---
title: "4 Different ways Quotes By Alan Lightman"
description: "4 Different ways quotes by Alan Lightman. Plus more from Alan Lightman and more Different ways sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78c/alan-lightman-2270_book_every-reader-gets-something-different-fr_56958.png"
---

> [Every reader gets something different from a book and every reader, in a sense, completes it in a different way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/every-reader-gets-something-different-from-a-book-and-every-reader-in/)

[Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78c/alan-lightman-2270_book_every-reader-gets-something-different-fr_56958.png)

> [I think that the scienti?c way of looking at the world, and the humanistic way of looking at the world are complementary.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/i-think-that-the-scienti-c-way-of-looking-at-the-world-and-the/)

[Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ec/alan-lightman-2270_complementary_i-think-that-the-scienti-c-way-of-lookin_1096815.jpg)

> [The book is finished by the reader. A good novel should invite the reader in and let the reader participate in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/the-book-is-finished-by-the-reader-a-good-novel-should-invite-the/)

[Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ade/alan-lightman-2270_book_the-book-is-finished-by-the-reader-a-goo_2578376.png)

> [I think people all over the institution recognize that different ways of understanding are valuable. Artists may think in a different way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/i-think-people-all-over-the-institution-recognize-that-different-ways/)

[Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c9/alan-lightman-2270_amount_i-think-people-all-over-the-institution_3168014.png)

## Other authors on Different ways

## More by Alan Lightman

> [“In a world of fixed future, there can be no right or wrong. Right and wrong demand freedom of choice, but if each action…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/in-a-world-of-fixed-future-there-can-be-no-right-or-wrong-right-and/)

[Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/)

> [“I've decided that has been the great achievement of our age: to so thoroughly flood the planet with megabits that every image and fact…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/i-ve-decided-that-has-been-the-great-achievement-of-our-age-to-so/)

[Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/)

> [Every reader gets something different from a book and every reader, in a sense, completes it in a different way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/every-reader-gets-something-different-from-a-book-and-every-reader-in/)

[Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/)

> ["The Diagnosis" is by far my most ambitious book. I such great hopes for it... there was so much I wanted to do with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/the-diagnosis-is-by-far-my-most-ambitious-book-i-such-great-hopes-for/)

[Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/as-long-as-god-does-not-intervene-in-the-contemporary-universe-in/)

[Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/)

> [Except for a God who sits down after the universe begins, all other gods conflict with the assumptions of science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/except-for-a-god-who-sits-down-after-the-universe-begins-all-other/)

[Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/)

> [Each person who gets stuck in time gets stuck alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/each-person-who-gets-stuck-in-time-gets-stuck-alone/)

[Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/)

> [A writer is someone who has a one-man tent in the desert and occasionally he sees the footprint of an other writer - in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/a-writer-is-someone-who-has-a-one-man-tent-in-the-desert-and/)

[Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/)

> [Time is a rigid, bonelike structure, extending infinitely ahead and behind, fossilizing the future as well as the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/time-is-a-rigid-bonelike-structure-extending-infinitely-ahead-and/)

[Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/)

> [For me, spirituality includes the belief in things larger than ourselves, an appreciation of nature and beauty, a sensitivity to the world, a feeling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/for-me-spirituality-includes-the-belief-in-things-larger-than/)

[Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/)

> [Writers are a loosely knit community - community is an overstated word. Writers don't see each other very much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/writers-are-a-loosely-knit-community-community-is-an-overstated-word/)

[Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/)

> [Imagine a world in which there is no time. Only images.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/imagine-a-world-in-which-there-is-no-time-only-images/)

[Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/)

> [Time is the clarity for seeing right and wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/time-is-the-clarity-for-seeing-right-and-wrong/)

[Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/)

> [In this world, time has three dimensions, like space. Just as an object may move in three perpendicular directions, corresponding to horizontal, vertical, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/in-this-world-time-has-three-dimensions-like-space-just-as-an-object/)

[Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/)

> [In this world, there are two times. There is mechanical time and there is body time." "They do not keep clocks in their houses.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/in-this-world-there-are-two-times-there-is-mechanical-time-and-there/)

[Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "ItemList",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different-ways/alan-lightman/#itemlist",
            "name": "4 Different ways Quotes By Alan Lightman",
            "numberOfItems": 4,
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "Every reader gets something different from a book and every reader, in a sense, completes it in a different way.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Alan Lightman"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/every-reader-gets-something-different-from-a-book-and-every-reader-in/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78c/alan-lightman-2270_book_every-reader-gets-something-different-fr_56958.png",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78c/alan-lightman-2270_book_every-reader-gets-something-different-fr_56958.png",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78c/alan-lightman-2270_book_every-reader-gets-something-different-fr_56958.png",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“Every reader gets something different from a book and every reader, in a sense, completes it in a different…” — Alan Lightman",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "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.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Alan Lightman"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/i-think-that-the-scienti-c-way-of-looking-at-the-world-and-the/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ec/alan-lightman-2270_complementary_i-think-that-the-scienti-c-way-of-lookin_1096815.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ec/alan-lightman-2270_complementary_i-think-that-the-scienti-c-way-of-lookin_1096815.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ec/alan-lightman-2270_complementary_i-think-that-the-scienti-c-way-of-lookin_1096815.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“I think that the scienti?c way of looking at the world, and the humanistic way of looking at the world are…” — Alan Lightman",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "The book is finished by the reader. A good novel should invite the reader in and let the reader participate in the creative experience and bring their own life experiences to it, interpret with their own individual life experiences. Every reader gets something different from a book and every reader, in a sense, completes it in a different way.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Alan Lightman"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/the-book-is-finished-by-the-reader-a-good-novel-should-invite-the/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ade/alan-lightman-2270_book_the-book-is-finished-by-the-reader-a-goo_2578376.png",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ade/alan-lightman-2270_book_the-book-is-finished-by-the-reader-a-goo_2578376.png",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ade/alan-lightman-2270_book_the-book-is-finished-by-the-reader-a-goo_2578376.png",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“The book is finished by the reader. A good novel should invite the reader in and let the reader participate…” — Alan Lightman",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "I think people all over the institution recognize that different ways of understanding are valuable. Artists may think in a different way than biologists or chemists, but you can learn something from that. It is true that the arts at MIT don't have the same amount of funding or same status as the sciences or engineering.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Alan Lightman"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/i-think-people-all-over-the-institution-recognize-that-different-ways/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c9/alan-lightman-2270_amount_i-think-people-all-over-the-institution_3168014.png",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c9/alan-lightman-2270_amount_i-think-people-all-over-the-institution_3168014.png",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c9/alan-lightman-2270_amount_i-think-people-all-over-the-institution_3168014.png",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“I think people all over the institution recognize that different ways of understanding are valuable. Artists…” — Alan Lightman",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "@type": "CollectionPage",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different-ways/alan-lightman/#webpage",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different-ways/alan-lightman/",
            "name": "Different ways Quotes by Alan Lightman",
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "mainEntity": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different-ways/alan-lightman/#itemlist"
            },
            "primaryImageOfPage": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78c/alan-lightman-2270_book_every-reader-gets-something-different-fr_56958.png"
            },
            "description": "4 Different ways quotes by Alan Lightman. Plus more from Alan Lightman and more Different ways sayings from other authors.",
            "breadcrumb": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different-ways/alan-lightman/#breadcrumb"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different-ways/alan-lightman/#breadcrumb",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Topics",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/categories/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Different Ways",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different-ways/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 5,
                    "name": "Alan Lightman",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different-ways/alan-lightman/"
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```