That which is not measurable is not science. That which is not physics is stamp collecting.
Ernest RutherfordRead
I have to keep going, as there are always people on my track. I have to publish my present work as rapidly as possible in order to keep in the race. The best sprinters in this road of investigation are Becquerel and the Curies.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the urgency of progress in scientific research amidst competition.
Ernest Rutherford underscores the relentless nature of scientific advancement where researchers must continually publish their findings to stay relevant and in competition with others like Becquerel and the Curies. This reflects both the pressure to contribute to the field and the importance of rapid dissemination of knowledge in scientific communities.
In practice
In a scientific conference to motivate peers to share their research promptly.
That which is not measurable is not science. That which is not physics is stamp collecting.
The energy produced by the breaking down of the atom is a very poor kind of thing. Anyone who expects a source of power from the transformation of these atoms is talking moonshine.
I am a great believer in the simplicity of things and as you probably know I am inclined to hang on to broad & simple ideas like grim death until evidence is too strong for my tenacity.
All science is either physics or stamp collecting.
Now I know what the atom looks like.
If your result needs a statistician then you should design a better experiment.
See first, think later, then test. But always see first. Otherwise you will only see what you were expecting. Most scientists forget that.
Quantum mechanics is certainly imposing. But an inner voice tells me that this is not yet the real thing. The theory says a lot, but does not bring us any closer to the secrets of the "Old One." I, at any rate, am convinced that He is not playing at dice.
The economists will have to revise their theories of value.
Nothing has tended more to retard the advancement of science than the disposition in vulgar minds to vilify what they cannot comprehend.
Mathematics as an expression of the human mind reflects the active will, the contemplative reason, and the desire for aesthetic perfection. Its basic elements are logic and intuition, analysis and construction, generality and individuality. Though different traditions may emphasize different aspects, it is only the interplay of these antithetic forces and the struggle for their synthesis that constitute the life, usefulness, and supreme value of mathematical science.
From the point of view of basic physics, the most interesting phenomena are, of course, in the new places, the places where the rules do not work - not the places where they do work! That is the way in which we discover new rules.
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