--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I am an experimenter, or rather I used to…" description: "\"I am an experimenter, or rather I used to be one. Then I stopped working, and since then people think I am a theoretician.\" — George Placzek" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fda/george-placzek-239607_experiments_i-am-an-experimenter-or-rather-i-used-to_2608381.png" --- # I am an experimenter, or rather I used to be one. Then I… ![“I am an experimenter, or rather I used to be one. Then I stopped working, and since then people think I am a theoretician.” quote by George Placzek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fda/george-placzek-239607_experiments_i-am-an-experimenter-or-rather-i-used-to_2608381.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fda/george-placzek-239607_experiments_i-am-an-experimenter-or-rather-i-used-to_2608381.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fda/george-placzek-239607_experiments_i-am-an-experimenter-or-rather-i-used-to_2608381.png) > “I am an experimenter, or rather I used to be one. Then I stopped working, and since then people think I am a theoretician.” George Placzek ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker reflects on moving from hands‑on experimentation to theory, noting how others may misinterpret this shift as abandoning practical work. **In simple terms:** He went from experimenting to theorizing, and others misjudge him. Key Takeaway Balance practical work with theory. Themes science career identity perception learning Mood introspective analytical thoughtful Type Experiments:0 Hard work:0 People:0 Person:0 Science:0 Thinking:0 Used:0 Used to be:0 Working:0 Experimenter:0 Experimenter Used:0 Think Theoretician:0 Theoretician:0 When to use this quote - academic research - lab work - career counseling - public speaking - mentoring Key Concepts philosophy of science professional development self concept Questions to Reflect On - How do you define success in scientific work? - What value does theory bring to practice? A Different Perspective The view may undervalue theoretical contributions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Experiments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experiments/) [Hard work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard-work/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [No one believes an hypothesis except its originator but everyone believes an experiment except the experimenter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-beveridge/no-one-believes-an-hypothesis-except-its-originator-but-everyone/) [William Beveridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-beveridge/) > [But lest I should mislead any when I have my own head and obey my whims, let me remind the reader that I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/but-lest-i-should-mislead-any-when-i-have-my-own-head-and-obey-my/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The observer listens to nature: the experimenter questions and forces her to reveal herself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-cuvier/the-observer-listens-to-nature-the-experimenter-questions-and-forces/) [Georges Cuvier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-cuvier/) > [The experimenter dealing with nature faces an outside and often hard world. Natures' curriculum cannot be changed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-lewis-perl/the-experimenter-dealing-with-nature-faces-an-outside-and-often-hard/) [Martin Lewis Perl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-lewis-perl/) > [“I am only an experimenter. Do not set the least value on what I do, or the least discredit on what I do not,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/i-am-only-an-experimenter-do-not-set-the-least-value-on-what-i-do-or/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The experimenter who does not know what he is looking for will not understand what he finds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-bernard/the-experimenter-who-does-not-know-what-he-is-looking-for-will-not/) [Claude Bernard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-bernard/) > [I'm sort of an experimenter; I thought it'd be interesting to play around and see what's there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corbin-bernsen/i-m-sort-of-an-experimenter-i-thought-it-d-be-interesting-to-play/) [Corbin Bernsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corbin-bernsen/) > [I'm a keen experimenter in the kitchen. With food, not with anything else!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zawe-ashton/i-m-a-keen-experimenter-in-the-kitchen-with-food-not-with-anything/) [Zawe Ashton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zawe-ashton/) > [Nature is an experimenter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-jose-farmer/nature-is-an-experimenter/) [Philip Jose Farmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-jose-farmer/) > [How hard, how desperately hard, is the way of the experimenter in art!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-lowell/how-hard-how-desperately-hard-is-the-way-of-the-experimenter-in-art/) [Amy Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-lowell/) > [The true worth of an experimenter consists in his pursuing not only what he seeks in his experiment, but also what he did not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-bernard/the-true-worth-of-an-experimenter-consists-in-his-pursuing-not-only/) [Claude Bernard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-bernard/) > [The modern marketer is: an experimenter, a lover of data, a content creator, a justifier of ROI.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberley-walsh/the-modern-marketer-is-an-experimenter-a-lover-of-data-a-content/) Kimberley Walsh > [To be worthy of the name, an experimenter must be at once theorist and practitioner. While he must completely master the art of establishing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-bernard/to-be-worthy-of-the-name-an-experimenter-must-be-at-once-theorist-and/) [Claude Bernard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-bernard/) > [I did this little movie I really love called 'Experimenter,' but that took six years to get made and no money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winona-ryder/i-did-this-little-movie-i-really-love-called-experimenter-but-that/) [Winona Ryder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winona-ryder/) > [He was an innovator, an experimenter, a missionary in bringing the gospel of good cooking to the home table.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-claiborne/he-was-an-innovator-an-experimenter-a-missionary-in-bringing-the/) [Craig Claiborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-claiborne/) ## More Experiments quotes > [I wrote when I was a young teen, but I didn't put an eye on the available markets until I was seventeen. The next…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reed/i-wrote-when-i-was-a-young-teen-but-i-didn-t-put-an-eye-on-the/) [Robert Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reed/) > [“The global population of Earth are involved in the following corporate government experiments: The long term effects of - 1. Nuclear bomb fallout radiation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/the-global-population-of-earth-are-involved-in-the-following/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [Liberalism is the philosophy for our time, because it does not try to conserve every tradition of the past, because it does not apply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-trudeau/liberalism-is-the-philosophy-for-our-time-because-it-does-not-try-to/) [Pierre Trudeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-trudeau/) > [On July 26, 1916, I announced to all my friends in America that from now on I resolved to write no more poems in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hu-shih/on-july-26-1916-i-announced-to-all-my-friends-in-america-that-from/) [Hu Shih](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hu-shih/) > [The prediction of nuclear winter is drawn not, of course, from any direct experience with the consequences of global nuclear war, but rather from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/the-prediction-of-nuclear-winter-is-drawn-not-of-course-from-any/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [The laws of thermodynamics, as empirically determined, express the approximate and probable behavior of systems of a great number of particles, or, more precisely,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-willard-gibbs/the-laws-of-thermodynamics-as-empirically-determined-express-the/) J. Willard Gibbs > [When I paint, I never think of selling. People simply fail to understand that we paint in order to experiment and to develop ourselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edvard-munch/when-i-paint-i-never-think-of-selling-people-simply-fail-to/) [Edvard Munch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edvard-munch/) > [Once, as an experiment, I travelled around the world with a single suit. Before I left, I went to a tailor in Savile Row…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-hamilton/once-as-an-experiment-i-travelled-around-the-world-with-a-single-suit/) [George Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-hamilton/) > [Biochemists and biologists who adhere blindly to the Darwinism theory search for results that will be in agreement with their theories and consequently orient…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-paul-grasse/biochemists-and-biologists-who-adhere-blindly-to-the-darwinism-theory/) [Pierre-Paul Grasse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-paul-grasse/) > [When people are suicidal, their thinking is paralyzed, their options appear spare or nonexistent, their mood is despairing, and hopelessness permeates their entire mental…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-redfield-jamison/when-people-are-suicidal-their-thinking-is-paralyzed-their-options/) [Kay Redfield Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-redfield-jamison/) > [It is as foolish to make experiments upon the constancy of a friend, as upon the chastity of a wife.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/it-is-as-foolish-to-make-experiments-upon-the-constancy-of-a-friend/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [An observer situated in a nebula and moving with the nebula will observe the same properties of the universe as any other similarly situated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-bondi/an-observer-situated-in-a-nebula-and-moving-with-the-nebula-will/) [Hermann Bondi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-bondi/) > [This isn't a picture filled with wonder and a sense of fun; it's so jaded and crass that I almost wonder if it's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-zacharek/this-isn-t-a-picture-filled-with-wonder-and-a-sense-of-fun-it-s-so/) [Stephanie Zacharek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-zacharek/) > [Your responsibility as an artist is to experiment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/squarepusher/your-responsibility-as-an-artist-is-to-experiment/) Squarepusher > [Now, you might say – “But why should we pay people for doing what they’re supposed to do?” It’s a fair question – but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bloomberg/now-you-might-say-but-why-should-we-pay-people-for-doing-what-they-re/) [Michael Bloomberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bloomberg/) [Browse all 1,721 Experiments quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experiments/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I am an experimenter, or rather I used to be one. 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