The chief difficulty of modern theoretical physics resides not in the fact that it expresses itself almost exclusively in mathematical symbols, but in the psychological difficulty of supposing that complete nonsense can be seriously promulgated and transmitted by persons who have sufficient intelligence of some kind to perform operations in differential and integral calculus.

Celia Green

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Categorized in : Science Supposing That Theoretical Physics
More Quotes From Celia Green
I cannot write long books; I leave that for those who have nothin... by Celia Green

I cannot write long books; I leave that for those who have nothing to say.

Celia Green
writing long book
A narrow mind and a wide mouth usually go together. by Celia Green

A narrow mind and a wide mouth usually go together.

Celia Green
mouths mind together

In an autocracy, one person has his way; in an aristocracy, a few people have their way; in a democracy, no one has his way.

Celia Green
aristocracy democracy people
One of the greatest superstitions of our time is the belief that... by Celia Green

One of the greatest superstitions of our time is the belief that it has none.

Celia Green
our-time superstitions belief
Lack of clarity is always a sign of dishonesty. by Celia Green

Lack of clarity is always a sign of dishonesty.

Celia Green
clarity dishonesty

When someone says his conclusions are objective, he means that they are based on prejudices which many other people share.

Celia Green
prejudice mean people

The only important thing to realise about history is that it all took place in the last five minutes.

Celia Green
lasts important history

Physics has never been a comfortable subject for human psychology. The desire to regard everything outside the human race's purview as insignificant, and everything within that purview as firmly under the control of tribal myth and custom, is as strong today as it was in the time of Galileo.

Celia Green
strong race science

Young people wonder how the adult world can be so boring. The secret is that it is not boring to adults because they have learnt to enjoy simple things like covert malice at one another's expense.

Celia Green
simple secret people
The human race's favorite method for being in control of facts is... by Celia Green

The human race's favorite method for being in control of facts is to ignore them.

Celia Green
method race facts

Society expresses its sympathy for the geniuses of the past to distract attention from the fact that it has no intention of being sympathetic to the geniuses of the present.

Celia Green
genius attention past
The way to do research is to attack the facts at the point of gre... by Celia Green

The way to do research is to attack the facts at the point of greatest astonishment.

Celia Green
women memorable science

The human race has to be bad at psychology; if it were not, it would understand why it is bad at everything else.

Celia Green
psychology humans race

What appear to be the most valuable aspects of the theoretical physics we have are the mathematical descriptions which enable us to predict events. These equations are, we would argue, the only realities we can be certain of in physics; any other ways we have of thinking about the situation are visual aids or mnemonics which make it easier for beings with our sort of macroscopic experience to use and remember the equations.

Celia Green
theoretical-physics reality thinking
People accept their limitations so as to prevent themselves from... by Celia Green

People accept their limitations so as to prevent themselves from wanting anything they might get.

Celia Green
accepting might people

If you stand up to the human race you lose something called their 'goodwill'; if you kowtow to them you gain ... their permission to continue kowtowing.

Celia Green
conformity gains race
People have been marrying and bringing up children for centuries... by Celia Green

People have been marrying and bringing up children for centuries now. Nothing has ever come of it.

Celia Green
century children people

Most of the research which is done is determined by the requirement that it shall, in a fairly obvious and predictable way, reinforce the approved or fashionable theories.

Celia Green
requirements done way

It is curious that while one's education is the part of one's life over the conditions of which one has least individual control, the results of it are held to brand one irrevocably.

Celia Green
curious individual results

It is inconceivable that anything should be existing. It is not inconceivable that a lot of people should also be existing who are not interested in the fact that they exist. But it is certainly very odd.

Celia Green
odd facts people