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
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.
Interpretation
This quote suggests that we cannot take physical laws for granted, as they may change over time.
Max Planck's quote reflects the philosophical perspective that our understanding of the universe and its laws is not guaranteed to remain consistent. It challenges the assumption that the physical laws we observe today will persist unchanged into the future, emphasizing the idea that scientific knowledge is always provisional and subject to revision as we acquire new insights and data.
In practice
In a scientific discussion on the nature of laws of physics, this quote can be used to emphasize the need for open-mindedness.
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.
Experiment is the only means of knowledge at our disposal. Everything else is poetry, imagination.
There is no matter as such—mind is the matrix of all matter.
I suggest that going to Mars means permanence on the planet - a mission by which we are building up a confidence level to become a two-planet species.
For I am well aware that scarcely a single point is discussed in this volume on which facts cannot be adduced, often apparently leading to conclusions directly opposite to those at which I have arrived. A fair result can be obtained only by fully stating and balancing the facts and arguments on both sides of each question.
No educated person believes the Adam and Eve myth nowadays, but it's surprising how many parents think that it's somehow fun to pass on this falsehood to their children...I would want to argue that the truth of evolution is more interesting and more poetic
If we had the fundamental laws of nature tomorrow, we still wouldn't understand consciousness. We wouldn't even understand turbulence.
Consequently, if my theory be true, it is indisputable that before the lowest Silurian stratum was deposited, long periods elapsed, as long as, or probably far longer than, the whole interval from the Silurian age to the present day; and that during these vast, yet quite unknown, periods of time, the world swarmed with living creatures. To the question why we do not find records of these vast primordial periods, I can give no satisfactory answer.
Yes, genes are important for understanding our behavior. Incredibly important - after all, they code for every protein pertinent to brain function, endocrinology, etc., etc. But the regulation of genes is often more interesting than the genes themselves, and it's the environment that regulates genes.
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