Quotes About Theory

the self can be as desperately stranded in the transcendence of theory as in the immanence of consumption.

At the end of an age, the denizens of the age still profess to believe that they can understand themselves by the theory of the age, yet they behave as if they did not believe it. The surest sign that an age is coming to an end is the paradoxical movement of the most sensitive souls of the age, the artists and writers first, then the youth, in a direction exactly opposite to the direction laid down by the theory of the age.

Tutta la teoria dell'universo si rivolge immancabilmente a un unico individuo - ossia a Te

The whole theory of the universe is directed unerringly to one single individual—namely to You.

Those who are in love with practice without theoretical knowledge are like the sailor who goes onto a ship without rudder or compass and who never can be certain whither he is going," he wrote in 1510. "Practice must always be founded on sound theory."11

During the crossing, Einstein explained his theory to me every day, and by the time we arrived I was fully convinced that he really understands it.

That goes a step too far, I think. Leonardo did not invent the scientific method, nor did Aristotle or Alhazen or Galileo or any Bacon. But his uncanny abilities to engage in the dialogue between experience and theory made him a prime example of how acute observations, fanatic curiosity, experimental testing, a willingness to question dogma, and the ability to discern patterns across disciplines can lead to great leaps in human understanding.

Since the mathematicians have grabbed hold of the theory of relativity, I myself no longer understand it.

When the conventional wisdom of physics seemed to conflict with an elegant theory of his, Einstein was inclined to question that wisdom rather than his theory, often to have his stubbornness rewarded.

We spoke about furniture in theory for eight years," recalled Powell. "We spent a lot of time asking ourselves, 'What is the purpose of a sofa?'

I have my own theory about why decline happens at companies like IBM or Microsoft.

Physics should represent a reality in time and space, free from spooky action at a distance.

Einstein rejected the emission theory in favor of postulating that the speed of a light beam was constant no matter how fast its source was moving.

Leonardo's optics experiments produced discoveries that would not be rediscovered for another century.23 In addition, they were important in honing his ability to match theory with experiment, and they became an underpinning of his studies on perspective.

He was able to avoid pedantry by regularly bringing his theories down to earth, so to speak, and tying them to practical applications. As he instructed himself in a typical notebook jotting, "When you put together the science of the motions of water, remember to include under each proposition its application, in order that this science may not be useless."15

The first half of the twentieth century, beginning with Albert Einstein's 1905 papers on relativity and quantum theory, featured a revolution driven by physics.

Shockley had the ability to visualize quantum theory, how it explained the movement of electrons, the way a choreographer can visualize a dance.

old physicist joke: they knew that the approach worked in practice, but could they make it work in theory?

Suddenly Einstein jumped up. "What are you doing?" he demanded. "Are you boiling the liver in water?" Mrs. Frank allowed that was indeed what she was doing. "The boiling-point of water is too low," Einstein declared. "You must use a substance with a higher boiling-point such as butter or fat." From then on, Mrs. Frank referred to the necessity of frying liver as "Einstein's theory.

As he aged, he pursued his scientific inquiries not just to serve his art but out of a joyful instinct to fathom the profound beauties of creation. When he groped for a theory of why the sky appears blue, it was not simply to inform his paintings. His curiosity was pure, personal, and delightfully obsessive.

So Einstein rejected the emission theory in favor of postulating that the speed of a light beam was constant no matter how fast its source was moving. "I came to the conviction that all light should be defined by frequency and intensity alone, completely independently of whether it comes from a moving or from a stationary light source," he told Ehrenfest.

It was by all accounts a pleasant Atlantic crossing, during which Einstein tried to explain relativity to Weissmann. Asked upon their arrival whether he understood the theory, Weissmann gave a delightful reply. During the crossing, Einstein explained his theory to me every day, and by the time we arrived I was fully convinced that he really understands it.

The result was an elegant conclusion: mass and energy are different manifestations of the same thing. There is a fundamental interchangeability between the two.

This phenomenon, called time dilation, leads to what is known as the twin paradox.