--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In the history of physics, there have…" description: "\"In the history of physics, there have been three great revolutions in thought that first seemed absurd yet proved to be true. The first proposed that t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f28/edward-teller-12255_absurd_in-the-history-of-physics-there-have-bee_1481133.png" --- # In the history of physics, there have been three great… ![“In the history of physics, there have been three great revolutions in thought that first seemed absurd yet proved to be true. The first proposed that the earth, instead of being stationary, was moving around at a great and variable speed in a universe that is much bigger than it appears to our…” quote by Edward Teller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f28/edward-teller-12255_absurd_in-the-history-of-physics-there-have-bee_1481133.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f28/edward-teller-12255_absurd_in-the-history-of-physics-there-have-bee_1481133.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f28/edward-teller-12255_absurd_in-the-history-of-physics-there-have-bee_1481133.png) > “In the history of physics, there have been three great revolutions in thought that first seemed absurd yet proved to be true. The first proposed that the earth, instead of being stationary, was moving around at a great and variable speed in a universe that is much bigger than it appears to our immediate perception. That proposal, I believe, was first made by Aristarchos two millenia ago ... Remarkably enough, the name Aristarchos in Greek means best beginning.” [Edward Teller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-teller/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Scientific breakthroughs often start as absurd ideas that later reshape understanding. **In simple terms:** Great ideas seem crazy at first. Key Takeaway Embrace unconventional thinking. Themes science revolution paradigm shift Mood inquisitive analytical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - research labs - academic curricula - public lectures Key Concepts cosmology historical analysis philosophy of science Questions to Reflect On - What current theories seem absurd now? - How do we balance skepticism with openness? A Different Perspective Not all radical ideas succeed; skepticism is necessary. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurd/) [Aristarchos Greek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aristarchos-greek-5398185/) [Being true](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-true/) [Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe/) [Believe Aristarchos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe-aristarchos-5398183/) [Bigger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bigger/) [Discovery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discovery/) [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [Enough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enough/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [Greek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greek/) [Has beens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/has-beens/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [I believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-believe/) [Made](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/made/) [Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/) [Moving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moving/) [Names](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/names/) [Perception](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perception/) [Physics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/physics/) [Proposal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/proposal/) [Proposed Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/proposed-earth-5398184/) [Revolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolution/) [Revolutions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolutions/) [Revolutions Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolutions-thought-439157/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Speed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speed/) [Stationary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stationary/) [Three](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/three/) [Two](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two/) [Universe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universe/) [Variables](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/variables/) ## Related quotes > [“It has often been noted that three major revolutions in thought have threatened the idea of human centrality. First, Copernicus demonstrated that Earth was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/it-has-often-been-noted-that-three-major-revolutions-in-thought-have/) [Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) > [“Akasha, for two thousand years I have watched,' he said. 'Call me the Roman in the Arena if you will and tell me tales…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/akasha-for-two-thousand-years-i-have-watched-he-said-call-me-the/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [The revolutions of thought which shape the basic outlook of an age are not disseminated through text-books- they spread like epidemics, through contamination by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/the-revolutions-of-thought-which-shape-the-basic-outlook-of-an-age/) [Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/) > [The universe is information and we are stationary in it, not three dimensional and not in space or time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/the-universe-is-information-and-we-are-stationary-in-it-not-three/) [Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/) > [The sight of such a monument is like continual and stationary music, which one hears for one's good as one approaches it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madame-de-stael/the-sight-of-such-a-monument-is-like-continual-and-stationary-music/) [Madame de Stael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madame-de-stael/) > [The infant runs toward it with its eyes closed, the adult is stationary, the old man approaches it with his back turned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-diderot/the-infant-runs-toward-it-with-its-eyes-closed-the-adult-is/) [Denis Diderot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-diderot/) > [Moreover, since the sun remains stationary, whatever appears as a motion of the sun is really due rather to the motion of the earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolaus-copernicus/moreover-since-the-sun-remains-stationary-whatever-appears-as-a/) [Nicolaus Copernicus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolaus-copernicus/) > [In Denver, I was more of a stationary shooter for some reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-fournier/in-denver-i-was-more-of-a-stationary-shooter-for-some-reason/) [Evan Fournier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-fournier/) > [Then it was that the exports of slaves from Virginia and the Carolinas was so great that the population of those States remained almost,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-charles-carey/then-it-was-that-the-exports-of-slaves-from-virginia-and-the/) [Henry Charles Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-charles-carey/) > [Taste is not stationary. It grows every day, and is improved by cultivation, as a good temper is refined by religion. In its most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/taste-is-not-stationary-it-grows-every-day-and-is-improved-by/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [Hence I feel no shame in asserting that this whole region engirdled by the moon, and the center of the earth, traverse this grand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolaus-copernicus/hence-i-feel-no-shame-in-asserting-that-this-whole-region-engirdled/) [Nicolaus Copernicus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolaus-copernicus/) > [Her life was like running on a treadmill or riding on a stationary bike; it was aerobic, it was healthy, but she wasn't going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-phillips/her-life-was-like-running-on-a-treadmill-or-riding-on-a-stationary/) [Julia Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-phillips/) > [Sometimes, when it is going badly, she wonders if what she believes to be a love of the written word is really just a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/sometimes-when-it-is-going-badly-she-wonders-if-what-she-believes-to/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [I'm paranoid. On my stationary bike, I have a rear view mirror.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lewis/i-m-paranoid-on-my-stationary-bike-i-have-a-rear-view-mirror/) [Richard Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lewis/) > [I chose a career in the kitchen because the thought of sitting and doing the same thing every day and being stationary was not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-tosi/i-chose-a-career-in-the-kitchen-because-the-thought-of-sitting-and/) [Christina Tosi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-tosi/) ## More by Edward Teller > [I believe in good. It is an ephemeral and elusive quality. It is the center of my beliefs, but it cannot be strengthened by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-teller/i-believe-in-good-it-is-an-ephemeral-and-elusive-quality-it-is-the/) [Edward Teller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-teller/) > [The main purpose of science is simplicity and as we understand more things, everything is becoming simpler.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-teller/the-main-purpose-of-science-is-simplicity-and-as-we-understand-more/) [Edward Teller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-teller/) > [Today's science is tomorrow's technology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-teller/today-s-science-is-tomorrow-s-technology/) [Edward Teller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-teller/) > [By having simplified what is known, physicists have been led into realms which as yet are anything but simple. That at some time, they,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-teller/by-having-simplified-what-is-known-physicists-have-been-led-into/) [Edward Teller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-teller/) > [Really exotic methods of propulsion . . . will have to be devised to get there. How it will be done, I do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-teller/really-exotic-methods-of-propulsion-will-have-to-be-devised-to-get/) [Edward Teller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-teller/) > [Today, nothing is unusual about a scientific discovery's being followed soon after by a technical application: The discovery of electrons led to electronics; fission…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-teller/today-nothing-is-unusual-about-a-scientific-discovery-s-being/) [Edward Teller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-teller/) > [Society's emissions of carbon dioxide may or may not turn out to have something significant to do with global warming-the jury is still out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-teller/society-s-emissions-of-carbon-dioxide-may-or-may-not-turn-out-to-have/) [Edward Teller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-teller/) > [Had we not pursued the hydrogen bomb, there is a very real threat that we would now all be speaking Russian. I have no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-teller/had-we-not-pursued-the-hydrogen-bomb-there-is-a-very-real-threat-that/) [Edward Teller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-teller/) > [“Engineers are, by definition, people whose work is dedicated to making people's lives easier; or, as people used to say, whose work is dedicated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-teller/engineers-are-by-definition-people-whose-work-is-dedicated-to-making/) [Edward Teller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-teller/) > [My experience has been in a short 77 years that in the end when you fight for a desperate cause and have good reasons…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-teller/my-experience-has-been-in-a-short-77-years-that-in-the-end-when-you/) [Edward Teller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-teller/) > [I hate doubt, yet I am certain that doubt is the only way to approach anything worth believing in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-teller/i-hate-doubt-yet-i-am-certain-that-doubt-is-the-only-way-to-approach/) [Edward Teller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-teller/) > [It is often claimed that knowledge multiplies so rapidly that nobody can follow it. I believe this is incorrect. At least in science it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-teller/it-is-often-claimed-that-knowledge-multiplies-so-rapidly-that-nobody/) [Edward Teller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-teller/) > [I believe in excellence. It is a basic need of every human soul. All of us can be excellent, because, fortunately, we are exceedingly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-teller/i-believe-in-excellence-it-is-a-basic-need-of-every-human-soul-all-of/) [Edward Teller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-teller/) > [When you come to the end of all the light you know, and it's time to step into the darkness of the unknown, faith…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-teller/when-you-come-to-the-end-of-all-the-light-you-know-and-it-s-time-to/) [Edward Teller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-teller/) > [There is a time for scientists and movie stars and those who have flown the atlantic to restrain their opinions lest they be taken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-teller/there-is-a-time-for-scientists-and-movie-stars-and-those-who-have/) [Edward Teller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-teller/) [Explore all 55 Edward Teller quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-teller/) ## More Absurd quotes > [“It seem absurd to me that they don't know, haven't felt any change or tremor, even as my life has been completely turned upside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/it-seem-absurd-to-me-that-they-don-t-know-haven-t-felt-any-change-or/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [When a person’s tongue is extensively wrong, it is absurd, no less than unscriptural, to say that their heart is right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-ryle/when-a-person-s-tongue-is-extensively-wrong-it-is-absurd-no-less-than/) [J. C. Ryle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-ryle/) > [Every sensible man, every honorable man, must hold the Christian sect in horror." "Christianity is the most ridiculous, the most absurd and bloody religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/every-sensible-man-every-honorable-man-must-hold-the-christian-sect/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [It is human nature to think wisely and to act in an absurd fashion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-france/it-is-human-nature-to-think-wisely-and-to-act-in-an-absurd-fashion/) [Anatole France](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-france/) > [It is a dangerous and fateful presumption, besides the absurd temerity that it implies, to disdain what we do not comprehend. For after you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-a-dangerous-and-fateful-presumption-besides-the-absurd-temerity/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I thought to myself: if it’s true that every person has a star in the sky, mine must be distant, dim, and absurd. Perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadegh-hedayat/i-thought-to-myself-if-it-s-true-that-every-person-has-a-star-in-the/) [Sadegh Hedayat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadegh-hedayat/) > [If, indeed, a firearm were more dangerous to its possessors than to potential aggressors, would it not make sense for the government to arm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/if-indeed-a-firearm-were-more-dangerous-to-its-possessors-than-to/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [“You were torturing a cat," she says. "With a freaking prod." "A prod I built myself in metal shop," he says. "But of course…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/you-were-torturing-a-cat-she-says-with-a-freaking-prod-a-prod-i-built/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [I have never heard enough classical music to be able to enjoy it; & the simple truth is, I detest it. Not mildly, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-have-never-heard-enough-classical-music-to-be-able-to-enjoy-it-the/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [To deprecate human reason by saying that none of us is or can be omniscient is absurd, for it takes an impossible standard as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-rothbard/to-deprecate-human-reason-by-saying-that-none-of-us-is-or-can-be/) [Murray Rothbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-rothbard/) > [“Rachel got up and did this happy little shuffle, like she was some cheerful farmer chick who'd just stepped outside to find the hick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/rachel-got-up-and-did-this-happy-little-shuffle-like-she-was-some/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [The absurd duty, too often inculcated, of obeying a parent only on account of his being a parent, shackles the mind, and prepares it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/the-absurd-duty-too-often-inculcated-of-obeying-a-parent-only-on/) [Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/) > [The workman of today works every day in his life at the same tasks, and this fate is no less absurd. But it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-workman-of-today-works-every-day-in-his-life-at-the-same-tasks/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [I was once part of a Christmas cabaret. I sang 'I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus.' I tap-danced. I had a ten-gallon hat. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-dinklage/i-was-once-part-of-a-christmas-cabaret-i-sang-i-saw-mommy-kissing/) [Peter Dinklage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-dinklage/) > [Solitude produces originality, bold and astonishing beauty, poetry. But solitude also produces perverseness, the disproportianate, the absurd and the forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mann/solitude-produces-originality-bold-and-astonishing-beauty-poetry-but/) [Thomas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mann/) [Browse all 1,644 Absurd quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurd/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In the history of physics, there have been three great revolutions in thought that first seemed absurd yet proved to be true. The first proposed that the earth, instead of being stationary, was moving around at a great and variable speed in a universe that is much bigger than it appears to our immediate perception. That proposal, I believe, was first made by Aristarchos two millenia ago ... 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