--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Most 20th century academic physicists…" description: "\"Most 20th century academic physicists, and academia as a whole, simply did not want to touch the subject of consciousness. We have seen psychology grow..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50a/edgar-mitchell-6104_20th-century_most-20th-century-academic-physicists-an_2028373.jpg" --- # Most 20th century academic physicists, and academia as a… ![“Most 20th century academic physicists, and academia as a whole, simply did not want to touch the subject of consciousness. We have seen psychology grow up, and we've seen the development of neurophysiology and other much more sophisticated science, but only in the recent years have the tools of…” quote by Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50a/edgar-mitchell-6104_20th-century_most-20th-century-academic-physicists-an_2028373.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50a/edgar-mitchell-6104_20th-century_most-20th-century-academic-physicists-an_2028373.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50a/edgar-mitchell-6104_20th-century_most-20th-century-academic-physicists-an_2028373.jpg) > “Most 20th century academic physicists, and academia as a whole, simply did not want to touch the subject of consciousness. We have seen psychology grow up, and we've seen the development of neurophysiology and other much more sophisticated science, but only in the recent years have the tools of quantum mechanics been applied to anything representing human scale size.” [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Many physicists avoided consciousness studies, but modern quantum tools now enable human‑scale research. **In simple terms:** Physicists ignored consciousness; now quantum methods help study it. Key Takeaway Explore interdisciplinary approaches to consciousness. Themes science consciousness interdisciplinary quantum physics academia Mood curious optimistic critical Type analytical inspirational When to use this quote - research proposals - grant applications - cross‑disciplinary collaborations - public lectures Key Concepts philosophy of mind scientific methodology paradigm shift Questions to Reflect On - What evidence supports quantum approaches to consciousness? - How can we integrate neuroscience with quantum theory? A Different Perspective Skeptics argue quantum explanations may be speculative. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Academia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/academia/) [Academic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/academic/) [Consciousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consciousness/) [Growing up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growing-up/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Mechanic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mechanic/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) [Physicists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/physicists/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Quantum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quantum/) [Quantum mechanics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quantum-mechanics/) [Tools](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tools/) ## Related quotes > [In a certain sense a writer is 'selected' by his subject - his subject being the consciousness of his own era.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadine-gordimer/in-a-certain-sense-a-writer-is-selected-by-his-subject-his-subject/) [Nadine Gordimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadine-gordimer/) > [“Consciousness may be seen as the haughty and restless second cousin of morphology. Memory is its mistress, perception its somewhat abused wife, logic its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-edelman/consciousness-may-be-seen-as-the-haughty-and-restless-second-cousin/) [Gerald Edelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-edelman/) > [“There was no room for dust devils in the laws of physics, as least in the rigid form in which they were usually taught.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/there-was-no-room-for-dust-devils-in-the-laws-of-physics-as-least-in/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [Quantum mechanics is so counter-intuitive, physicists have never been able to come up with a comfortable picture of how it works.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taner-edis/quantum-mechanics-is-so-counter-intuitive-physicists-have-never-been/) [Taner Edis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taner-edis/) > [“First, some physicists insist that quantum mechanics cannot be formulated without taking into account the minds of observers. They argue that minds cannot be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-sheldrake/first-some-physicists-insist-that-quantum-mechanics-cannot-be/) [Rupert Sheldrake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-sheldrake/) > [The development of quantum mechanics early in the twentieth century obliged physicists to change radically the concepts they used to describe the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-aspect/the-development-of-quantum-mechanics-early-in-the-twentieth-century/) Alain Aspect > [...contemporary physicists come in two varieties. Type 1 physicists are bothered by EPR and Bell's Theorem. Type 2 (the majority) are not, but one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mermin/contemporary-physicists-come-in-two-varieties-type-1-physicists-are/) [David Mermin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mermin/) > [Ancient wisdom and quantum physicists make unlikely bedfellows: In quantum mechanics the observer determines (or even brings into being) what is observed, and so,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huston-smith/ancient-wisdom-and-quantum-physicists-make-unlikely-bedfellows-in/) [Huston Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huston-smith/) > [Scientists, therefore, are responsible for their research, not only intellectually but also morally. This responsibility has become an important issue in many of today's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fritjof-capra/scientists-therefore-are-responsible-for-their-research-not-only/) [Fritjof Capra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fritjof-capra/) > [I've been very involved in this quantum holographic formalism and helping to explore it as explanatory of the very root of our perceptual capabilities.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/i-ve-been-very-involved-in-this-quantum-holographic-formalism-and/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [Physicists and mathematicians regularly invade other fields but other fields do not invade theirs so we can see which fields are hardest for very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dominic-cummings/physicists-and-mathematicians-regularly-invade-other-fields-but-other/) [Dominic Cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dominic-cummings/) > [In the good old days physicists repeated each other's experiments, just to be sure. Today they stick to FORTRAN, so that they can share…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edsger-dijkstra/in-the-good-old-days-physicists-repeated-each-other-s-experiments/) [Edsger Dijkstra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edsger-dijkstra/) > [Physicists have yet to understand why the Higgs boson's mass is what it is,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-randall/physicists-have-yet-to-understand-why-the-higgs-boson-s-mass-is-what/) [Lisa Randall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-randall/) > [All professionals, whether physicists, economists or musicians, live by and for peer judgment, even when they are being paid by people who cannot tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hobsbawm/all-professionals-whether-physicists-economists-or-musicians-live-by/) [Eric Hobsbawm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hobsbawm/) > [Physicists analyse systems. Web scientists, however, can create the systems.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-berners-lee/physicists-analyse-systems-web-scientists-however-can-create-the/) [Tim Berners-Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-berners-lee/) ## More by Edgar Mitchell > [We're at a point in history were we have to become a part of the neighborhood of inhabited planets, like a neighborhood of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/we-re-at-a-point-in-history-were-we-have-to-become-a-part-of-the/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [We do need different types of propulsion to get to Mars. I wrote one of the first Ph.D. theses on that in the 1960s.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/we-do-need-different-types-of-propulsion-to-get-to-mars-i-wrote-one/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [Our success and our understanding is that all beings are right inside, the deeper we go inside ourselves. There's a saying that Unity uses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/our-success-and-our-understanding-is-that-all-beings-are-right-inside/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [To kill a citizen of our own country is evil, but to kill a citizen of another country is 'good.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/to-kill-a-citizen-of-our-own-country-is-evil-but-to-kill-a-citizen-of/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [You develop an instant global consciousness, a people orientation, an intense dissatisfaction with the state of the world, and a compulsion to do something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/you-develop-an-instant-global-consciousness-a-people-orientation-an/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [When I learned that aliens really do exist, I wasn't too surprised. But what did shock me when I started investigating extra-terrestrial reports a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/when-i-learned-that-aliens-really-do-exist-i-wasn-t-too-surprised-but/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [I believe we have these capabilities. It doesn't mean that we will use them. Our future is not assured here. It's not clear that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/i-believe-we-have-these-capabilities-it-doesn-t-mean-that-we-will-use/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [What we're starting to see is a quantum biology, it being applied in biology and cosmology and a host of other sciences, because it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/what-we-re-starting-to-see-is-a-quantum-biology-it-being-applied-in/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [The Big Bang has gone away, but as far as Super String, that is suspicious for me. It all starts out with the notion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/the-big-bang-has-gone-away-but-as-far-as-super-string-that-is/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [Unfortunately, religions have become a part of the problem instead of part of the solution. We have fought our wars in the name of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/unfortunately-religions-have-become-a-part-of-the-problem-instead-of/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [Another way to think of this is there are now 6.8 billion people on this planet, and half of them weren't even born when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/another-way-to-think-of-this-is-there-are-now-6-8-billion-people-on/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [We all know that UFOs are real. All we need to ask is where do they come from, and what do they want?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/we-all-know-that-ufos-are-real-all-we-need-to-ask-is-where-do-they/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [Undoubtedly we will go on to Mars in due course, provided we don't blow ourselves up with our stupidities in the short run. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/undoubtedly-we-will-go-on-to-mars-in-due-course-provided-we-don-t/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [The quantum hologram is a mechanism to explain this concept of the ancients of the Akashic Records. It also explains Rupert Sheldrake's work among…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/the-quantum-hologram-is-a-mechanism-to-explain-this-concept-of-the/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [Our mission on Apollo 14 was to be the first to do science on the moon, so we had to be careful about getting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/our-mission-on-apollo-14-was-to-be-the-first-to-do-science-on-the/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) [Explore all 100 Edgar Mitchell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) ## More 20th century quotes > [I think the inhabitants of the past are fighting hard to keep the rents they acquired in the 20th century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bennet/i-think-the-inhabitants-of-the-past-are-fighting-hard-to-keep-the/) [Michael Bennet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bennet/) > [Corporate America is a 20th-century dinosaur, trembling on the edge of extinction, and the only way for you to have a genuinely secure future…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kiyosaki/corporate-america-is-a-20th-century-dinosaur-trembling-on-the-edge-of/) [Robert Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kiyosaki/) > [America thrived in the 20th century because we made high school free. We sent a generation to college. We cultivated the most educated workforce…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/america-thrived-in-the-20th-century-because-we-made-high-school-free/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [The 20th century has been marked by cynicism, selfishness, greed, and the desire to please, all without changing the status quo. In the 21st…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scar-arias/the-20th-century-has-been-marked-by-cynicism-selfishness-greed-and/) [Óscar Arias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scar-arias/) > [I've studied the lives of the 20th century's great businessmen and concluded self-confidence was instrumental in all their success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-spanos/i-ve-studied-the-lives-of-the-20th-century-s-great-businessmen-and/) [Alex Spanos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-spanos/) > [Universal literacy was a 20th-century goal. Before then, reading and writing were skills largely confined to a small, highly educated class of professional people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-mackay/universal-literacy-was-a-20th-century-goal-before-then-reading-and/) [Hugh Mackay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-mackay/) > [The great wars of the 20th Century made it into the worst Century ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-ambrose/the-great-wars-of-the-20th-century-made-it-into-the-worst-century-ever/) [Stephen Ambrose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-ambrose/) > [That is very different from how it used to be in the 20th century. Media was very one way. There's a small little industry.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-gordon-levitt/that-is-very-different-from-how-it-used-to-be-in-the-20th-century/) [Joseph Gordon-Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-gordon-levitt/) > [If you look back on the history of the 20th century, the 19th century or even to the ancien régime of the 18th, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zygmunt-bauman/if-you-look-back-on-the-history-of-the-20th-century-the-19th-century/) [Zygmunt Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zygmunt-bauman/) > [Up to the 20th century, we can say that this whole period was an Earth epoch, 'Earth' meaning the riches of the earth, simple…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lech-walesa/up-to-the-20th-century-we-can-say-that-this-whole-period-was-an-earth/) [Lech Walesa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lech-walesa/) > [I think this century more than any other really has seen the phenomenon of people being uprooted in such numbers, such a degree. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/i-think-this-century-more-than-any-other-really-has-seen-the/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [If you look at that incredible burst of fantastic characters that emerged in the late 19th century/early 20th century, you can see so many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/if-you-look-at-that-incredible-burst-of-fantastic-characters-that/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [Cruel and paradoxical though it undoubtedly is, the record shows that yje most succesful 20th century monarchs have been those who were not actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cannadine/cruel-and-paradoxical-though-it-undoubtedly-is-the-record-shows-that/) [David Cannadine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cannadine/) > [An interesting thing about New Zealand, you know, literature is that it really didn't begin in any real sense until the 20th century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-catton/an-interesting-thing-about-new-zealand-you-know-literature-is-that-it/) [Eleanor Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-catton/) > [The Warmth of Other Suns is a sweeping and yet deeply personal tale of America's hidden 20th century history - the long and difficult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-brokaw/the-warmth-of-other-suns-is-a-sweeping-and-yet-deeply-personal-tale/) [Tom Brokaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-brokaw/) Browse all 672 20th century quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Most 20th century academic physicists, and academia as a whole, simply did not want to touch the subject of consciousness. 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