Do not imagine that mathematics is hard and crabbed, and repulsive to common sense. It is merely the etherealization of common sense.
Lord KelvinRead
In science there is only physics; all the rest is stamp collecting.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Science is fundamentally about physics, while other fields are merely collecting data without deeper understanding.
Lord Kelvin's quote highlights the essence of science, suggesting that physics is the foundational discipline underlying all scientific inquiry. He implies that while other scientific fields may be valuable, they often focus on mere data collection rather than the fundamental principles that govern the universe, which physics seeks to explain.
Themes
SciencePhysicsUnderstandingKnowledgeData
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a science education seminar to emphasize the importance of physics.
More from Lord Kelvin
All quotes βWe only know God in His works, but we are forced by science to admit and to believe with absolute confidence in a Directive Power-in an influence other than physical, or dynamical, or electrical forces.
Lord KelvinRead
There is nothing new to be discovered in physics now. All that remains is more and more precise measurement.
Lord KelvinRead
Let nobody be afraid of true freedom of thought. Let us be free in thought and criticism; but, with freedom, we are bound to come to the conclusion that science is not antagonistic to religion, but a help to it.
Lord KelvinRead
I need scarcely say that the beginning and maintenance of life on earth is absolutely and infinitely beyond the range of all sound speculation in dynamical science. The only contribution of dynamics to theoretical biology is absolute negation of automatic commencement or automatic maintenance of life.
Lord KelvinRead
Science is bound, by the everlasting vow of honour, to face fearlessly every problem which can be fairly presented to it.
Lord KelvinRead
Similar quotes
Physics has a history of synthesizing many phenomena into a few theories.
Richard P. FeynmanRead
I have devoted my whole life to the study of Nature, and yet a single sentence may express all that I have done. I have shown that there is a correspondence between the succession of Fishes in geological times and the different stages of their growth in the egg,-this is all. It chanced to be a result that was found to apply to other groups and has led to other conclusions of a like nature.
Louis AgassizRead
A big misconception is that a black hole is made of matter that has just been compacted to a very small size. That's not true. A black hole is made from warped space and time.
Kip ThorneRead
The range of variation in the female far exceeds the range of variation in the male.
Alfred KinseyRead
I just felt that space was the next thing coming in aviation. It was higher, faster. It had the risk.
Gene KranzRead
For, behind the scenes, halfway around the world in Mexico, were two decades of aggressive research on wheat that not only enabled Mexico to become self-sufficient with respect to wheat production but also paved the way to rapid increase in its production in other countries.
Norman BorlaugRead