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When asked ... [about] an underlying quantum world, Bohr would answer, 'There is no quantum world. There is only an abstract quantum physical description. It is wrong to think that the task of physics is to find out how nature is. Physics concerns what we can say about Nature.'
Niels Bohr
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Interpretation

What this quote means

This quote emphasizes that physics describes nature through abstractions rather than revealing an ultimate reality.

Niels Bohr's quote highlights the distinction between the tangible world of nature and the abstract representations that physics provides. He argues that physics should not be viewed as a means to uncover the true essence of reality but rather as a discipline focused on the predictive descriptions and relationships that we can observe and articulate about nature, suggesting that our knowledge is inherently limited to these abstractions.

Themes

QuantumPhysicsDescriptionNatureAbstraction

In practice

Example use cases

In a science lecture discussing the philosophy of physics.

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