--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you bang two electrons together with…" description: "\"If you bang two electrons together with enough energy, you produce protons. If there are no independent laws, then all the properties of protons must s..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/090/alan-guth-18636_believe_if-you-bang-two-electrons-together-with_633689.png" --- # If you bang two electrons together with enough energy, you… ![“If you bang two electrons together with enough energy, you produce protons. If there are no independent laws, then all the properties of protons must somehow be 'known' by the electrons. By extension, every elementary particle must carry around enough information to produce the entire universe. I…” quote by Alan Guth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/090/alan-guth-18636_believe_if-you-bang-two-electrons-together-with_633689.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/090/alan-guth-18636_believe_if-you-bang-two-electrons-together-with_633689.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/090/alan-guth-18636_believe_if-you-bang-two-electrons-together-with_633689.png) > “If you bang two electrons together with enough energy, you produce protons. If there are no independent laws, then all the properties of protons must somehow be 'known' by the electrons. By extension, every elementary particle must carry around enough information to produce the entire universe. I find that difficult to believe.” [Alan Guth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-guth/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Guth argues that if particles like electrons could generate protons, then each particle must encode the universe's information, a claim he finds implausible. **In simple terms:** He doubts that particles contain enough info to create the whole universe. Key Takeaway Question assumptions about information in fundamental physics. Themes physics philosophy information theory cosmology skepticism Mood thoughtful critical Type philosophical scientific When to use this quote - theoretical research - philosophical debates - educational talks Key Concepts entropy quantum mechanics universal constants Questions to Reflect On - Can information be emergent rather than intrinsic? - What evidence supports or refutes particle-level universality? A Different Perspective His view may overlook emergent properties in complex systems. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe/) [Elementary Particle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elementary-particle-1172912/) [Information](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/information/) [Produce Protons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/produce-protons-5102310/) [Properties Protons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/properties-protons-5102311/) [Protons Independent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/protons-independent-5102309/) [Protons Known](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/protons-known-5102312/) [Theory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theory/) [Together](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/together/) [Universe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universe/) ## Related quotes > [String theory is an attempt at a deeper description of nature by thinking of an elementary particle not as a little point but as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-witten/string-theory-is-an-attempt-at-a-deeper-description-of-nature-by/) [Edward Witten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-witten/) > [I think also of my colleagues in elementary particle theory in many lands, and feel that in some measure I am here as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-gell-mann/i-think-also-of-my-colleagues-in-elementary-particle-theory-in-many/) [Murray Gell-Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-gell-mann/) > [So far Unitarian realism claiming to possess positive knowledge about Ultimate Reality has succeeded only by excluding large areas of phenomena or by declaring,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-feyerabend/so-far-unitarian-realism-claiming-to-possess-positive-knowledge-about/) [Paul Feyerabend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-feyerabend/) > [“For many years, cosmologists have sought, with little success, some fundamental principle which would reveal why the cosmological constant mist be zero. 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It is, in essence, a set of relationships that reaches outward to other things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-stapp/an-elementary-particle-is-not-an-independently-existing-unanalyzable/) [Henry Stapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-stapp/) > [“We present a series of hypotheses and speculations, leading inescapably to the conclusion that SU(5) is the gauge group of the world — that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-georgi-s-l-glashow/we-present-a-series-of-hypotheses-and-speculations-leading/) [Howard Georgi & S. L. Glashow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-georgi-s-l-glashow/) > [ My colleagues in elementary particle theory in many lands \[and I\] are driven by the usual insatiable curiosity of the scientist, and our work… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-gell-mann/my-colleagues-in-elementary-particle-theory-in-many-lands-and-i-are/) [Murray Gell-Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-gell-mann/) > [“We know that children with autism like order, that they are often very visual and that they can be quite literal. They deserve beautiful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adele-devine/we-know-that-children-with-autism-like-order-that-they-are-often-very/) [Adele Devine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adele-devine/) > [You feed yourself. Make sure you have all the information, whether it's aesthetic, scientific, mathematical, I don't care what it is. Then you walk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/you-feed-yourself-make-sure-you-have-all-the-information-whether-it-s/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [Some books are not read in the right way because they have skipped a stage of opinion, assume a crystallization of information in society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/some-books-are-not-read-in-the-right-way-because-they-have-skipped-a/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [Intel has a very complete process that I go through any time I want to sell that ensures I have no insider information.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-krzanich/intel-has-a-very-complete-process-that-i-go-through-any-time-i-want/) [Brian Krzanich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-krzanich/) ## More by Alan Guth > [If one just tried to invent a universe on one's own, it would probably end up being a much less colorful and interesting universe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-guth/if-one-just-tried-to-invent-a-universe-on-one-s-own-it-would-probably/) [Alan Guth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-guth/) > [Space is certainly something more complicated than the average person would probably realize. Space is not just an empty background in which things happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-guth/space-is-certainly-something-more-complicated-than-the-average-person/) [Alan Guth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-guth/) > [I am not aware of any sensible theory of how classical gravity could interact with quantum matter, and I can't imagine how such a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-guth/i-am-not-aware-of-any-sensible-theory-of-how-classical-gravity-could/) [Alan Guth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-guth/) > [My parents were not at all involved in science. 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Keep hoping; keep believing because He is working behind the scenes. He's going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/resist-discouragement-by-speaking-his-word-over-your-future-keep/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) > [I can't believe that I'm sitting in meetings with Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Annette Bening. I want to take on that responsibility to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-can-t-believe-that-i-m-sitting-in-meetings-with-steven-spielberg/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [There is no such word as item girl in the dictionary. People have created this word and I don't believe that I am an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shefali-zariwala/there-is-no-such-word-as-item-girl-in-the-dictionary-people-have/) [Shefali Zariwala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shefali-zariwala/) > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I don't really like too much credit. I know nobody's going to believe this, but I'd rather be able to score goals and nobody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bradley-wright-phillips/i-don-t-really-like-too-much-credit-i-know-nobody-s-going-to-believe/) [Bradley Wright-Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bradley-wright-phillips/) > [“What I have a problem with is not so much religion or god, but faith. When you say you believe something in your heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penn-jillette/what-i-have-a-problem-with-is-not-so-much-religion-or-god-but-faith/) [Penn Jillette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penn-jillette/) > [Bush reiterated his stand to conservatives opposing his decision on stem cell research. 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