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Light-waves in passing a massive body such as the sun are deflected through a small angle. This is additional evidence that the Newtonian picture of gravitation as a tug is inadequate. You cannot deflect waves by tugging at them, and clearly another representation of the agency which deflects them must be found.

— Arthur Eddington The Nature of the Physical World (1928)

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Science

More quotes by Arthur Eddington

Physics has in the main contented itself with studying the abridged edition of the book of nature.

Mind is the first and most direct thing in our experience; all else is remote inference.

Science and the Unseen World (1929)

It is impossible to trap modern physics into predicting anything with perfect determinism because it deals with probabilities from the outset.

New Pathways in Science (1935)

All change is relative. The universe is expanding relatively to our common material standards; our material standards are shrinking relatively to the size of the universe.

The Expanding Universe (1933)

The whole subject-matter of exact science consists of pointer readings and similar indications.

The Nature of the Physical World (1928)

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The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents.

H. P. Lovecraft The Call of Cthulhu (1926)

All religions, arts and sciences are branches of the same tree. All these aspirations are directed toward ennobling man's life, lifting it from the sphere of mere physical existence and leading the individual towards freedom.

Albert Einstein Moral Decay (1937)

Science and religion are two human enterprises sharing many features.

Freeman Dyson Infinite in All Directions (1988)

To doubt everything or to believe everything are two equally convenient solutions; both dispense with the necessity of reflection.

Henri Poincaré Science and Hypothesis (1901)

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Arthur Eddington (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.