Everything we call real.......

[Sriram]

Hi everyone,

Niels Bohr (1885-1962)..the celebrated physicist is believed to have said.....

“Everything we call real is made of things that cannot be regarded as real.”

Here are some other quotes of Bohr that are quite fascinating....

https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Niels_Bohr

******************

1. " We are suspended in language in such a way that we cannot say what is up and what is down. The word "reality" is also a word, a word which we must learn to use correctly."

2. "Physics is to be regarded not so much as the study of something a priori given, but rather as the development of methods of ordering and surveying human experience."

3. "How wonderful that we have met with a paradox. Now we have some hope of making progress."

4. "The opposite of a correct statement is a false statement. But the opposite of a profound truth may well be another profound truth."

5. "Anyone who is not shocked by quantum theory has not understood it."

6. "No, no, you are not thinking, you are just being logical."

7. "I feel very much like Dirac: the idea of a personal God is foreign to me. But we ought to remember that religion uses language in quite a different way from science. The language of religion is more closely related to the language of poetry than to the language of science."

8. "The fact that religions through the ages have spoken in images, parables, and paradoxes means simply that there are no other ways of grasping the reality to which they refer. But that does not mean that it is not a genuine reality."

9. "Nowadays, the individual seems to be able to choose the spiritual framework of his thoughts and actions quite freely, and this freedom reflects the fact that the boundaries between the various cultures and societies are beginning to become more fluid. But even when an individual tries to attain the greatest possible degree of independence, he will still be swayed by the existing spiritual structures — consciously or unconsciously."

10." .... religion helps to make social life more harmonious; its most important task is to remind us, in the language of pictures and parables, of the wider framework within which our life is set."

****************

A true thinking scientist!

Cheers.

Sriram

[ippy]

Hi everyone,

Niels Bohr (1885-1962)..the celebrated physicist is believed to have said.....

“Everything we call real is made of things that cannot be regarded as real.”

Here are some other quotes of Bohr that are quite fascinating....

https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Niels_Bohr

******************

1. " We are suspended in language in such a way that we cannot say what is up and what is down. The word "reality" is also a word, a word which we must learn to use correctly."

2. "Physics is to be regarded not so much as the study of something a priori given, but rather as the development of methods of ordering and surveying human experience."

3. "How wonderful that we have met with a paradox. Now we have some hope of making progress."

4. "The opposite of a correct statement is a false statement. But the opposite of a profound truth may well be another profound truth."

5. "Anyone who is not shocked by quantum theory has not understood it."

6. "No, no, you are not thinking, you are just being logical."

7. "I feel very much like Dirac: the idea of a personal God is foreign to me. But we ought to remember that religion uses language in quite a different way from science. The language of religion is more closely related to the language of poetry than to the language of science."

8. "The fact that religions through the ages have spoken in images, parables, and paradoxes means simply that there are no other ways of grasping the reality to which they refer. But that does not mean that it is not a genuine reality."

9. "Nowadays, the individual seems to be able to choose the spiritual framework of his thoughts and actions quite freely, and this freedom reflects the fact that the boundaries between the various cultures and societies are beginning to become more fluid. But even when an individual tries to attain the greatest possible degree of independence, he will still be swayed by the existing spiritual structures — consciously or unconsciously."

10." .... religion helps to make social life more harmonious; its most important task is to remind us, in the language of pictures and parables, of the wider framework within which our life is set."

****************

A true thinking scientist!

Cheers.

Sriram

Everything we call real.......Is almost anything that doesn't include these barmy threads of yours Sriram.

Where do you think the origins of the stories about magic carpets came from? I don't know I just wondered if you knew?

ippy

[Bubbles]

Web-dreaming one day, writer Cathy FitzGerald stumbled on a site belonging to a museum in Iran. It purported to tell the 'true history' of the flying carpet – how it was invented around the time of King Solomon and flourished with the rise of artisan makers in 11th century Baghdad.

The article detailed the carpet's many uses – military, as a means of aerial attack; commercial, as a vehicle for the transport of goods; and cultural, as a device to help readers in the library at Alexandria reach the high books – and explained how they were finally wiped out during the Mongol invasion of Central Asia.

The article appears across the web, rarely with any caveat or credit. Cathy tracks down its author, the writer Azhar Abidi, and together they separate carpet fiction from carpet fact.

She goes on to meet a Japanese astronaut who took a real carpet into space - and flew it, a Muslim whose prayer mat rises above the mundane and a physicist working on levitation in the quantum world.

Along the way, cultural historian Marina Warner explains the origins of the symbol in the Arabian Nights, and wonders whether we had to invent flying carpets in order to learn how to fly.

We dream of flying and often long to fly unaided - is that part of it?

Cathy FitzGerald explores the past, present, and very real future of the magic carpet and wonders what our desire to defy gravity tells us about ourselves.



http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/documentaries/2010/09/100923_magic_carpet_flight_manual.shtml

   

[ippy]

Web-dreaming one day, writer Cathy FitzGerald stumbled on a site belonging to a museum in Iran. It purported to tell the 'true history' of the flying carpet – how it was invented around the time of King Solomon and flourished with the rise of artisan makers in 11th century Baghdad.

The article detailed the carpet's many uses – military, as a means of aerial attack; commercial, as a vehicle for the transport of goods; and cultural, as a device to help readers in the library at Alexandria reach the high books – and explained how they were finally wiped out during the Mongol invasion of Central Asia.

The article appears across the web, rarely with any caveat or credit. Cathy tracks down its author, the writer Azhar Abidi, and together they separate carpet fiction from carpet fact.

She goes on to meet a Japanese astronaut who took a real carpet into space - and flew it, a Muslim whose prayer mat rises above the mundane and a physicist working on levitation in the quantum world.

Along the way, cultural historian Marina Warner explains the origins of the symbol in the Arabian Nights, and wonders whether we had to invent flying carpets in order to learn how to fly.

We dream of flying and often long to fly unaided - is that part of it?

Cathy FitzGerald explores the past, present, and very real future of the magic carpet and wonders what our desire to defy gravity tells us about ourselves.



http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/documentaries/2010/09/100923_magic_carpet_flight_manual.shtml

   

And to think it worries me when I encounter people that don't think that Star Trek is a part of real life?

[Red Giant]

Actually it all sounds like a man trying to say something profound when he knows only too well that he's got no idea what he's talking about.

[Gonnagle]

Dear Sriram,

The man is a lightweight, try this

"My religion consists of a humble admiration of the illimitable superior spirit who reveals himself in the slight details we are able to perceive with our frail and feeble mind."

His religion, the man admitting he has a religion.

Humble Admiration, of what!!

the illimitable superior spirit, oh right, sounds like a God to me.

frail and feeble mind., something we all need to remember.

Of course he also said,

"Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one."

Gonnagle.

[Sriram]

Gonnagle....Niels Bohr was certainly not a light weight!  He was one of the founding fathers of QM (along with Max Planck, Heisenberg & Einstein).  There were some others like Dirac, Schrodinger and De Broglie also.  In general, these seven people are considered the founding fathers of QM.  He was also a noble laureate.

Bohr in particular is known for the Bohr model of the atom and development of the Copenhagen Interpretation of QM with Heisenberg....and remains one of the biggest names in QM.

Its true many lay people may not know much about him...(or even Heisenberg or Planck or the others for that matter). Einstein's fame & charisma somehow overshadowed most others at that time. 

Its amazing that someone of the stature of Bohr had such clear and balanced views about science, philosophy and religion. In my view, Bohr's views carry much more weight than that of most other scientists like say Dawkins, Sam Harris, Tyson or Hawking.

[Gonnagle]

Dear Sriram,

Dawkins, Harris Vlad will be along in a moment to ask you to go and wash your mouth out with carbolic.

But you may be right, Einstein was probably just the right genius at the right time.

Gonnagle.

[Sriram]

Dear Sriram,

Dawkins, Harris Vlad will be along in a moment to ask you to go and wash your mouth out with carbolic.

But you may be right, Einstein was probably just the right genius at the right time.

Gonnagle.

Einstein was a genius....yes....but sometimes one person's charisma and fame can unfairly sideline some others who perhaps are equally credit worthy.....especially in the public domain.   I think this happened in the case of Einstein versus people like Niels Bohr, Heisenberg and some others.

[ippy]

Actually it all sounds like a man trying to say something profound when he knows only too well that he's got no idea what he's talking about.

In a nutshell.

ippy

[Sriram]

Well....some of you people have no idea what Bohr is talking about...that much is evident!!  LOL!!

[ippy]

Actually it all sounds like a man trying to say something profound when he knows only too well that he's got no idea what he's talking about.

In a nutshell.

ippy

Thanks for the good job you've made of illustrating R G's point Sriram.

ippy

[Sriram]

Hi everyone,

None of the persons normally associating themselves with science and scientists seem to have commented on the Niels Bohr quotes.

When our fondly held views (memes) are opposed...even heroes could seem like villains! (my quote..that one!) 

Cheers.

Sriram

 

[Udayana]

They are good, interesting, quotes. They show his feelings and personal insight into some of the things he worked on or thought about. His views deserve respect, as do anyone else's but don't express profound truths... It his work on the physics and mathematics of atoms, the quantum model of atomic structure, that count towards establishing "truth".