Homepage of Alexander Wagner

Alexander Wagner

Deutsche Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY
Zentralbibliothek
Building 01d Room OG1.444
Notkestraße 85
D-22607 Hamburg

Tel.: +49 (0)40-8998-1758

eMail:

alexander.wagner (at) desy.de

It is surprising that people do not believe that there is imagination in science. It is a very interesting kind of imagination, unlike that of the artist. The great difficulty is in trying to imagine something that you have never seen, that is consistent in every detail with what has already been seen, and that is different from what has been thought of; furthermore, it must be definite and not a vague proposition. That is indeed difficult. Richard P. Feynman (1918-1988)

The next aspect of science is its contents, the things that have been found out. This is the yield. This is the gold. This is the excitement, the pay you get for all the disciplined thinking and hard work. The work is not done for the sake of an application. It is done for the excitement of what is found out. Perhaps most of you know this. But to those of you who do not know it, it is almost impossible for me to convey in a lecture this important aspect, this exciting part, the real reason for science. And without understanding this you miss the whole point. You cannot understand science and its relation to anything else unless you understand and appreciate the great adventure of our time. You do not live in your time unless you understand that this is a tremendous adventure and a wild and exciting thing.

Richard P. Feynman (1918-1988)

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