More on Theories

"It seems to be one of the fundamental features of nature the fundamental physical laws are described in terms of a mathematical theory of great beauty and power, needing quite a high standard of mathematics for one to understand it. You may wonder: Why is nature constructed along these lines? One can only answer that our present knowledge seems to show that nature is so constructed. We simply have to accept it. " (Paul A M Dirac , “The Evolution of the Physicist’s Picture of Nature" , Scientific American, 1963)

“It [a theory] ought to furnish a compass which, if followed, will lead the observer further and further into previously unexplored regions. Whether these regions will be barren or fertile experience alone will decide; but, at any rate, one who is guided in this way will travel onward in a definite direction, and will not wander aimlessly to and fro.” (Sir Joseph J Thomson, “The Corpuscular Theory of Matter”, 1907)

”As soon as we inquire into the reasons for the phenomena, we enter the domain of theory, which connects the observed phenomena and traces them back to a single ‘pure’ phenomena, thus bringing about a logical arrangement of an enormous amount of observational material.” (Georg Joos, “Theoretical Physics”, 1968)

"[...] we and our models are both part of the universe we are describing. Thus a physical theory is self referencing, like in Gödel’s theorem. One might therefore expect it to be either inconsistent or incomplete. The theories we have so far are both inconsistent and incomplete." (Stephen Hawking, “Gödel and the End of the Universe” )

“The scientist who discovers a theory is usually guided to his discovery by guesses; he cannot name a method by means of which he found the theory and can only say that it appeared plausible to him, that he had the right hunch or that he saw intuitively which assumption would fit the facts.” (Hans Reichenbach, “The Rise of Scientific Philosophy”, 1951)

“It is in the nature of theoretical science that there can be no such thing as certainty. A theory is only ‘true’ for as long as the majority of the scientific community maintain the view that the theory is the one best able to explain the observations.” (Jim Baggott, “The Meaning of Quantum Theory”, 1992)

"Science is not about control. It is about cultivating a perpetual condition of wonder in the face of something that forever grows one step richer and subtler than our latest theory about it. It is about  reverence, not mastery." (Richard Power, “Gold Bug Variations”, 1993)

”Books on physics are full of complicated mathematical formulae. But thought and ideas, not formulas, are the beginning of every physical theory.” (Leopold Infeld, “The Evolution of Physics”, 1961)

”A discovery in science, or a new theory, even where it appears most unitary and most all-embracing, deals with some immediate element of novelty or paradox within the framework of far vaster, unanalyzed, unarticulated reserves of knowledge, experience, faith, and presupposition. Our progress is narrow: it takes a vast world unchallenged and for granted.” (James R Oppenheimer, “Atom and Void”, 1989)

"Every theory of the course of events in nature is necessarily based on some process of simplification and is to some extent, therefore, a fairy tale." (Sir Napier Shaw, “Manual of Meteorology”, 1932)