The research worker, in his efforts to express the fundamental laws of Nature in mathematical form, should strive mainly for mathematical beauty. He should take simplicity into consideration in a subordinate way to beauty ... It often happens that the requirements of simplicity and beauty are the same, but where they clash, the latter must take precedence.

Paul Dirac

Categorized in : Science Law Simplicity

I consider that I understand an equation when I can predict the properties of its solutions, without actually solving it.

equations understanding science

The aim of science is to make difficult things understandable in a simpler way; the aim of poetry is to state simple things in an incomprehensible way. The two are incompatible.

simple two way

A theory with mathematical beauty is more likely to be correct than an ugly one that fits some experimental data.

ugly fit data

God used beautiful mathematics in creating the world. by Paul Dirac

God used beautiful mathematics in creating the world.

creating god beautiful

I do not see how a man can work on the frontiers of physics and write poetry at the same time. They are in opposition. In science you want to say something that nobody knew before, in words which everyone can understand. In poetry you are bound to say ... something that everyone knows already in words that nobody can understand.

poetry writing men

Pick a flower on Earth and you move the farthest star. by Paul Dirac

Pick a flower on Earth and you move the farthest star.

stars inspirational life

Living is worthwhile if one can contribute in some small way to t... by Paul Dirac

Living is worthwhile if one can contribute in some small way to this endless chain of progress.

progress chains way

If we are honest - and scientists have to be - we must admit that religion is a jumble of false assertions, with no basis in reality.

atheism reality religion

If there is a God, he's a great mathematician. by Paul Dirac

If there is a God, he's a great mathematician.

if-there-is-a-god ifs math

A termination of one's life is necessary in the scheme of things to provide a logical reason for unselfishness. . . . The fact that there is an end to one's life compels one to take an interest in things that will continue to live after one is dead.

life-is reason facts

A physical law must possess mathematical beauty. by Paul Dirac

A physical law must possess mathematical beauty.

mathematical-beauty mathematical law

The fundamental laws necessary for the mathematical treatment of a large part of physics and the whole of chemistry are thus completely known, and the difficulty lies only in the fact that application of these laws leads to equations that are too complex to be solved.

law science lying

One could perhaps describe the situation by saying that God is a mathematician of a very high order, and He used very advanced mathematics in constructing the universe.

mathematics used order

It is more important to have beauty in one's equations than to ha... by Paul Dirac

It is more important to have beauty in one's equations than to have them fit experiment.

mathematical-equations fit important

The measure of greatness in a scientific idea is the extent to which it stimulates thought and opens up new lines of research.

greatness research ideas

Scientific progress is measured in units of courage, not intellig... by Paul Dirac

Scientific progress is measured in units of courage, not intelligence.

scientific-progress units progress

When [Erwin Schrödinger] went to the Solvay conferences in Brussels, he would walk from the station to the hotel where the delegates stayed, carrying all his luggage in a rucksack and looking so like a tramp that it needed a great deal of argument at the reception desk before he could claim a room.

biographies science rooms

What makes the theory of relativity so acceptable to physicists in spite of its going against the principle of simplicity is its great mathematical beauty. This is a quality which cannot be defined, any more than beauty in art can be defined, but which people who study mathematics usually have no difficulty in appreciating.

appreciate people art

Mathematics is the tool specially suited for dealing with abstract concepts of any kind and there is no limit to its power in this field.

tools power math

I found the best ideas usually came, not when one was actively striving for them, but when one was in a more relaxed state… I used to take long solitary walks on Sundays, during which I tended to review the current situation in a leisurely way. Such occasions often proved fruitful, even though (or perhaps, because) the primary purpose of the walk was relaxation and not research.

sunday long ideas