Best theory & theoretical Quotes | Short & Famous Sayings

“Zen has no theory. It is a non-theoretical approach into reality. It has no doctrine and no dogma - hence it has no church, no priest, no pope.”

Reality Church Theory Approach Doctrine Priests Dogma Pope Theoretical

Author:Rajneesh

“No matter how we may single out a complex from nature...its theoretical treatment will never prove to be ultimately conclusive... I believe that this process of deepening of theory has no limits.”

Believe May Matter I Believe Process Theory Prove Limits Complexes Treatment Skepticism Theoretical

Author:Albert Einstein

“Therefore psychologically we must keep all the theories in our heads, and every theoretical physicist who is any good knows six or seven different theoretical representations for exactly the same physics.”

Knows Different Theory Six Seven Physics Representation Physicist Theoretical

Book:The Quotable Feynman

Source: The Quotable Feynman

“Theoretical approaches have their place and are, I suppose, essential but a theory must be tempered with reality.”

Reality Theory Essentials Approach Theoretical

Book:Speeches 1949-1953

Source: Speeches 1949-1953

“If you find that you're spending almost all your time on theory, start turning some attention to practical things; it will improve your theories. If you find that you're spending almost all your time on practice, start turning some attention to theoretical things; it will improve your practice.”

Ifs Attention Practice Theory Spending Practicals Theoretical Practical Things

Author:Donald Knuth

“To avert the danger [posed by theory] to life, Nietzsche could choose one of two ways: he could insist on the strictly esoteric character of the theoretical analysis of life - that is, restore the Platonic notion of the noble delusion - or else he could deny the possibility of theory proper and so conceive of thought as essentially subservient to, or dependent on, life or fate... If not Nietzsche himself, at any rate his successors [Heidegger] adopted the second alternative.”

“One important idea is that science is a means whereby learning is achieved, not by mere theoretical speculation on the one hand, nor by the undirected accumulation of practical facts on the other, but rather by a motivated iteration between theory and practice.”

Mean Important Ideas Facts Hands Practice Theory Mere Practicals Motivated Speculation Theoretical Accumulation Theory And Practice

Author:George E. P. Box

“Science has been effective at furthering our understanding of nature because the scientific ethos is based on three key principles: (1) follow the evidence wherever it leads; (2) if one has a theory, one needs to be willing to try to prove it wrong as much as one tries to prove that it is right; (3) the ultimate arbiter of truth is experiment, not the comfort one derives from one's a priori beliefs, nor the beauty or elegance one ascribes to one's theoretical models.”

Source: A Universe From Nothing

“Now these two questions Does there exist a material reality distinct from sensible appearances? and What is the nature of reality? do not have their source in experimental method, which is acquainted only with sensible appearances and can discover nothing beyond them. The resolution of these questions transcends the methods used by physics; it is the object of metaphysics. Therefore, if the aim of physical theories is to explain experimental laws, theoretical physics is not an autonomous science; it is subordinate to metaphysics.”

Ifs Doe Two Reality Law Used Objects Materials Theory Source Aim Method Appearance Physics Resolution Sensible Metaphysics Theoretical Subordinates Autonomous Theoretical Physics

Author:Pierre Duhem

“We do have tendency, now in biology especially to make up stories, to make theoretical biology a kind of game, in fact we have game theory in biology which is meant to use the theory of games to make predictions or explain things.”

Kind Facts Stories Use Games Theory Tendencies Biology Predictions Theoretical

Author:Richard Lewontin

“However we select from nature a complex [of phenomena] using the criterion of simplicity, in no case will its theoretical treatment turn out to be forever appropriate (sufficient).... I do not doubt that the day will come when [general relativity], too, will have to yield to another one, for reasons which at present we do not yet surmise. I believe that this process of deepening theory has no limits.”

“It is natural that a man should consider the work of his hands or his brain to be useful and important. Therefore nobody will object to an ardent experimentalist boasting of his measurements and rather looking down on the 'paper and ink' physics of his theoretical friend, who on his part is proud of his lofty ideas and despises the dirty fingers of the other. Experiment and Theory in Physics”

Men Should Important Ideas Hands Natural Brain Objects Theory Proud Paper Fingers Physics Experiments Dirty Despise Boast Ink Theoretical Measurement Lofty Ardent Looking Down

Author:Max Born

“In view of the importance of philanthropy in our society, it is surprising that so little attention has been given to it by economic or social theorists. In economic theory, especially, the subject is almost completely ignored. This is not, I think, because economists regard mankind as basically selfish or even because economic man is supposed to act only in his self-interest; it is rather because economics has essentially grown up around the phenomenon of exchange and its theoretical structure rests heavily on this process.”

“General Systems Theory is a name which has come into use to describe a level of theoretical model-building which lies somewhere between the highly generalized constructions of pure mathematics and the specific theories of the specialized disciplines. Mathematics attempts to organize highly general relationships into a coherent system, a system however which does not have any necessary connections with the "real" world around us. It studies all thinkable relationships abstracted from any concrete situation or body of empirical knowledge.”

“A second possible approach to general systems theory is through the arrangement of theoretical systems and constructs in a hierarchy of complexity, roughly corresponding to the complexity of the "individuals" of the various empirical fields... leading towards a "system of systems." [...] I suggest below a possible arrangement of "levels" of theoretical discourse...(vi) [...] the "animal" level, characterized by increased mobility, teleological behavior and self-awareness...”

“Experience arises together with theoretical assumptions not before them, and an experience without theory is just as incomprehensible as is (allegedly) a theory without experience.”

Together Theory Arise Assumption Theoretical

Book:Against Method

Source: Against Method

“Theory and knowledge remain suspect, not because of inherent worthlessness, but because of their historic isolation from action. Without theoretical orientation, however, action is vulnerable to oversimplified and glib imitativeness-even mimicry-and to the use of the gimmick.”

Use Action Theory Vulnerable Isolation Suspects Inherent Historic Theoretical Orientation Gimmicks Worthlessness Mimicry

Book:Gestalt therapy integrated: contours of theory and practice

Source: Gestalt therapy integrated: contours of theory and practice

“Conspiracies and all the theories of conspiracy are a part of the canon of fakes. And I'm involved, in all of my writings, the theoretical ones as well as the novels, with the production of fakes.”

Writing Wells Novel Theory Involved Productions Fake Conspiracy Theoretical Canon

Author:Umberto Eco

“As soon as science has emerged from its initial stages, theoretical advances are no longer achieved merely by a process of arrangement. Guided by empirical data, the investigator rather develops a system of thought which, in general, is built up logically from a small number of fundamental assumptions, the so-called axioms. We call such a system of thought a theory. The theory finds the justification for its existence in the fact that it correlates a large number of single observations, and it is just here that the 'truth' of the theory lies.”

“This is often the way it is in physics - our mistake is not that we take our theories too seriously, but that we do not take them seriously enough. It is always hard to realize that these numbers and equations we play with at our desks have something to do with the real world. Even worse, there often seems to be a general agreement that certain phenomena are just not fit subjects for respectable theoretical and experimental effort.”

World Way Real Hard Enough Play Seems Certain Realizing Numbers Effort Mistake Subjects Theory Fit Physics Agreement Real World Desks Equations Theoretical Respectable

Author:Steven Weinberg

“The rabid opposition to group selection has now considerably subsided. In the process, the conceptual structure of evolutionary theory has become clearer, as have the relationships that connect different theoretical approaches.”

Different Process Groups Theory Approach Structure Opposition Selection Theoretical

Author:Elliott Sober

“Everyone has a set of presuppositions: what gender is, what it's not. And they may not write them out or they may not be in theoretical books published by Routledge, but they have a theory.”

Writing May Book Theory Gender Theoretical

Author:Judith Butler

“I think part of the success which Structuralist or post-Structuralist thought in critical theory has had in literary studies in American universities is due to a theoretical vacuum.”

Thinking Study Theory University Critical Dues Posts Theoretical Vacuums American Universities Critical Theory

Author:Susan Sontag

“It is probably safe to say that all the changes of factual knowledge which have led to the relativity theory, resulting in a very great theoretical development, are completely trivial from any point of view except their relevance to the structure of a theoretical system.”

Views Theory Development Safe Structure Point Of View Corny Theoretical Relevance Relativity Factual

Book:THE STRUCTURE OF SOCIAL ACTION

Source: THE STRUCTURE OF SOCIAL ACTION

“My work was fairly theoretical. It was in recursive function theory. And in particular, hierarchies of functions in terms of computational complexity. I got involved in real computers and programming mainly by being - well, I was interested even as I came to graduate school.”

Wells Real School Term Particular Theory Involved Computer Function Complexity Programming Graduates Hierarchy Theoretical Graduate School

Author:Dennis Ritchie

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