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
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.
In practice
This quote can be used in a science education seminar to emphasize the importance of physics.
Do not imagine that mathematics is hard and crabbed, and repulsive to common sense. It is merely the etherealization of common sense.
We 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.
There is nothing new to be discovered in physics now. All that remains is more and more precise measurement.
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.
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.
Science is bound, by the everlasting vow of honour, to face fearlessly every problem which can be fairly presented to it.
I feel like every time a door is opened by science, suddenly there are a hundred doors that need to get opened. That's what makes it an everlasting, interesting experience to go through.
Unfortunately what is little recognized is that the most worthwhile scientific books are those in which the author clearly indicates what he does not know; for an author most hurts his readers by concealing difficulties.
Science proceeds more by what it has learned to ignore than what it takes into account.
I like to think that Einstein would look at string theory’s journey and smile, enjoying the theory’s remarkable geometrical features while feeling kinship with fellow travelers on the long and winding road toward unification.
Science can amuse and fascinate us all, but it is engineering that changes the world.
Countless women are alive today because of ideas stimulated by a design flaw in the Hubble Space Telescope.
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