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Quote by Alan Lightman

“As long as God does not intervene in the contemporary universe in such a way as to violate physical laws, science has no way of knowing whether God exists or not. The belief or disbelief in such a Being is therefore a matter of faith.”

Quote by Alan Lightman

Book:The Accidental Universe: The World You Thought You Knew

Work

The Accidental Universe: The World You Thought You Knew

This book delves into the mysteries of the universe, examining the scientific theories and discoveries that have reshaped our understanding of space, time, and existence. It investigates the origins of the cosmos, the nature of dark matter and dark energy, and the implications of these findings on our place in the universe. more

Author

Alan Lightman is an American physicist and an accomplished writer. Born on November 28, 1948, he is renowned for his contributions to physics and his literary achievements that blend science and fiction. more

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“Unfortunately, public debates do not have much room for subtlety. The audience wants a quick thrust at your opponent, not a slow and convoluted series of moves. Whenever Obama uses subtleties in discussing a complex issue, he gets creamed.”

Want Use Moving Rooms Audience Issues Series Complexes Debate Opponents Thrust Discussing Subtlety Convoluted

Author:Alan Lightman

“A good book changes for you every few years because you are in a different place in your own life. That's a sign of a good novel. Not only will two different readers get something different but so will a single reader at different points in his life.”

Years Two Book Different Novel Reader Good Book Different Place

Author:Alan Lightman

“Despite our strongly felt kinship and oneness with nature, all the evidence suggests that nature doesn't care one whit about us. Tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions happen without the slightest consideration for human inhabitants.”

Humans Happens Care Felt Evidence Despite Oneness Consideration Flood Hurricanes Earthquakes Kinship Tornadoes Eruption Volcanic Eruptions

Author:Alan Lightman

“I think that the scienti?c way of looking at the world, and the humanistic way of looking at the world are complementary. There are important differences which should be preserved, and in trying to do away with those differences we would lose something the same way as if we tried to make all religions one religion or all races one race. There is a cultural diversity that's very valuable, and it's valuable to have different ways of looking at the world.”

Ifs Thinking World Way Should Trying Important Different Loses Differences Race Diversity Valuable Different Ways Cultural Diversity Complementary Humanistic

Author:Alan Lightman

“Don't you feel something magical when you're in love?... I do, I certainly do ... but I think that feeling of magic is a hardwired psychological response. It's a chemical thing in the brain. It's a flow of chemicals and electrical currents, and it developed over millions of years in the process of evolution to aid in the procreation of the species.”

Thinking Feels Years Feelings Process Brain Millions Magic Evolution Flow Response Species Currents Aids Psychological Chemicals Electrical Procreation

Author:Alan Lightman

“When the first mechanical clocks were invented, marking off time in crisp, regular intervals, it must have surprised people to discover that time flowed outside their own mental and physiological processes. Body time flows at its own variable rate, oblivious to the most precise hydrogen master clocks in the laboratory. In fact, the human body contains its own exquisite time-pieces, all with their separate rhythms. There are the alpha waves in the brain; another clock is the heart. And all the while tick the mysterious, ruthless clocks that regulate aging.”

Source: Dance for Two: Essays

“Nature is purposeless. Nature simply is. We may find nature beautiful or terrible, but those feelings are human constructions. Such utter and complete mindlessness is hard for us to accept. We feel such a strong connection to nature. But the relationship between nature and us is one-sided. There is no reciprocity. There is no mind on the other side of the wall.”

Feels Mind Humans May Hard Feelings Beautiful Strong Sides Accepting Wall Terrible Connections Construction Reciprocity One Sided Strong Connection

Author:Alan Lightman

“I have no opposition at all to technology. I think technology is a wonderful thing that has to be used thoughtfully, and we can't just assume that every bit of new technology improvesthe quality of life; it's really in how the technology is used. What I am very disturbed about is this trend of everything happening faster and faster and faster and there being more and more general noise in the world, and less and less time for quiet reflection on who we are, and where we're going.”

“Although technology is proceeding at a dizzying pace, I believe that the human mind will always have control of itself. And since the human mind has a degree of infinity and imagination unlikely to be matched by a machine for a very, very long time, I don't think that we will become the machines of the machines.”

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Book:A Sense of the Mysterious: Science and the Human Spirit

Source: A Sense of the Mysterious: Science and the Human Spirit

“Oh, love is very much a physical thing.... I realize that it's very complicated, and I'm sure it can't be traced to individual neurons and hormones, but I think it's very much a physiological sensation that takes place in the brain.”

Thinking Individual Realizing Love Is Brain Complicated Sensations Hormones Neurons Physiological Physical Things

Book:Ghost: A Novel

Source: Ghost: A Novel