“ Physics is not mathematics, and mathematics is not physics. ”
Richard Feynman, The Character of Physical Law (1965). copy citation
| Author | Richard Feynman |
|---|---|
| Source | The Character of Physical Law |
| Topic | physics |
| Date | 1965 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | |
| Weblink | https://www.cornell.edu/video/playlist/richard-feynman-messenger-lecture... |
Context
“In other words, mathematicians prepare abstract reasoning ready to be used if you have a set of axioms about the real world. But the physicist has meaning to all his phrases. That is a very important thing that a lot of people who come to physics by way of mathematics do not appreciate. Physics is not mathematics, and mathematics is not physics. One helps the other. But in physics you have to have an understanding of the connection of words with the real world. It is necessary at the end to translate what you have figured out into English, into the world, into the blocks of copper and glass that you are going to do the experiments with.”
source
