--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In the 1920s, there was a dinner at which…" description: "\"“In the 1920s, there was a dinner at which the physicist Robert W. Wood was asked to respond to a toast ... 'To physics and metaphysics.' Now by metaph..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30d/carl-sagan-160_experiment_in-the-1920s-there-was-a-dinner-at-which_597270.jpg" --- # In the 1920s, there was a dinner at which the physicist… ![“In the 1920s, there was a dinner at which the physicist Robert W. Wood was asked to respond to a toast ... 'To physics and metaphysics.' Now by metaphysics was meant something like philosophy—truths that you could get to just by thinking about them. Wood took a second, glanced about him, and…” quote by Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30d/carl-sagan-160_experiment_in-the-1920s-there-was-a-dinner-at-which_597270.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30d/carl-sagan-160_experiment_in-the-1920s-there-was-a-dinner-at-which_597270.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30d/carl-sagan-160_experiment_in-the-1920s-there-was-a-dinner-at-which_597270.jpg) > ““In the 1920s, there was a dinner at which the physicist Robert W. Wood was asked to respond to a toast ... 'To physics and metaphysics.' Now by metaphysics was meant something like philosophy—truths that you could get to just by thinking about them. Wood took a second, glanced about him, and answered along these lines: The physicist has an idea, he said. The more he thinks it through, the more sense it makes to him. He goes to the scientific literature, and the more he reads, the more promising the idea seems. Thus prepared, he devises an experiment to test the idea. The experiment is painstaking. Many possibilities are eliminated or taken into account; the accuracy of the measurement is refined. At the end of all this work, the experiment is completed and ... the idea is shown to be worthless. The physicist then discards the idea, frees his mind (as I was saying a moment ago) from the clutter of error, and moves on to something else. The difference between physics and metaphysics, Wood concluded, is that the metaphysicist has no laboratory.”” [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Distinguishes physics, which tests ideas experimentally, from metaphysics, which relies on pure thought without empirical verification. **In simple terms:** Physics tests ideas in labs; metaphysics does not. Key Takeaway Prioritize empirical testing over speculation. Themes science methodology philosophy critical thinking Mood inquisitive analytical Type educational philosophical When to use this quote - research labs - academic curricula - public science communication - policy making - philosophical debates Key Concepts empiricism skepticism theory testing Questions to Reflect On - When should speculative ideas be pursued scientifically? - How do we balance imagination with empirical rigor? A Different Perspective Metaphysics can inspire hypotheses; not all ideas are testable. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Concluded Metaphysicist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concluded-metaphysicist-4875942/) [Experiment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experiment/) [Idea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idea/) [Laboratory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laboratory/) [Measurement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/measurement/) [Metaphysics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/metaphysics/) [Metaphysics Meant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/metaphysics-meant-4875943/) [Metaphysics Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/metaphysics-wood-4875941/) [Peer review](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peer-review/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Physics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/physics/) [Physics Metaphysics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/physics-metaphysics-390056/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Testing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/testing/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [The difference between physics and metaphysics is not that the practitioners of one are smarter than the practitioners of the other. 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Bogle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-bogle/) [Browse all 668 Experiment quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experiment/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“In the 1920s, there was a dinner at which the physicist Robert W. Wood was asked to respond to a toast ... 'To physics and metaphysics.' Now by metaphysics was meant something like philosophy—truths that you could get to just by thinking about them. Wood took a second, glanced about him, and answered along these lines: The physicist has an idea, he said. The more he thinks it through, the more sense it makes to him. He goes to the scientific literature, and the more he reads, the more promising the idea seems. Thus prepared, he devises an experiment to test the idea. The experiment is painstaking. Many possibilities are eliminated or taken into account; the accuracy of the measurement is refined. At the end of all this work, the experiment is completed and ... the idea is shown to be worthless. The physicist then discards the idea, frees his mind (as I was saying a moment ago) from the clutter of error, and moves on to something else. 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