Brian Greene Quotes

“All you are is a bag of particles acting out the laws of physics. That to me is pretty clear.”

“Assessing existence while failing to embrace the insights of modern physics would be like wrestling in the dark with an unknown opponent.”

“Exploring the unknown requires tolerating uncertainty.”

“Free will is the sensation of making a choice. The sensation is real, but the choice seems illusory. Laws of physics determine the future.”

“Gravity is matter’s sugar daddy.”

“I have long thought that anyone who does not regularly – or ever – gaze up and see the wonder and glory of a dark night sky filled with countless stars loses a sense of their fundamental connectedness to the universe.”

“Science is the process that takes us from confusion to understanding.”

“When kids look up to great scientists the way they do to great musicians and actors, civilization will jump to the next level.”

“No deviations from the predictions of general relativity have been found in experiments performed with our present level of technology.”

“Sometimes attaining the deepest familiarity with a question is our best substitute for actually having the answer.”

“The boldness of asking deep questions may require unforeseen flexibility if we are to accept the answers.”

“The uncertainty principle tells us that the universe is a frenetic place when examined on smaller and smaller distances and shorter and shorter time scales.”

“The wonders of life and the universe are mere reflections of microscopic particles engaged in a pointless dance fully choreographed by the laws of physics.”

“Things are the way they are in our universe because if they weren't, we would not be here to notice.”

“Cosmology is among the oldest subjects to captivate our species. And it’s no wonder. We’re storytellers, and what could be more grand than the story of creation?”

“If free will is an illusion, and if time travel to the past is possible, then your inability to prevent your parents from meeting poses no puzzle. Although you feel as if you have control over your actions, the laws of physics are really pulling the strings.”

“If you time-travel to the past, you can’t change it any more than you can change the value of pi. If you travel to the past, you are, will be, and always were part of the past, the very same past that leads to your traveling to it.”

“Physicists have come to realize that mathematics, when used with sufficient care, is a proven pathway to truth.”

“Understanding requires insight. Insight must be anchored.”

“When we examine the universe, there seem to be numerous lost opportunities, since there are many things that are more ordered than they have to be.”

“You should never be surprised by or feel the need to explain why any physical system is in a high entropy state.”

“Many a serious thinker has been produced in prisons, where we have nothing to do but think.”