--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Base metals can be transmuted into gold…" description: "\"Base metals can be transmuted into gold by stars, and by intelligent beings who understand the processes that power stars, but by nothing else in the u..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef3/david-deutsch-18612_gold_base-metals-can-be-transmuted-into-gold_2864302.jpg" --- # Base metals can be transmuted into gold by stars, and by… ![“Base metals can be transmuted into gold by stars, and by intelligent beings who understand the processes that power stars, but by nothing else in the universe.” quote by David Deutsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef3/david-deutsch-18612_gold_base-metals-can-be-transmuted-into-gold_2864302.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef3/david-deutsch-18612_gold_base-metals-can-be-transmuted-into-gold_2864302.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef3/david-deutsch-18612_gold_base-metals-can-be-transmuted-into-gold_2864302.jpg) > “Base metals can be transmuted into gold by stars, and by intelligent beings who understand the processes that power stars, but by nothing else in the universe.” [David Deutsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-deutsch/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Stars and intelligent beings can transmute base metals; no other forces can. **In simple terms:** Only stars and intelligence can change metals. Key Takeaway Study stellar processes and advanced technology. Themes science technology alchemy Mood analytical curious Type scientific philosophical When to use this quote - research labs - space exploration - education Key Concepts physics metallurgy Questions to Reflect On - What breakthroughs could enable such transmutation? - How does this idea impact our view of resources? A Different Perspective Practical application is currently limited. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Gold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gold/) [Gold Stars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gold-stars-1598084/) [Intelligent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligent/) [Intelligent Beings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligent-beings-247072/) [Metals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/metals/) [Metals Transmuted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/metals-transmuted-3882894/) [Process](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/process/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Stars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stars/) [Stars Intelligent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stars-intelligent-3882895/) [Transmuted Gold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/transmuted-gold-1909111/) [Universe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universe/) ## Related quotes > [“Like an alchemist, he had taken something dark and painful, and he'd transmuted it into gold. 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Its other name is death.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-deutsch/an-unproblematic-state-is-a-state-without-creative-thought-its-other/) [David Deutsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-deutsch/) > [The truly privileged theories are not the ones referring to any particular scale of size or complexity, nor the ones situated at any particular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-deutsch/the-truly-privileged-theories-are-not-the-ones-referring-to-any/) [David Deutsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-deutsch/) > [To me quantum computation is a new and deeper and better way to understand the laws of physics, and hence understanding physical reality as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-deutsch/to-me-quantum-computation-is-a-new-and-deeper-and-better-way-to/) [David Deutsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-deutsch/) > [“Amending the ‘data’, or rejecting some as erroneous, is a frequent concomitant of scientific discovery, and the crucial ‘data’ cannot even be obtained until…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-deutsch/amending-the-data-or-rejecting-some-as-erroneous-is-a-frequent/) [David Deutsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-deutsch/) > [Like every other destruction of optimism, whether in a whole civilisation or in a single individual, these must have been unspeakable catastrophes for those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-deutsch/like-every-other-destruction-of-optimism-whether-in-a-whole/) [David Deutsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-deutsch/) > [Time travel may be achieved one day, or it may not. 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And in my view we cannot take any experimental results seriously except in the light of good explanations of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-deutsch/science-is-objective-and-in-my-view-we-cannot-take-any-experimental/) [David Deutsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-deutsch/) > [It is possible to build a virtual-reality generator whose repertoire includes every possible environment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-deutsch/it-is-possible-to-build-a-virtual-reality-generator-whose-repertoire/) [David Deutsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-deutsch/) > [Is the human race a universal constructor?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-deutsch/is-the-human-race-a-universal-constructor/) [David Deutsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-deutsch/) [Explore all 34 David Deutsch quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-deutsch/) ## More Gold quotes > [These joys were so trifling as to be as imperceptible as grains of gold among the sand, and in moments of depression she saw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/these-joys-were-so-trifling-as-to-be-as-imperceptible-as-grains-of/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Most paper money initially existed as a substitute for gold. 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