Science cannot solve the ultimate mystery of nature. And that is because, in the last analysis, we ourselves are a part of the mystery that we are trying to solve.
Max PlanckRead
An experiment is a question which science poses to Nature and a measurement is the recording of Nature's answer.
Interpretation
Science seeks answers from Nature through experiments and measurements.
This quote by Max Planck emphasizes the fundamental relationship between scientific inquiry and the natural world. It suggests that through experimentation, scientists pose questions that help uncover the truths of nature, while measurements serve as the means to document the responses of nature, thereby transforming abstract inquiries into concrete understanding.
In practice
This quote can be used in a science classroom to inspire students to explore scientific methods.
Science cannot solve the ultimate mystery of nature. And that is because, in the last analysis, we ourselves are a part of the mystery that we are trying to solve.
Anybody who has been seriously engaged in scientific work of any kind realizes that over the entrance to the gates of the temple of science are written the words: 'Ye must have faith.'
No burden is so heavy for a man to bear as a succession of happy days.
It is not the possession of truth, but the success which attends the seeking after it, that enriches the seeker and brings happiness to him.
We have no right to assume that any physical laws exist, or if they have existed up until now, that they will continue to exist in a similar manner in the future.
Experiment is the only means of knowledge at our disposal. Everything else is poetry, imagination.
Our senses enable us to perceive only a minute portion of the outside world.
It's not unexpected that shooting massive amounts of water, sand, and chemicals at high pressure into the earth to shatter shale and release natural gas might shake things up. But earthquakes aren't the worst problem with fracking.
Experiments with animals have long been handicapped by our anthropocentric attitude: We often test them in ways that work fine with humans but not so well with other species.
My work shows how important it is that independent researchers should have access to data so that government statistics can be checked and so that the democratic debate within India can be informed by the different interpretations of different scholars.
Just one living cell in the human body is, more complex than New York City.
As a scientist, objectivity is one of my most deeply held values. If we could just try harder, I once thought, surely we could each see the world as others see it and learn to respect one another's views more readily. But I learned from the Pirahas, our expectations, our culture, and our experiences can render even perceptions of the environment nearly incommensurable cross-culturally.
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