#physics

Even when I was studying mathematics, physics, and computer science, it always seemed that the problem of consciousness was about the most interesting problem out there for science to come to grips with. ↗

— David Chalmers

#always #come #computer #computer science #consciousness

In 2002, having spent more than three years in one residence for the first time in my life, I got called for jury duty. I show up on time, ready to serve. When we get to the voir dire, the lawyer says to me, “I see you’re an astrophysicist. What’s that?” I answer, “Astrophysics is the laws of physics, applied to the universe—the Big Bang, black holes, that sort of thing.” Then he asks, “What do you teach at Princeton?” and I say, “I teach a class on the evaluation of evidence and the relative unreliability of eyewitness testimony.” Five minutes later, I’m on the street. A few years later, jury duty again. The judge states that the defendant is charged with possession of 1,700 milligrams of cocaine. It was found on his body, he was arrested, and he is now on trial. This time, after the Q&A is over, the judge asks us whether there are any questions we’d like to ask the court, and I say, “Yes, Your Honor. Why did you say he was in possession of 1,700 milligrams of cocaine? That equals 1.7 grams. The ‘thousand’ cancels with the ‘milli-’ and you get 1.7 grams, which is less than the weight of a dime.” Again I’m out on the street. ↗

— Neil deGrasse Tyson

#astrophysics #eyewitness #jury-duty #science #universe

Physics is nothing but the ABC's. Nature is an equation with an unknown, a Hebrew word which is written only with consonants to which reason has to add the dots. ↗

— Johann Georg Hamann

#add #consonants #dots #equation #hebrew

The very nature of the quantum theory ... forces us to regard the space-time coordination and the claim of causality, the union of which characterizes the classical theories, as complementary but exclusive features of the description, symbolizing the idealization of observation and description, respectively. ↗

— Niels Bohr

#quantum-mechanics #reality #science #nature

Both the old and new physics were dealing with shadow-symbols, but the new physics was forced to be aware of that fact - forced to be aware that it was dealing with shadows and illusions, not reality. ↗

— Ken Wilber

#science #science

I went to the University of Washington as a physics and astronomy major. My other interest, of course, was aviation. I always wanted to be a pilot. And if you're going to fly airplanes, the best place to be is the Air Force. ↗

— Michael P. Anderson

#air force #always #astronomy #aviation #best

Eight months later, having left Columbia, I was studying physics in a summer program and working in Colorado when I decided to enroll as a graduate student in biophysics. ↗

— Sidney Altman

#columbia #decided #eight #enroll #graduate

My intention was to enroll at McGill University but an unexpected series of events led me to study physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. ↗

— Sidney Altman

#events #institute #intention #led #massachusetts

Science Fiction is not just about the future of space ships travelling to other planets, it is fiction based on science and I am using science as my basis for my fiction, but it's the science of prehistory - palaeontology and archaeology - rather than astronomy or physics. ↗

— Jean M. Auel

#am #archaeology #astronomy #based #basis

Nature has a great simplicity and therefore a great beauty ↗

— Richard P. Feynman

#physics #richard-feynman #beauty