Trying to capture the physicists' precise mathematical description of the quantum world with our crude words and mental images is like playing Chopin with a boxing glove on one hand and a catcher's mitt on the other.
Interpretation
Using simple language to describe complex scientific concepts can be difficult and imprecise.
George Johnson uses an analogy to depict the challenge of articulating the complexities of quantum physics through ordinary language. Just like playing a nuanced piece of music with cumbersome equipment hampers performance, translating intricate scientific principles into everyday words and imagery often leads to misunderstandings and oversimplifications.
In practice
In a lecture on quantum mechanics, a professor might use this quote to emphasize the challenges of explaining advanced concepts.
Whenever you read a book or have a conversation, the experience causes physical changes in your brain. It's a little frightening to think that every time you walk away from an encounter, your brain has been altered, sometimes permanently.
The real purpose of the scientific method is to make sure nature hasn’t misled you into thinking you know something you actually don’t know.
The moment I saw the model and heard about the complementing base pairs I realized that it was the key to understanding all the problems in biology we had found intractable - it was the birth of molecular biology.
There is no such thing as a special category of science called applied science; there is science and its applications, which are related to one another as the fruit is related to the tree that has borne it.
Adding CO2 to the air is like throwing another blanket on the bed.
Every formula which expresses a law of nature is a hymn of praise to God.
No matter how counter-intuitive it may seem, basic research has proven over and over to be the lifeline of practical advances in medicine.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.