Put three grains of sand inside a vast cathedral, and the cathedral will be more closely packed with sand than space is with stars.
James JeansRead
The stream of knowledge is heading towards a non-mechanical reality; the universe begins to look more like a great thought than like a machine. Mind no longer appears to be an accidental intruder into the realm of matter...we ought rather hail it as the creator and governor of the realm of matter.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Knowledge is evolving to reveal a universe that is more conceptual than mechanical, highlighting the importance of the mind.
This quote by James Jeans suggests a shift in our understanding of the universe, moving away from viewing it purely as a machine governed by physical laws. Instead, it proposes that the universe is akin to a grand thought, emphasizing that consciousness and the mind are not mere byproducts of matter, but rather fundamental to the creation and order of reality itself.
Themes
KnowledgeMindRealityUniverseConsciousness
In practice
Example use cases
In a philosophy class discussion on the nature of reality.
More from James Jeans
All quotes →...nature seems very conversant with the rules of pure mathematics, as our own mathematicians have formulated them in their studies, out of their own inner consciousness and without drawing to any appreciable extent on their experience of the outer world.
James JeansRead
The universe begins to look more like a great thought than a great machine.
James JeansRead
...to many it is not knowledge but the quest for knowledge that gives greater interest to thought-to travel hopefully is better than to arrive.
James JeansRead
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