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Most people who haven't been trained in physics probably think of what physicists do as a question of incredibly complicated calculations, but that's not really the essence of it. The essence of it is that physics is about concepts, wanting to understand the concepts, the principles by which the world works.

— Edward Witten

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More quotes by Edward Witten

It would be silly to throw away the right answer because we don't like it.

Good wrong ideas are extremely scarce... and good wrong ideas that even remotely rival the majesty of string theory have never been seen.

It is very possible that a proper understanding of string theory will make the space-time continuum melt away.... String theory is a miracle through and through.

Generally speaking, all the really great ideas of physics are really spin-offs of string theory... Some of them were discovered first, but I consider that a mere accident of the development on planet earth.

It was clear that if I didn't spend the rest of my life concentrating on string theory, I would simply be missing my life's calling.

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