--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Our attraction to that quality which we…" description: "\"“Our attraction to that quality which we have come to call 'beauty', and which we associate with the detection of innate unity and harmony in the face ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a99/charles-babbage-8461_aesthetic_our-attraction-to-that-quality-which-we_2648133.png" --- # Our attraction to that quality which we have come to call… ![“Our attraction to that quality which we have come to call 'beauty', and which we associate with the detection of innate unity and harmony in the face of superficial diversity, has led us to expect that the unity of the Universe should be expressed in certain particular ways. If we are physicists…” quote by Charles Babbage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a99/charles-babbage-8461_aesthetic_our-attraction-to-that-quality-which-we_2648133.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a99/charles-babbage-8461_aesthetic_our-attraction-to-that-quality-which-we_2648133.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a99/charles-babbage-8461_aesthetic_our-attraction-to-that-quality-which-we_2648133.png) > ““Our attraction to that quality which we have come to call 'beauty', and which we associate with the detection of innate unity and harmony in the face of superficial diversity, has led us to expect that the unity of the Universe should be expressed in certain particular ways. If we are physicists we might often hear talk of the 'beauty' or 'elegance' of particular ideas or theories to such an extent that, like Dirac, \*we make aesthetic quality a guide or even a prerequisite for the formulation of correct mathematical theories of nature.”” [Charles Babbage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-babbage/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Physicists often use aesthetic criteria like beauty and elegance to judge theories, treating them as guides or prerequisites for scientific truth. **In simple terms:** Scientists value elegance as a sign of deeper truth in theories. Key Takeaway Balance aesthetic intuition with empirical testing. Themes science philosophy beauty elegance methodology Mood analytical inquisitive thoughtful Type explanatory philosophical When to use this quote - research design - theory development - education - peer review - public communication Key Concepts aesthetic judgment theory selection scientific intuition conceptual harmony Questions to Reflect On - How can we ensure beauty does not override evidence? - When should elegance be secondary to data? A Different Perspective Relying too much on beauty can bias against correct but less elegant ideas. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aesthetic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aesthetic/) [Aesthetic Quality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aesthetic-quality-2153960/) [Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) [Innate Unity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/innate-unity-2325909/) [Like Dirac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-dirac-2325912/) [Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace/) [Theories Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theories-nature-2325911/) ## Related quotes > [“Any aesthetic quality is usually enhanced by the presence of a counterpoint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-frederick/any-aesthetic-quality-is-usually-enhanced-by-the-presence-of-a/) [Matthew Frederick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-frederick/) > [The aesthetic, the quality, has to be carried all the way through.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/the-aesthetic-the-quality-has-to-be-carried-all-the-way-through/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [It is not that we propose a theory and Nature may shout NO; rather, we propose a maze of theories, and Nature may shout…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/imre-lakatos/it-is-not-that-we-propose-a-theory-and-nature-may-shout-no-rather-we/) [Imre Lakatos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/imre-lakatos/) > [“What tends to be forgotten, amid all the cheerleading for today’s technology, is that people in ancient times might have lacked our current theoretical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-michael-greer/what-tends-to-be-forgotten-amid-all-the-cheerleading-for-today-s/) [John Michael Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-michael-greer/) > [“The mind calls out for a third theory to unify all of physics, and for a simple reason. Nature is in an obvious sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/the-mind-calls-out-for-a-third-theory-to-unify-all-of-physics-and-for/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [“We’ve been half right about a lot of things, but there’s something missing from our theories, something whose nature we haven’t even guessed yet.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-egan/we-ve-been-half-right-about-a-lot-of-things-but-there-s-something/) [Greg Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-egan/) > [“which artfully combines a complete lack of aesthetic quality with a total disregard for the utilitarian function for which it is built.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-aaronovitch/which-artfully-combines-a-complete-lack-of-aesthetic-quality-with-a/) [Ben Aaronovitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-aaronovitch/) > [For you to sleep well at night, the aesthetic, the quality, has to be carried all the way through.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/for-you-to-sleep-well-at-night-the-aesthetic-the-quality-has-to-be/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [I don't have an interest in any car that isn't good for the environment, other than maybe an aesthetic quality in a picture book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-hirsch/i-don-t-have-an-interest-in-any-car-that-isn-t-good-for-the/) [Emile Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-hirsch/) > [Every subject at some phase of its development should possess, what is for the individual concerned with it, an aesthetic quality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/every-subject-at-some-phase-of-its-development-should-possess-what-is/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [I'm kind of still down with Virg Woolf on this one: "women must kill the aesthetic ideal through which they themselves have been 'killed'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/i-m-kind-of-still-down-with-virg-woolf-on-this-one-women-must-kill/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) > [I don't think I was ever thinking critically about my aesthetic, I think it's enough when you're little just to understand that you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tavi-gevinson/i-don-t-think-i-was-ever-thinking-critically-about-my-aesthetic-i/) [Tavi Gevinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tavi-gevinson/) > [Design certainly has a cosmetic, aesthetic aim. It always aims at making things beautiful. But relevance is just as important. I often say, 'If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yves-behar/design-certainly-has-a-cosmetic-aesthetic-aim-it-always-aims-at/) [Yves Behar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yves-behar/) > [All efforts to render politics aesthetic culminate in one thing: war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-benjamin/all-efforts-to-render-politics-aesthetic-culminate-in-one-thing-war/) [Walter Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-benjamin/) > [“Beauty in the European sense has always had a premeditated quality to it. We've always had an aesthetic intention and a long-range plan. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/beauty-in-the-european-sense-has-always-had-a-premeditated-quality-to/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) ## More by Charles Babbage > [The whole of the developments and operations of analysis are now capable of being executed by machinery ... As soon as an Analytical Engine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-babbage/the-whole-of-the-developments-and-operations-of-analysis-are-now/) [Charles Babbage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-babbage/) > [The economy of human time is the next advantage of machinery in manufactures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-babbage/the-economy-of-human-time-is-the-next-advantage-of-machinery-in/) [Charles Babbage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-babbage/) > [The first steps in the path of discovery, and the first approximate measures, are those which add most to the existing knowledge of mankind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-babbage/the-first-steps-in-the-path-of-discovery-and-the-first-approximate/) [Charles Babbage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-babbage/) > [The errors which arise from the absence of facts are far more numerous and more durable than those which result from unsound reasoning respecting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-babbage/the-errors-which-arise-from-the-absence-of-facts-are-far-more/) [Charles Babbage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-babbage/) > [The triumph of the industrial arts will advance the cause of civilization more rapidly than its warmest advocates could have hoped, and contribute to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-babbage/the-triumph-of-the-industrial-arts-will-advance-the-cause-of/) [Charles Babbage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-babbage/) > [A powerful attraction exists, therefore, to the promotion of a study and of duties of all others engrossing the time most completely, and which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-babbage/a-powerful-attraction-exists-therefore-to-the-promotion-of-a-study/) [Charles Babbage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-babbage/) > [Science in England is not a profession: its cultivators are scarcely recognised even as a class. Our language itself contains no single term by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-babbage/science-in-england-is-not-a-profession-its-cultivators-are-scarcely/) [Charles Babbage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-babbage/) > [Of Cooking. This is an art of various forms, the object of which is to give ordinary observations the appearance and character of those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-babbage/of-cooking-this-is-an-art-of-various-forms-the-object-of-which-is-to/) [Charles Babbage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-babbage/) > [The quantity of meaning compressed into small space by algebraic signs, is another circumstance that facilitates the reasonings we are accustomed to carry on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-babbage/the-quantity-of-meaning-compressed-into-small-space-by-algebraic/) [Charles Babbage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-babbage/) > [Some kinds of nails, such as those used for defending the soles of coarse shoes, called hobnails, require a particular form of the head,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-babbage/some-kinds-of-nails-such-as-those-used-for-defending-the-soles-of/) [Charles Babbage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-babbage/) > [That the state of knowledge in any country will exert a directive influence on the general system of instruction adopted in it, is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-babbage/that-the-state-of-knowledge-in-any-country-will-exert-a-directive/) [Charles Babbage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-babbage/) > [It can happen to but few philosophers, and but at distant intervals, to snatch a science, like Dalton, from the chaos of indefinite combination,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-babbage/it-can-happen-to-but-few-philosophers-and-but-at-distant-intervals-to/) [Charles Babbage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-babbage/) > [ \[In response to Alfred Tennyson's poem "Vision of Sin," which included the line "Every moment dies a man, every moment one is born."\] If… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-babbage/in-response-to-alfred-tennyson-s-poem-vision-of-sin-which-included/) [Charles Babbage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-babbage/) > [The difference between a tool and a machine is not capable of very precise distinction; nor is it necessary, in a popular explanation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-babbage/the-difference-between-a-tool-and-a-machine-is-not-capable-of-very/) [Charles Babbage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-babbage/) > [Unless there exist peculiar institutions for the support of such inquirers, or unless the Government directly interfere, the contriver of a thaumatrope may derive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-babbage/unless-there-exist-peculiar-institutions-for-the-support-of-such/) [Charles Babbage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-babbage/) [Explore all 80 Charles Babbage quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-babbage/) ## More Aesthetic quotes > [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/) > [“Beauty in the European sense has always had a premeditated quality to it. We've always had an aesthetic intention and a long-range plan. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/beauty-in-the-european-sense-has-always-had-a-premeditated-quality-to/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [All efforts to render politics aesthetic culminate in one thing: war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-benjamin/all-efforts-to-render-politics-aesthetic-culminate-in-one-thing-war/) [Walter Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-benjamin/) > [Design certainly has a cosmetic, aesthetic aim. It always aims at making things beautiful. But relevance is just as important. I often say, 'If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yves-behar/design-certainly-has-a-cosmetic-aesthetic-aim-it-always-aims-at/) [Yves Behar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yves-behar/) > [I don't think I was ever thinking critically about my aesthetic, I think it's enough when you're little just to understand that you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tavi-gevinson/i-don-t-think-i-was-ever-thinking-critically-about-my-aesthetic-i/) [Tavi Gevinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tavi-gevinson/) > [I'm kind of still down with Virg Woolf on this one: "women must kill the aesthetic ideal through which they themselves have been 'killed'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/i-m-kind-of-still-down-with-virg-woolf-on-this-one-women-must-kill/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) > [Virtue is as little to be acquired by learning as genius; nay, the idea is barren, and is only to be employed as an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/virtue-is-as-little-to-be-acquired-by-learning-as-genius-nay-the-idea/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [There is a certain aesthetic pleasure in trying to imagine the unimaginable and failing, if you are a reader.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-s-byatt-2/there-is-a-certain-aesthetic-pleasure-in-trying-to-imagine-the/) [A. S. Byatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-s-byatt-2/) > [I try to get the hip-hop aesthetic, most times without an MC. I don't use a rapper or a DJ to give it the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-glasper/i-try-to-get-the-hip-hop-aesthetic-most-times-without-an-mc-i-don-t/) [Robert Glasper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-glasper/) > [It's so important what you're doing in your life. It's tremendously important to the work, and no aesthetic theories take that into account.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-maus/it-s-so-important-what-you-re-doing-in-your-life-it-s-tremendously/) [John Maus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-maus/) > [It is not necessary to have an extravagant food budget in order to serve things with variety and tastefully cooked. It is not necessary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-schaeffer/it-is-not-necessary-to-have-an-extravagant-food-budget-in-order-to/) [Edith Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-schaeffer/) > [In reality no food is valued solely for its nutritive power and no garment or house solely for the protection it affords against cold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/in-reality-no-food-is-valued-solely-for-its-nutritive-power-and-no/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [Art is realistic when it strives to express an ethical ideal. Realism is striving for truth, and truth is always beautiful. Here the aesthetic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-tarkovsky/art-is-realistic-when-it-strives-to-express-an-ethical-ideal-realism/) [Andrei Tarkovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrei-tarkovsky/) > [I had always wanted to expand to beauty, but I knew I wanted to be able to translate my design aesthetic in an authentic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-ronson/i-had-always-wanted-to-expand-to-beauty-but-i-knew-i-wanted-to-be/) [Charlotte Ronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-ronson/) > [I wanted the press to become something of a movement. Not a movement committed to a particular 'ism', but a gathering together of writers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-metcalf/i-wanted-the-press-to-become-something-of-a-movement-not-a-movement/) [John Metcalf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-metcalf/) [Browse all 953 Aesthetic quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aesthetic/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Our attraction to that quality which we have come to call 'beauty', and which we associate with the detection of innate unity and harmony in the face of superficial diversity, has led us to expect that the unity of the Universe should be expressed in certain particular ways. If we are physicists we might often hear talk of the 'beauty' or 'elegance' of particular ideas or theories to such an extent that, like Dirac, *we make aesthetic quality a guide or even a prerequisite for the formulation of correct mathematical theories of nature.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Charles Babbage" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-babbage/our-attraction-to-that-quality-which-we-have-come-to-call-beauty-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Aesthetic" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-babbage/our-attraction-to-that-quality-which-we-have-come-to-call-beauty-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a99/charles-babbage-8461_aesthetic_our-attraction-to-that-quality-which-we_2648133.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a99/charles-babbage-8461_aesthetic_our-attraction-to-that-quality-which-we_2648133.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a99/charles-babbage-8461_aesthetic_our-attraction-to-that-quality-which-we_2648133.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Our attraction to that quality which we have come to call 'beauty', and which we associate with the…” — Charles Babbage", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "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": "Charles Babbage", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-babbage/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Our attraction to that quality which...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-babbage/our-attraction-to-that-quality-which-we-have-come-to-call-beauty-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-babbage/our-attraction-to-that-quality-which-we-have-come-to-call-beauty-and/#breadcrumb" }, { "@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 } } ] } ```