No phenomenon is a real phenomenon until it is an observed phenomenon.
John Archibald WheelerRead
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?
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the simplicity and beauty of fundamental ideas that may only be fully understood over time.
John Archibald Wheeler suggests that there are profound ideas that, while elusive or overlooked in the present moment, will eventually become clear and undeniable to humanity as time progresses. It points to the human tendency to overlook simple truths and highlights our capacity for growth and understanding over generations.
In practice
This quote could be used to inspire students during a lecture on the importance of grasping fundamental concepts in science.
No phenomenon is a real phenomenon until it is an observed phenomenon.
In order to more fully understand this reality, we must take into account other dimensions of a broader reality.
In any field, find the strangest thing and then explore it.
We will first understand how simple the universe is when we recognize how strange it is.
The laws of physics that we regard_x000D_ as 'sacred,' as immutable, are anything_x000D_ but.
The universe gives birth to consciousness, and consciousness gives meaning to the universe.
I think the whole policy of pre-emptive war is a serious, serious mistake.
Especially when we're dealing with issues of race, culture, identity, and history, the time has passed for the 'white savior' holding the black person's hand through their own history.
But life at its best is a creative synthesis of opposites in fruitful harmony.
I honestly do not know if civil disobedience has any effect on the government. I can promise you it has a great effect on the person who chooses to do it.
We may now have reached a point where this gap in our make-up has become unsustainable; partly because what in the past would have counted as material plenty has become the norm for the majority in much of the world; and partly because the slow retreat of religion that coincided with the spread of a capitalist economy has left a gaping hole in millions of people's lives. (Geoff Mulgan)
Living on $6 a day means you have a refrigerator, a TV, a cell phone, your children can go to school. That's not possible on $1 a day.
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