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Saturday, May 28, 2022
This post is collection of quotes about simplicity. There are 8 quotes listed below alphabetically by last name.
Albert Einstein (1879-1955, physicist):
1. "It can scarcely be denied that the supreme goal of all theory is to make the irreducible basic elements as simple and as few as possible without having to surrender the adequate representation of a single datum of experience." (On the Method of Theoretical Physics, 1933)
Werner Heisenberg (1901-1976, physicist):
2. "Even for the physicist, the description in plain language will be the criterion of the degree of understanding that has been reached." (Physics and Philosophy, 1958)
David Hilbert (1862-1943, mathematician):
3. "...it is ingrained in mathematical science that every real advance goes hand in hand with the invention of sharper and simpler methods..." (Mathematical Problems, 1900)
John Kenneth Galbraith (1908-2006, economist):
4. "Do not be alarmed by simplification, complexity is often a device for claiming sophistication, or for evading simple truths." (The Age of Uncertainty, 1977)
Isaac Newton (1642-1727, physicist):
5. "Truth is ever to be found in simplicity and not in the multiplicity and confusion of things." (Quoted in the Religion of Isaac Newton by Frank Manuel)
William of Ockham (1287-1347, philosopher):
6. "When you have two competing theories that make exactly the same predictions, the simpler one is the better." (AZQuotes.com)
Ptolemy (100-170 AD, mathematician):
7. "We consider it good principle to explain the phenomena by the simplest hypothesis possible." (Quoted in the Science of Conjecture by James Franklin)
John Searle (1932-now, philosopher):
8 ."Where questions of style and exposition are concerned I try to follow a simple maxim: if you can't say it clearly you don't understand it yourself." (Intentionality: An Essay in the Philosophy of Mind, 1993)