A theory with mathematical beauty is more likely to be correct than an ugly one that fits some experimental data. — Paul Dirac Copy Share Image
The only object of theoretical physics is to calculate results that can be compared with experiment... it is quite unnecessary that any… — Paul Dirac Copy Share Image
I learnt to distrust all physical concepts as the basis for a theory. Instead one should put one's trust in a mathematical… — Paul Dirac Copy Share Image
Theoretical physicists accept the need for mathematical beauty as an act of faith... For example, the main reason why the theory of… — Paul Dirac Copy Share Image
Renormalization is just a stop-gap procedure. There must be some fundamental change in our ideas, probably a change just as fundamental as… — Paul Dirac Copy Share Image
The underlying physical laws necessary for the mathematical theory of a large part of physics and the whole of chemistry are thus… — Paul Dirac Copy Share Image
What makes the theory of relativity so acceptable to physicists in spite of its going against the principle of simplicity is its… — Paul Dirac Copy Share Image
No. I had successfully solved the difficulty of finding a description of the electron which was consistent with both relativity and quantum… — Paul Dirac Copy Share Image
It is more important to have beauty in one's equations than to have them fit experiment... It seems that if one is… — Paul Dirac Copy Share Image
It was not until some weeks later that I realized there is no need to restrict oneself to 2 by 2 matrices.… — Paul Dirac Copy Share Image
What makes the theory of relativity so acceptable to physicists in spite of its going against the principle of simplicity is its great mathematical… — Paul Dirac Copy Share
When [Erwin Schrödinger] went to the Solvay conferences in Brussels, he would walk from the station to the hotel where the delegates stayed, carrying… — Paul Dirac Copy Share
I learnt to distrust all physical concepts as the basis for a theory. Instead one should put one's trust in a mathematical scheme, even… — Paul Dirac Copy Share
If you are receptive and humble, mathematics will lead you by the hand. Again and again, when I have been at a loss how… — Paul Dirac Copy Share
It was not until some weeks later that I realized there is no need to restrict oneself to 2 by 2 matrices. One could… — Paul Dirac Copy Share
If we are honest - and scientists have to be - we must admit that religion is a jumble of false assertions, with no… — Paul Dirac Copy Share
The only object of theoretical physics is to calculate results that can be compared with experiment... it is quite unnecessary that any satisfactory description… — Paul Dirac Copy Share
The shortage of buyers, which the world is suffering from, is readily understood, not as due to people not wishing to obtain possession of… — Paul Dirac Copy Share
I do not see how a man can work on the frontiers of physics and write poetry at the same time. They are in… — Paul Dirac Copy Share
The measure of greatness in a scientific idea is the extent to which it stimulates thought and opens up new lines of research. — Paul Dirac Copy Share
A great deal of my work is just playing with equations and seeing what they give. — Paul Dirac Copy Share
The fundamental laws necessary for the mathematical treatment of a large part of physics and the whole of chemistry are thus completely known, and… — Paul Dirac Copy Share
