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One aim of physical sciences had been to give an exact picture the material world. One achievement of physics in the twentieth century has been to prove that that aim is unattainable.
Jacob Bronowski
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Interpretation

What this quote means

The pursuit of precise understanding in physics reveals the inherent complexities of the material world, suggesting that absolute clarity is impossible.

Jacob Bronowski reflects on the ambitions of physical sciences, emphasizing that while scientists aimed to create an exact representation of the material world, advancements in physics during the twentieth century have shown that such precise understanding may ultimately be unattainable. This perspective highlights the limitations of human knowledge and the complexity of the universe that lies beyond simple description.

Themes

SciencePhysicsKnowledgeComplexityMaterial World

In practice

Example use cases

In a lecture on the philosophy of science, this quote can highlight the limitations of scientific knowledge.

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Has there ever been a society which has died of dissent? Several have died of conformity in our lifetime.
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A man becomes creative, whether he is an artist or scientist, when he finds a new unity in the variety of nature. He does so by finding a likeness between things which were not thought alike before.
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The basis for poetry and scientific discovery is the ability to comprehend the unlike in the like and the like in the unlike.
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