Quotes About Uncertainty

The role of observation in quantum physics cannot be emphasized too strongly. In classical physics, observed systems have an existence independent of the mind that observes and probes them. In quantum physics, however, only through an act of observation does a physical quantity come to have an actual value.

When I'm able to slough it off, when it's not causing physical symptoms or putting me on edge, my anxiety still pops up out of nowhere to spoil nice moments. I fear good things happening because I believe something bad is sure to follow.

bundle of nerves, swaddled in a blanket of panic.

I'm a bundle of nerves, swaddled in a blanket of panic.

He did not know how things were going to end, but he now knew that even in the midst of the darkest night, there was always a shard of light.

He glanced over the side of the ship, and his stomach clenched. The ground was approaching much too fast. There was less fuel than they had realized. A scream pierced the air.

Of course the fall semester didn't start for another eight weeks or so. There was always a chance we were both being overly optimistic in thinking I'd be alive when it rolled around.

Ellen Louise, you've done the sensible thing all your life. Now's the time to follow your heart. What if I do that and he still turns me down? What if you don't and you never know?

And why do you want to be near me? Because you're all I can think about, day and night. I don't know what the hell is going on with us; I only know I can't get rid of it. I don't care if you're batshit insane and think you're the reincarnation of Cleopatra. I hear voices; you hear dogs. We'll work it out. Maybe get a discount on therapy.

This is a woman you've known less than twelve hours. It took you a year to pick out a couch, but you're seriously— "Yes," Roger said. "She's the one.

You want me to be philosophic about the future now? Cal said. I'm not even sure where I left my pants.

Be prepared for some changes. His voice dropped. It'll be noisy. Maybe dirty. Definitely messy. But I can guarantee you'll be satisfied when it's over.

Is it still there? I asked, staring at his head, bent over, as he wedged the stethoscope beneath my left breast. And then, before I could stop myself, Does it sound broken?

Maybe it was inertia -or worse, fear- that was keeping me in the same place.

I could have told him that nothing was safe and that no matter how careful you were and how hard you tried, there were still accidents, hidden traps, and snares. You could get killed on an airplane or crossing the street. Your marriage could fall apart when you weren't looking; your husband could lose his job; our baby could get sick or die.

none of which filled the hours that dragged by, until it was three o'clock and time to take the bus to Uncle Mel's. Each week, Bethie would

The idea that I could somehow end up with a giant chunk of cash at the end of this left me feeling shivery, hot and then cold, like I was coming down with the flu.

It happened this way sometimes. We'd be having a perfectly normal conversation… or, at least, a conversation as close to normal as we could have—and then he'd say something that would remind me that nothing was normal, nothing at all.

She lay awake on the bed, staring up at the ceiling, until it was six o'clock and her husband got up, quietly, to put on his running clothes, feigning sleep until she heard the front door open, and close. Then she lay there for another hour, wondering if she could continue to live like this, and, if not, what she was supposed to do next.

An empty space is a space for questions, not for answers. And what we don't know is infinite.

The older he gets, the more grateful he is to have just as little idea as anyone else what is in store.

Die Zeit macht etwas mit einem Menschen, weil ein Mensch keine Maschine ist, die man an- und ausschalten kann. Die Zeit, in der ein Mensch nicht weiß, wie sein Leben ein Leben werden kann, füllt so einen Untätigen vom Kopf bis zu den Zehen.

Dove va un uomo, quando non sa dove andare?

Going with the flow is soothing but risky.