It's amazing how many people even today use a computer to do something you can do with a pencil and paper in less time. Richard P. Feynman More Quotes by Richard P. Feynman More Quotes From Richard P. Feynman Thank you very Much, I enjoyed myself Richard P. Feynman enjoyed funny Whenever you see a sweeping statement that a tremendous amount can come from a very small number of assumptions, you always find that it is false. There are usually a large number of implied assumptions that are far from obvious if you think about them sufficiently carefully. Richard P. Feynman small-numbers assumption thinking 'Conservation' (the conservation law) means this ... that there is a number, which you can calculate, at one moment-and as nature undergoes its multitude of changes, this number doesn't change. That is, if you calculate again, this quantity, it'll be the same as it was before. An example is the conservation of energy: there's a quantity that you can calculate according to a certain rule, and it comes out the same answer after, no matter what happens, happens. Richard P. Feynman nature change mean Energy is a very subtle concept. It is very, very difficult to get right. Richard P. Feynman subtle difficult energy Phenomena complex-laws simple....Know what to leave out. Richard P. Feynman simplicity simple law To decide upon the answer is not scientific. In order to make progress, one must leave the door to the unknown ajar ajar only. Richard P. Feynman decide-upon doors science First you guess. Don't laugh, this is the most important step. Then you compute the consequences. Compare the consequences to experience. If it disagrees with experience, the guess is wrong. In that simple statement is the key to science. It doesn't matter how beautiful your guess is or how smart you are or what your name is. If it disagrees with experience, it's wrong. That's all there is to it. Richard P. Feynman smart beautiful science Know your place in the world and evaluate yourself fairly, not in terms of the naïve ideals of your own youth, nor in terms of what you erroneously imagine your teacher's ideals are. Richard P. Feynman youth teacher world Listen, I mean that from my knowledge of the world that I see around me, I think that it is much more likely that the reports of flying saucers are the results of the known irrational characteristics of terrestrial intelligence than of the unknown rational efforts of extra-terrestrial intelligence. Richard P. Feynman effort mean thinking I have argued flying saucers with lots of people. I was interested in possible. They do not appreciate that the problem is not to demonstrate whether it's possible or not but whether it's going on or not. Richard P. Feynman appreciate flying people By honest I don't mean that you only tell what's true. But you make clear the entire situation. You make clear all the information that is required for somebody else who is intelligent to make up their mind. Richard P. Feynman honesty intelligent mean The principle of science, the definition, almost, is the following: The test of all knowledge is experiment. Experiment is the sole judge of scientific "truth." But what is the source of knowledge? Where do the laws that are to be tested come from? Experiment, itself, helps to produce these laws, in the sense that it gives us hints. But also needed is imagination to create from these hints the great generalizations--to guess at the wonderful, simple, but very strange patterns beneath them all, and then to experiment to check again whether we have made the right guess. Richard P. Feynman simple math science An ordinary fool isn't a faker; an honest fool is all right. But a dishonest fool is terrible! Richard P. Feynman hocus-pocus fool ordinary So, ultimately, in order to understand nature it may be necessary to have a deeper understanding of mathematical relationships. But the real reason is that the subject is enjoyable, and although we humans cut nature up in different ways, and we have different courses in different departments, such compartmentaliz ation is really artificial, and we should take our intellectual pleasures where we find them. Richard P. Feynman cutting real order One does not, by knowing all the physical laws as we know them today, immediately obtain an understanding of anything much. I love only nature, and I hate mathematicians. Richard P. Feynman hate knowing law While I am describing to you how Nature works, you won't understand why Nature works that way. But you see, nobody understands that. Richard P. Feynman describing way If the professors of English will complain to me that the students who come to the universities, after all those years of study, still cannot spell 'friend,' I say to them that something's the matter with the way you spell friend. Richard P. Feynman matter complaining years It is not unscientific to make a guess, although many people who are not in science think it is. Richard P. Feynman people thinking The fundamental principle of science, the definition almost, is this: the Richard P. Feynman principles fundamentals ideas Outside of their particular area of expertise scientists are just as dumb as the next person. Richard P. Feynman scientist next dumb
