--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For the modern physicist, reality is the…" description: "\"For the modern physicist, reality is the whole thing, past and future joined in a single history. The sensation of now is just that, a sensation, and d..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ae/james-gleick-2623_clock_for-the-modern-physicist-reality-is-the_1334344.jpg" --- # For the modern physicist, reality is the whole thing, past… ![“For the modern physicist, reality is the whole thing, past and future joined in a single history. The sensation of now is just that, a sensation, and different for everyone. Instead of one master clock, we have clocks in multitudes.” quote by James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ae/james-gleick-2623_clock_for-the-modern-physicist-reality-is-the_1334344.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ae/james-gleick-2623_clock_for-the-modern-physicist-reality-is-the_1334344.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ae/james-gleick-2623_clock_for-the-modern-physicist-reality-is-the_1334344.jpg) > “For the modern physicist, reality is the whole thing, past and future joined in a single history. The sensation of now is just that, a sensation, and different for everyone. Instead of one master clock, we have clocks in multitudes.” [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reality includes all times as a single continuum; our sense of “now” is subjective and varies per individual. **In simple terms:** Reality is a whole timeline; “now” is personal. Key Takeaway Recognize multiple perspectives on time. Themes philosophy physics perception Mood thoughtful introspective Type philosophical scientific When to use this quote - personal reflection - philosophical discussion - science education Key Concepts continuum subjectivity relativity Questions to Reflect On - How does your personal sense of “now” affect your decisions? - Can we ever truly synchronize subjective experiences? A Different Perspective The concept may be too abstract for practical daily use. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Clock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clock/) [Clocks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clocks/) [Different](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different/) [Everyone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/everyone/) [Future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Instead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/instead/) [Joined](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joined/) [Just](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/just/) [Master](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/master/) [Modern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modern/) [Modern Physicist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modern-physicist-1857144/) [Multitudes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/multitudes/) [Now](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/now/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Past and future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past-and-future/) [Past future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past-future/) [Physicist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/physicist/) [Physicist Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/physicist-reality-592646/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Reality Thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality-thing-1620284/) [Sensation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sensation/) [Single](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/single/) [Thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thing/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Whole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whole/) ## Related quotes > [ The mathematician is in much more direct contact with reality. ... \[Whereas\] the physicist's reality, whatever it may be, has few or none of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-h-hardy/the-mathematician-is-in-much-more-direct-contact-with-reality-whereas/) [G. H. Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-h-hardy/) > [The modern physicist is a quantum theorist on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and a student of gravitational relativity on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. On…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norbert-wiener/the-modern-physicist-is-a-quantum-theorist-on-monday-wednesday-and/) [Norbert Wiener](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norbert-wiener/) > [Have you ever had the sensation of looking at someone for the first time and ever so quickly the past and future seem to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/have-you-ever-had-the-sensation-of-looking-at-someone-for-the-first/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [Personally, I don't get that whole reality show thing. It was much smaller, and it's grown. It's like an epidemic. 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Past and future are no more privileged than left and right or up and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/in-spacetime-all-events-are-baked-together-a-four-dimensional/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) > [I got these hataz like when he gon stop? maybe a minute after never start ya clocks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lil-wayne/i-got-these-hataz-like-when-he-gon-stop-maybe-a-minute-after-never/) [Lil Wayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lil-wayne/) > [“Do days exist without calendars? Does time pass when there are no human hands left to wind the clocks?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-koch/do-days-exist-without-calendars-does-time-pass-when-there-are-no/) [Howard Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-koch/) > [“You shouldn't be in here!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-winters/you-shouldn-t-be-in-here/) [Evelyn Winters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-winters/) ## More by James Gleick > [When the Lilliputians first saw Gulliver's watch, that "wonderful kind of engine...a globe, half silver and half of some transparent metal," they identified it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/when-the-lilliputians-first-saw-gulliver-s-watch-that-wonderful-kind/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) > [You know, entropy is associated thermodynamically, in systems involving heat, with disorder. 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A book is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/a-book-is-not-necessarily-made-of-paper-a-book-is-not-necessarily/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) > [“From this point of view, the laws of science represent data compression in action. A theoretical physicist acts like a very clever coding algorithm.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/from-this-point-of-view-the-laws-of-science-represent-data/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) > [Children and scientists share an outlook on life. If I do this, what will happen? is both the motto of the child at play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/children-and-scientists-share-an-outlook-on-life-if-i-do-this-what/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) > [“Your body moves always in the present, the dividing line between the past and the future, but your mind is more free. It can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/your-body-moves-always-in-the-present-the-dividing-line-between-the/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) > [People worry about Twitter. Twitter is banal. It's 140-character messages. By definition, you can hardly say anything profound. On the other hand, we communicate.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/people-worry-about-twitter-twitter-is-banal-it-s-140-character/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) > [“The Difference Engine stands—for a replica works today, in the Science Museum in London—as a milestone of what could be achieved in precision engineering.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/the-difference-engine-stands-for-a-replica-works-today-in-the-science/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) > [It is significant that one says book lover and music lover and art lover but not record lover or CD lover or, conversely, text…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/it-is-significant-that-one-says-book-lover-and-music-lover-and-art/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) > [“quoting Tolstoy: “I know that most men, including those at ease with problems of the greatest complexity, can seldom accept even the simplest and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/quoting-tolstoy-i-know-that-most-men-including-those-at-ease-with/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) [Explore all 157 James Gleick quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) ## More Clock quotes > [Even Einstein had to rely for his time on his clock.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanislaw-jerzy-lec/even-einstein-had-to-rely-for-his-time-on-his-clock/) [Stanislaw Jerzy Lec](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanislaw-jerzy-lec/) > [“Time was never neutral and often felt dangerous. We either think we have all the time in the world or time moves too fast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-reay/time-was-never-neutral-and-often-felt-dangerous-we-either-think-we/) [Katherine Reay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-reay/) > [Before a clock was in the tower, Or e'er a watch was worn; I knew of night the passing hour, And prophesied the morn;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/before-a-clock-was-in-the-tower-or-e-er-a-watch-was-worn-i-knew-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A clock struck out the hour of twelve, and the bird in the hedgerow was still singing as we marched out to the roadway,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-macgill/a-clock-struck-out-the-hour-of-twelve-and-the-bird-in-the-hedgerow/) [Patrick MacGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-macgill/) > [“Time is, to put it in its most impressive and some might say poncy-sounding form, my domain. I can see things that once happened,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-rayner/time-is-to-put-it-in-its-most-impressive-and-some-might-say-poncy/) [Jacqueline Rayner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-rayner/) > [Time travel offends our sense of cause and effect - but maybe the universe doesn't insist on cause and effect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-m-lerner/time-travel-offends-our-sense-of-cause-and-effect-but-maybe-the/) [Edward M. Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-m-lerner/) > [My only aim is to clock a time that everyone remembers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hima-das/my-only-aim-is-to-clock-a-time-that-everyone-remembers/) [Hima Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hima-das/) > [Time.The greatest creator, and the worst destroyer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/levi-keely/time-the-greatest-creator-and-the-worst-destroyer/) [Levi Keely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/levi-keely/) > [Steven Spielberg seems to have wanted to be a director from 13. 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If it gets confused some of the minutiae of human nature are certain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenway-wescott/time-is-the-nervous-system-of-narration-whether-factual-or-fictive-if/) [Glenway Wescott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenway-wescott/) > [I don't know if it's just me or everyone, but the whole vibe with skiing is not so much thriving on competition against others…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/picabo-street/i-don-t-know-if-it-s-just-me-or-everyone-but-the-whole-vibe-with/) [Picabo Street](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/picabo-street/) > [Time goes on, even when yer not looking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-ness/time-goes-on-even-when-yer-not-looking/) [Patrick Ness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-ness/) > [CLOCK, n. A machine of great moral value to man, allaying his concern for the future by reminding him what a lot of time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/clock-n-a-machine-of-great-moral-value-to-man-allaying-his-concern/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) [Browse all 2,738 Clock quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clock/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "For the modern physicist, reality is the whole thing, past and future joined in a single history. The sensation of now is just that, a sensation, and different for everyone. 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