--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As of now, string theorists have no…" description: "\"As of now, string theorists have no explanation of why there are three large dimensions as well as time, and the other dimensions are microscopic. Prop..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/807/edward-witten-16242_dimensions_as-of-now-string-theorists-have-no-expla_602253.png" --- # As of now, string theorists have no explanation of why… ![“As of now, string theorists have no explanation of why there are three large dimensions as well as time, and the other dimensions are microscopic. Proposals about that have been all over the map.” quote by Edward Witten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/807/edward-witten-16242_dimensions_as-of-now-string-theorists-have-no-expla_602253.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/807/edward-witten-16242_dimensions_as-of-now-string-theorists-have-no-expla_602253.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/807/edward-witten-16242_dimensions_as-of-now-string-theorists-have-no-expla_602253.png) > “As of now, string theorists have no explanation of why there are three large dimensions as well as time, and the other dimensions are microscopic. Proposals about that have been all over the map.” [Edward Witten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-witten/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. String theory lacks a clear reason for three large dimensions and time, while other dimensions remain tiny. **In simple terms:** String theory can't explain why three dimensions are large. Key Takeaway Seek deeper dimensional insight. Themes physics theory uncertainty Mood curious speculative Type scientific philosophical When to use this quote - research proposals - academic seminars - science education - philosophical debate Key Concepts string theory dimensionality Questions to Reflect On - Why are three dimensions large? - What evidence could support other dimensions? A Different Perspective Complexity may limit testability. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dimensions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dimensions/) [Dimensions Microscopic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dimensions-microscopic-4908047/) [Dimensions Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dimensions-time-2985223/) [Explanation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/explanation/) [Large Dimensions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/large-dimensions-4908046/) [String Theorists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/string-theorists-1317610/) [Theory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theory/) [Three](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/three/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Time Dimensions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time-dimensions-812842/) ## Related quotes > [Time has three dimensions and one positive pitch or direction. It is therefore not so much like any river or any sea as like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerard-manley-hopkins/time-has-three-dimensions-and-one-positive-pitch-or-direction-it-is/) [Gerard Manley Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerard-manley-hopkins/) > [There is no difference between Time and any of the three dimensions of Space except that our consciousness moves along it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-is-no-difference-between-time-and-any-of-the-three-dimensions/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [In this world, time has three dimensions, like space. Just as an object may move in three perpendicular directions, corresponding to horizontal, vertical, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/in-this-world-time-has-three-dimensions-like-space-just-as-an-object/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) > [The quality of time actually changes throughout the day and night. 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If the new dimensions and symmetries do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/on-the-other-hand-if-string-theorists-are-wrong-they-can-t-be-just-a/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [“Galileo discovered new stars and moons, and later astronomers discovered new planets. 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First, because the main thing that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/the-subject-of-this-chapter-is-string-theory-and-i-begin-it-with/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) ## More by Edward Witten > [As for the forces, electromagnetism and gravity we experience in everyday life. But the weak and strong forces are beyond our ordinary experience. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-witten/as-for-the-forces-electromagnetism-and-gravity-we-experience-in/) [Edward Witten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-witten/) > [I'm actually, for the most part, a complete agnostic politically.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-witten/i-m-actually-for-the-most-part-a-complete-agnostic-politically/) [Edward Witten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-witten/) > [“If one of the five theories describes our univers, who lives in the other four worlds”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-witten/if-one-of-the-five-theories-describes-our-univers-who-lives-in-the/) [Edward Witten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-witten/) > [The theory has to be interpreted that extra dimensions beyond the ordinary four dimensions the three spatial dimensions plus time are sufficiently small that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-witten/the-theory-has-to-be-interpreted-that-extra-dimensions-beyond-the/) [Edward Witten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-witten/) > [You enter a completely new world where things aren't at all what you're used to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-witten/you-enter-a-completely-new-world-where-things-aren-t-at-all-what-you/) [Edward Witten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-witten/) > [On the other hand, we don't understand the theory too completely, and because of this fuzziness of spacetime, the very concept of spacetime and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-witten/on-the-other-hand-we-don-t-understand-the-theory-too-completely-and/) [Edward Witten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-witten/) > [Technically you need the extra dimensions. 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Humans do not understand it very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-witten/i-just-think-too-many-nice-things-have-happened-in-string-theory-for/) [Edward Witten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-witten/) > [It's indeed surprising that replacing the elementary particle with a string leads to such a big change in things. I'm tempted to say that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-witten/it-s-indeed-surprising-that-replacing-the-elementary-particle-with-a/) [Edward Witten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-witten/) > [One of the basic things about a string is that it can vibrate in many different shapes or forms, which gives music its beauty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-witten/one-of-the-basic-things-about-a-string-is-that-it-can-vibrate-in-many/) [Edward Witten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-witten/) > [Quantum mechanics brought an unexpected fuzziness into physics because of quantum uncertainty, the Heisenberg uncertainty principle. 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That is a false expectation… There are going to be priorities and dimensions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-morrison/balance-suggests-a-perfect-equilibrium-there-is-no-such-thing-that-is/) [Denise Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-morrison/) > [There are places that are very draining. There are places where there is another dimensional crossover but to a dimension that is not powerful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/there-are-places-that-are-very-draining-there-are-places-where-there/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [When you're being truly creative, time stands still, and you enter a dimension that can carry you beyond the ordinariness of everyday life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-linn/when-you-re-being-truly-creative-time-stands-still-and-you-enter-a/) [Denise Linn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-linn/) > [ Leave a cavity behind the \[wall\] facings, and on the inside build walls two feet thick, made of red dimension stone or burnt brick… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-vitruvius-pollio/leave-a-cavity-behind-the-wall-facings-and-on-the-inside-build-walls/) [Marcus Vitruvius Pollio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-vitruvius-pollio/) > [We are somehow the children of the planet, we are somehow its finest hour; we bind time, we bind the past, we anticipate the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-somehow-the-children-of-the-planet-we-are-somehow-its-finest/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Money should not be in the hands of individuals; otherwise it will create this problem of being burdened with guilt. And money can make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/money-should-not-be-in-the-hands-of-individuals-otherwise-it-will/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [Meditation is an opportunity to move into a dimension where there is no such thing as stress within you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaggi-vasudev/meditation-is-an-opportunity-to-move-into-a-dimension-where-there-is/) [Jaggi Vasudev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaggi-vasudev/) > [I'm saying that the domain of poetry includes both oral & written forms, that poetry goes back to a pre-literate situation & would survive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-rothenberg/i-m-saying-that-the-domain-of-poetry-includes-both-oral-written-forms/) [Jerome Rothenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-rothenberg/) > [A mature mind is one who understands the impossibility of knowing the ultimate, and with this understanding there is a new dimension: the dimension…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/a-mature-mind-is-one-who-understands-the-impossibility-of-knowing-the/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [Emotional Literacy means being able to recognise what you are feeling, so that it doesn't interfere with thinking. 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