--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: On the other hand, we don't understand…" description: "\"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 spaceti..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9f/edward-witten-16242_dimensions_on-the-other-hand-we-don-t-understand-th_524074.png" --- # On the other hand, we don't understand the theory too… ![“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 spacetime dimensions isn't precisely defined.” quote by Edward Witten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9f/edward-witten-16242_dimensions_on-the-other-hand-we-don-t-understand-th_524074.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9f/edward-witten-16242_dimensions_on-the-other-hand-we-don-t-understand-th_524074.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9f/edward-witten-16242_dimensions_on-the-other-hand-we-don-t-understand-th_524074.png) > “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 spacetime dimensions isn't precisely defined.” [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. The statement acknowledges that our understanding of spacetime and its dimensions remains incomplete and vague. **In simple terms:** Spacetime concepts are still uncertain. Key Takeaway Accept uncertainty in fundamental physics. Themes theory uncertainty spacetime Mood analytical speculative Type philosophical scientific When to use this quote - academic seminars - physics curricula - research planning Key Concepts quantum field theory string theory dimensional analysis Questions to Reflect On - How does fuzziness affect scientific progress? - What experiments could clarify spacetime? A Different Perspective The wording is vague and may confuse non-experts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Concept Spacetime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concept-spacetime-4416106/) [Dimensions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dimensions/) [Fuzziness Spacetime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fuzziness-spacetime-4416104/) [Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hand/) [Spacetime Concept](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spacetime-concept-4416105/) [Spacetime Dimensions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spacetime-dimensions-4416107/) [Theory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theory/) [Understand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understand/) ## Related quotes > [As of now, string theorists have no explanation of why there are three large dimensions as well as time, and the other dimensions are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-witten/as-of-now-string-theorists-have-no-explanation-of-why-there-are-three/) [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/) > [When greatness descends from its lofty pedestal, it assumes human dimensions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-colet/when-greatness-descends-from-its-lofty-pedestal-it-assumes-human/) [Louise Colet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-colet/) > [Even if all life on our planet is destroyed, there must be other life somewhere which we know nothing of. It is impossible that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/even-if-all-life-on-our-planet-is-destroyed-there-must-be-other-life/) [Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/) > [I think Kafka was right when he said that for a modern, secular, nonreligious man, state bureaucracy is the only remaining contact with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slavoj-i-ek/i-think-kafka-was-right-when-he-said-that-for-a-modern-secular/) [Slavoj Žižek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slavoj-i-ek/) > [Emotional Literacy means being able to recognise what you are feeling, so that it doesn't interfere with thinking. It becomes another dimension to draw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susie-orbach/emotional-literacy-means-being-able-to-recognise-what-you-are-feeling/) [Susie Orbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susie-orbach/) > [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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [ 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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [Balance suggests a perfect equilibrium. There is no such thing. 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/) ## 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/) > [As of now, string theorists have no explanation of why there are three large dimensions as well as time, and the other dimensions are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-witten/as-of-now-string-theorists-have-no-explanation-of-why-there-are-three/) [Edward Witten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-witten/) > [Technically you need the extra dimensions. At first people didn't like them too much, but they've got a big benefit, which is that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-witten/technically-you-need-the-extra-dimensions-at-first-people-didn-t-like/) [Edward Witten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-witten/) > [In Einstein's general relativity the structure of space can change but not its topology. Topology is the property of something that doesn't change when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-witten/in-einstein-s-general-relativity-the-structure-of-space-can-change/) [Edward Witten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-witten/) > [Having those extra dimensions and therefore many ways the string can vibrate in many different directions turns out to be the key to being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-witten/having-those-extra-dimensions-and-therefore-many-ways-the-string-can/) [Edward Witten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-witten/) > [Even before string theory, especially as physics developed in the 20th century, it turned out that the equations that really work in describing nature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-witten/even-before-string-theory-especially-as-physics-developed-in-the-20th/) [Edward Witten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-witten/) > [I just think too many nice things have happened in string theory for it to be all wrong. 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. String theory does so again because a point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-witten/quantum-mechanics-brought-an-unexpected-fuzziness-into-physics/) [Edward Witten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-witten/) > [There was a long history of speculation that in quantum gravity, unlike Einstein's classical theory, it might be possible for the topology of spacetime…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-witten/there-was-a-long-history-of-speculation-that-in-quantum-gravity/) [Edward Witten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-witten/) [Explore all 40 Edward Witten quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-witten/) ## More Dimensions quotes > [Balance suggests a perfect equilibrium. There is no such thing. 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. It becomes another dimension to draw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susie-orbach/emotional-literacy-means-being-able-to-recognise-what-you-are-feeling/) [Susie Orbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susie-orbach/) > [I think Kafka was right when he said that for a modern, secular, nonreligious man, state bureaucracy is the only remaining contact with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slavoj-i-ek/i-think-kafka-was-right-when-he-said-that-for-a-modern-secular/) [Slavoj Žižek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slavoj-i-ek/) > [Even if all life on our planet is destroyed, there must be other life somewhere which we know nothing of. It is impossible that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/even-if-all-life-on-our-planet-is-destroyed-there-must-be-other-life/) [Philip K. 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Calculate the time he is alive and it cannot compare to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhuangzi/calculate-what-man-knows-and-it-cannot-compare-to-what-he-doesn-t/) [Zhuangzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhuangzi/) [Browse all 1,167 Dimensions quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dimensions/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "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 spacetime dimensions isn't precisely defined.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Edward Witten" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-witten/on-the-other-hand-we-don-t-understand-the-theory-too-completely-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Dimensions" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-witten/on-the-other-hand-we-don-t-understand-the-theory-too-completely-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9f/edward-witten-16242_dimensions_on-the-other-hand-we-don-t-understand-th_524074.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9f/edward-witten-16242_dimensions_on-the-other-hand-we-don-t-understand-th_524074.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9f/edward-witten-16242_dimensions_on-the-other-hand-we-don-t-understand-th_524074.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“On the other hand, we don't understand the theory too completely, and because of this fuzziness of…” — Edward Witten", "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": "Edward Witten", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-witten/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "On the other hand, we don't...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-witten/on-the-other-hand-we-don-t-understand-the-theory-too-completely-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-witten/on-the-other-hand-we-don-t-understand-the-theory-too-completely-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 } } ] } ```