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

— Arthur Eddington

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Source: "A Generalization of Weyl's Theory of the Electromagnetic and Gravitational Fields" in Proceedings of the Royal Society of London A99 (1921), p. 108
Source quality: Precise citation Points to a specific work with a page, chapter, date or similar locator, so you can look it up.

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Proof is the idol before whom the pure mathematician tortures himself.

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If our so-called facts are changing shadows, they are shadows cast by the light of constant truth.

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In the world of physics we watch a shadowgraph performance of the drama of familiar life.

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More quotes by Arthur Eddington

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

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

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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.

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

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In the stars matter has its preliminary brewing to prepare the greater variety of elements which are needed for a world of life.

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Attribution

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.