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It has been my experience that good theoretical physics is empowering, in that it enables thinking to take place that would otherwise not occur, and, in its highest form, facilitates experiments that would otherwise not be done.

— Robert B. Laughlin Emergent Relativity (2003)

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More quotes by Robert B. Laughlin

The most interesting thing I learned during this time was how small a nuclear warhead was.

Nobel Prize autobiography (1998)

The modern concept of the vacuum of space, confirmed every day by experiment, is a relativistic ether. But we do not call it this because it is taboo.

The great power of science is its ability, through brutal objectivity, to reveal to us truth we did not anticipate. In this it continues to be invaluable, and one of the greatest of human creations.

The world is full of intelligent, well-meaning people who, for one reason or another, did not attend university but are nonetheless well-read and educated.

Nobel Prize autobiography (1998)

Real understanding of a thing comes from taking it apart oneself, not reading about it in a book or hearing about it in a classroom.

Nobel Prize autobiography (1998)

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