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 →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.
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
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