Quotes About Knowledge

As a father, I would try to instill the importance of asking questions, always.

As often happens in science, discoveries are made in the pursuit of an elusive (and sometimes nonexistent) goal.

If you understand how the universe operates, you control it, in a way.

I swear to use my scientific knowledge for the good of Humanity. I promise never to harm any person in my search for enlightenment. I shall be courageous and careful in my quest for greater knowledge about the mysteries that surround us. I shall not use scientific knowledge for my own personal gain or give it to those who seek to destroy the wonderful planet on which we live. If I break this oath, may the beauty and wonder of the Universe forever remain hidden from me.

The most incomprehensible thing about the universe is that it is comprehensible. —ALBERT EINSTEIN

the most important point: that the universe is governed by a set of rational laws that we can discover and understand.

But ever since the dawn of civilization, people have not been content to see events as unconnected and inexplicable. They have craved an understanding of the underlying order in the world. Today we still yearn to know why we are here and where we come from. Humanity's deepest desire for knowledge is justification enough for our continuing quest. And our goal is nothing less than a complete description of the universe we live in.

Equations are more important to me, because politics is for the present, but an equation is something for eternity.

In Newton's time it was possible for an educated person to have a grasp of the whole of human knowledge, at least in outline. But since then, the pace of the development of science has made this impossible. Because theories are always being changed to account for new observations, they are never properly digested or simplified so that ordinary people can understand them... Further, the rate of progress is so rapid that what one learns at school or university is always a bit out of date.

Newton's time it was possible for an educated person to have a grasp of the whole of human knowledge, at least in outline. But since then, the pace of the development of science has made this impossible.

for the fluctuations in the background. However, within a few years we should know whether we can believe that we live in a universe that is completely self-contained and without beginning or end.

The universe is a machine governed by principles or laws – laws that can be understood by the human mind.

Not only is it important to ask questions and find the answers, as a scientist I felt obligated to communicate with the world what we were learning.

According to some accounts, a journalist told Eddington in the early 1920s that he had heard there were only three people in the world who understood general relativity. Eddington paused, then replied, "I am trying to think who the third person is.")

We have seen in this chapter how, in less than half a century, man's view of the universe, formed over millennia, has been transformed.

Feynman once wrote, "I think I can safely say that nobody understands quantum mechanics.

it is surely better to strive for a complete understanding than to despair of the human mind.

to some accounts, a journalist told Eddington in the early 1920s that he had heard there were only three people in the world who understood general relativity. Eddington paused, then replied, "I am trying to think who the third person is.")

was generally thought that all knowledge of the world could be obtained through direct observation

Until the advent of modern physics it was generally thought that all knowledge of the world could be obtained through direct observation, that things are what they seem, as perceived through our senses. But the spectacular success of modern physics, which is based upon concepts such as Feynman's that clash with everyday experience, has shown that that is not the case. The naive view of reality therefore is not compatible with modern physics.

Therefore, a human is equivalent to about fifty Harry Potter books, and a major national library can contain about five million books – or about ten trillion bits.

In effect, God was confined to the areas that nineteenth-century science did not understand.

Humanity's deepest desire for knowledge is justification enough for our continuing quest.

How will we feed an ever-growing population? Provide clean water, generate renewable energy, prevent and cure disease and slow down global climate change? I hope that science and technology will provide the answers to these questions, but it will take people, human beings with knowledge and understanding, to implement these solutions.