"… For more than a thousand years it was thought that the heavens obeyed a different physics than pertains here on Earth. With the scientific renaissance that culminated in Isaac Newton’s work it became clear that, on the contrary, the same natural laws rule the earth and the sky. The cosmos came to be viewed as a marvel, events following from causes like the tickings of brass cogs. The realm of the inexplicable—where dwell the gods of those dazzled by the unexplained—was thereafter relegated to the first moment of time, when the universe somehow blossomed into being. Then quantum chance reared its indeterminate face, as a creative agency that authored the first phenomena of cosmic time. So we are obliged to consider that even the largest systems are ruled by quantum precepts that govern nature on the smallest scales, and that the origin of the universe may itself have been a cosmic flux."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Academics from the United StatesNon-fiction authors from the United StatesScience authors from the United StatesPeople from MiamiUniversity of California, Berkeley faculty
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
(quote from pp. 11–12; pbk reprint of 1997 1st edition)
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Timothy_Ferris
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Timothy Ferris
1986 – 1987
(born August 29, 1944) is an American science writer and author of twelve books. He won the 1986 and for the academic year 1986–1987 was a . His 1988 book Coming of Age in the Milky Way was awarded the 1989 . He is a professor emeritus in the departments of journalism and astronomy of the University of California, Berkeley.
5 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Timothy Ferris →
Related Quotes
"In all, Kepler tested seventy circular orbits against 's Mars data, all to no avail. At one point, performing a leap …"
"Neuroscience has begun to reveal some fascinating things about how the brain works, shedding light on the concept of …"
"The most dramatic burst of biological inventiveness came here, just over half a billion years ago, when a whole array…"
"This book argues that ... the was sparked—caused is perhaps not too strong a word—by the scientific revolution, and t…"
"Scientific education is catholic; it embraces the whole field of human learning. No student can master all knowledge …"
"Honest investigation is but the application of common sense to the solution of the unknown. Science does not wait on …"
"Years of drought and famine come and years of flood and famine come, and the climate is not changed with dance, libat…"
"The verb is relatively of much greater importance in an Indian tongue than in a civilized language."
"Possible ideas and thoughts are vast in number. A distinct word for every distinct idea and thought would require a v…"
"The integers of language are sentences, and their organs are the parts of speech. Linguistic organization, then, cons…"