“Some years ago John Kenneth Galbraith wrote in an essay on his efforts at writing a history of economics: 'As one approaches the present, one is filled with a sense of hopelessness; in a year and possibly even a month, there is now more economic comment in the supposedly serious literature than survives from the whole of the thousand years commonly denominated as the Middle Ages ... anyone who claims to be familiar with it all is a confessing liar.' I believe that all physicists would subscribe to the same sentiments regarding their own professional literature. I do at any rate.” WritingYearsBelieveWholeAgeScienceLiteratureI BelieveEffortHistoryEconomicMiddleSeriousMonthsThousandApproachYears AgoEconomicsClaimsFilledRateFamiliarLiarsSentimentsCommentThousand YearsHopelessnessEssaysPhysicistMiddle AgesConfessingKenneth Author:Abraham Pais
“To make a discovery is not necessarily the same as to understand a discovery.” ScienceUnderstandingDiscovery Author:Abraham Pais
“There is not a soul on Earth who can read the deluge of physics publications in its entirety. As a result, it is sad but true that physics has irretrievably fallen apart from a cohesive to a fragmented discipline. ... It was not that long ago that people were complaining about two cultures. If we only had it that good. today.” PeopleIfsLongTwoSoulTodayEarthScienceCultureResultsDisciplineComplainingPhysicsFallenLong AgoSelf DisciplinePublicationSad But TrueEntiretyFragmentedDelugeTwo Cultures Author:Abraham Pais
“[George] Uhlenbeck was a highly gifted physicist. One of his remarkable traits was he would read every issue of T%he Physical Review from cover to cover.” ScienceIssuesRemarkableReviewsTraitsGiftedBiographiesPhysicist Author:Abraham Pais
