical science is the decisive importance of the mathematical imagination.
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To solve a problem is to create new problems, new knowledge immediately reveals new areas of ignorance, and the need for new experiments. At least, in the field of fast reactions, the experiments do not take very long to perform.
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I think we need to move to the moons of Mars and learn how to control robots that are on the surface. It's not the impatient way of getting there, but Mars has been there a long time.
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