"So my antagonist said, "Is it impossible that there are fl… - Richard Feynman

"So my antagonist said, "Is it impossible that there are flying saucers? Can you prove that it's impossible?" "No", I said, "I can't prove it's impossible. It's just very unlikely". At that he said, "You are very unscientific. If you can't prove it impossible then how can you say that it's unlikely?" But that is the way that is scientific. It is scientific only to say what is more likely and what less likely, and not to be proving all the time the possible and impossible."

Richard Feynman

Sources available for members. Sign up free to see where this quote comes from

skepticism science scientific-method

English

Collect this quote

About Richard Feynman

Richard Phillips Feynman (May 11, 1918 – February 15, 1988) was an American theoretical physicist. He is known for the work he did in the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics, the theory of quantum electrodynamics, the physics of the superfluidity of supercooled liquid helium, and in particle physics, for which he proposed the parton model. For his contributions to the development of quantum electrodynamics, Feynman received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1965 jointly with Julian Schwinger and Shin'ichirō Tomonaga. Feynman developed a widely used pictorial representation scheme for the mathematical expressions describing the behavior of subatomic particles, which later became known as Feynman diagrams. During his lifetime, Feynman became one of the best-known scientists in the world.

Biography information from Wikiquote

Also Known As

Pen Names: Ofey

Native Name: Richard Phillips Feynman

Alternative Names: Feynman • Dick Feynman • Richard P. Feynman

All quotes from Richard Feynman Similar Quotes by other Originators

Originators like Richard Feynman:

Albert Einstein Carl Sagan Niels Bohr Michael Crichton Ludwig Wittgenstein

Additional quotes by Richard Feynman

You see, I get so much fun out of thinking that I don’t want to destroy this pleasant machine that makes life such a big kick.

You see, one thing is, I can live with doubt and uncertainty and not knowing. I think it’s much more interesting to live not knowing than to have answers which might be wrong.

If you take 1 divided by 243 you get .004115226337…It’s quite cute: It goes a little cockeyed after 559 when you’re carrying but it soon straightens itself out and repeats itself nicely. I thought it was kind of amusing.

"So my antagonist said, "Is it impossible that there are flying saucers? Can you prove that it's impossible?" "No", I said, "I can't prove it's impos… - Richard Feynman

About Richard Feynman

Also Known As

Additional quotes by Richard Feynman