--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The essential fact is that all the…" description: "\"The essential fact is that all the pictures which science now draws of nature, and which alone seem capable of according with observational facts, are ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/981/james-jeans-23389_accounts_the-essential-fact-is-that-all-the-pictu_2478953.jpg" --- # The essential fact is that all the pictures which science… ![“The essential fact is that all the pictures which science now draws of nature, and which alone seem capable of according with observational facts, are mathematical pictures.” quote by James Jeans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/981/james-jeans-23389_accounts_the-essential-fact-is-that-all-the-pictu_2478953.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/981/james-jeans-23389_accounts_the-essential-fact-is-that-all-the-pictu_2478953.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/981/james-jeans-23389_accounts_the-essential-fact-is-that-all-the-pictu_2478953.jpg) > “The essential fact is that all the pictures which science now draws of nature, and which alone seem capable of according with observational facts, are mathematical pictures.” [James Jeans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-jeans/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Science describes nature using mathematical models that align with observations. **In simple terms:** Science uses math to match reality. Key Takeaway Embrace mathematical thinking. Themes science mathematics observation Mood curious analytical Type explanatory philosophical When to use this quote - research - education - engineering - data analysis Key Concepts modeling theory precision Questions to Reflect On - How does mathematical modeling shape our view of reality? - When might non‑mathematical explanations be needed? A Different Perspective Mathematics may oversimplify complex phenomena. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accounts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accounts/) [Capable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capable/) [Draws](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/draws/) [Essential Fact](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/essential-fact-840701/) [Essentials](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/essentials/) [Fact Pictures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fact-pictures-840702/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Facts Mathematical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts-mathematical-840700/) [Mathematical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mathematical/) [Mathematical Pictures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mathematical-pictures-840698/) [Mathematics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mathematics/) [Natural](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/natural/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Observation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/observation/) [Pictures Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pictures-science-840699/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Seems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seems/) ## Related quotes > [Ladies and gentlemen, a picture is not worth a thousand words. In fact, we found some pictures that are worth 500 billion words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erez-lieberman-aiden/ladies-and-gentlemen-a-picture-is-not-worth-a-thousand-words-in-fact/) [Erez Lieberman Aiden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erez-lieberman-aiden/) > [Creative Destruction is the essential fact about capitalism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-a-schumpeter/creative-destruction-is-the-essential-fact-about-capitalism/) [Joseph A. Schumpeter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-a-schumpeter/) > [Kant, discussing the various modes of perception by which the human mind apprehends nature, concluded that it is specially prone to see nature through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-jeans/kant-discussing-the-various-modes-of-perception-by-which-the-human/) [James Jeans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-jeans/) > [The difference is that we have the hardest and most painful evidence that there was a Holocaust. But, for the global warming scenario that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-difference-is-that-we-have-the-hardest-and-most-painful-evidence/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Ex-Professor Moriarty of mathematical celebrity... is the Napoleon of crime, Watson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/ex-professor-moriarty-of-mathematical-celebrity-is-the-napoleon-of/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [Music is a science, in many ways it's mathematical.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-winwood/music-is-a-science-in-many-ways-it-s-mathematical/) [Steve Winwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-winwood/) > [ ...There is no study in the world which brings into more harmonious action all the faculties of the mind than \[mathematics\], ... or, like… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joseph-sylvester/there-is-no-study-in-the-world-which-brings-into-more-harmonious/) [James Joseph Sylvester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joseph-sylvester/) > [But we must not underestimate the potency of the mathematical process of abstraction. A surprising variety of things happen to have both magnitude and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banesh-hoffmann/but-we-must-not-underestimate-the-potency-of-the-mathematical-process/) [Banesh Hoffmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banesh-hoffmann/) > [“317 is a prime, not because we think so, or because our minds are shaped in one way rather than another, but because it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/317-is-a-prime-not-because-we-think-so-or-because-our-minds-are/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [But there is another reason for the high repute of mathematics: it is mathematics that offers the exact natural sciences a certain measure of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/but-there-is-another-reason-for-the-high-repute-of-mathematics-it-is/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Arithmetic is numbers you squeeze from your head to your hand to your pencil to your paper till you get the answer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sandburg/arithmetic-is-numbers-you-squeeze-from-your-head-to-your-hand-to-your/) [Carl Sandburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sandburg/) > [In presenting a mathematical argument the great thing is to give the educated reader the chance to catch on at once to the momentary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edensor-littlewood/in-presenting-a-mathematical-argument-the-great-thing-is-to-give-the/) [John Edensor Littlewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edensor-littlewood/) > [For a physicist mathematics is not just a tool by means of which phenomena can be calculated, it is the main source of concepts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freeman-dyson/for-a-physicist-mathematics-is-not-just-a-tool-by-means-of-which/) [Freeman Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freeman-dyson/) > [You feed yourself. Make sure you have all the information, whether it's aesthetic, scientific, mathematical, I don't care what it is. Then you walk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/you-feed-yourself-make-sure-you-have-all-the-information-whether-it-s/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [It is indeed a surprising and fortunate fact that nature can be expressed by relatively low-order mathematical functions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-carnap/it-is-indeed-a-surprising-and-fortunate-fact-that-nature-can-be/) [Rudolf Carnap](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-carnap/) ## More by James Jeans > [One must stand stiller than still. On reverse time travel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-jeans/one-must-stand-stiller-than-still-on-reverse-time-travel/) [James Jeans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-jeans/) > [...to many it is not knowledge but the quest for knowledge that gives greater interest to thought-to travel hopefully is better than to arrive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-jeans/to-many-it-is-not-knowledge-but-the-quest-for-knowledge-that-gives/) [James Jeans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-jeans/) > [Kant, discussing the various modes of perception by which the human mind apprehends nature, concluded that it is specially prone to see nature through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-jeans/kant-discussing-the-various-modes-of-perception-by-which-the-human/) [James Jeans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-jeans/) > [Put three grains of sand inside a vast cathedral, and the cathedral will be more closely packed with sand than space is with stars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-jeans/put-three-grains-of-sand-inside-a-vast-cathedral-and-the-cathedral/) [James Jeans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-jeans/) > [Humanity is at the very beginning of its existence-a new-born babe, with all the unexplored potentialities of babyhood; and until the last few moments…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-jeans/humanity-is-at-the-very-beginning-of-its-existence-a-new-born-babe/) [James Jeans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-jeans/) > [We have already considered with disfavour the possibility of the universe having been planned by a biologist or an engineer; from the intrinsic evidence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-jeans/we-have-already-considered-with-disfavour-the-possibility-of-the/) [James Jeans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-jeans/) > [“If we assume that the last breath of, say, Julius Caesar has by now become thoroughly scattered through the atmosphere, then the chances are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-jeans/if-we-assume-that-the-last-breath-of-say-julius-caesar-has-by-now/) [James Jeans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-jeans/) > [The plain fact is that there are no conclusions. If we must state a conclusion, it would be that many of the former conclusions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-jeans/the-plain-fact-is-that-there-are-no-conclusions-if-we-must-state-a/) [James Jeans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-jeans/) > [The really happy person is the one who can enjoy the scenery, even when they have to take a detour.\[make the best of what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-jeans/the-really-happy-person-is-the-one-who-can-enjoy-the-scenery-even/) [James Jeans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-jeans/) > [Life exists in the universe only because the carbon atom possesses certain exceptional properties.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-jeans/life-exists-in-the-universe-only-because-the-carbon-atom-possesses/) [James Jeans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-jeans/) > [From the intrinsic evidence of his creation, the Great Architect of the Universe now begins to appear as a pure mathematician.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-jeans/from-the-intrinsic-evidence-of-his-creation-the-great-architect-of/) [James Jeans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-jeans/) > [Sciences usually advances by a succession of small steps, through a fog in which even the most keen-sighted explorer can seldom see more than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-jeans/sciences-usually-advances-by-a-succession-of-small-steps-through-a/) [James Jeans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-jeans/) > [...nature seems very conversant with the rules of pure mathematics, as our own mathematicians have formulated them in their studies, out of their own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-jeans/nature-seems-very-conversant-with-the-rules-of-pure-mathematics-as/) [James Jeans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-jeans/) > [The universe can best be pictured as consisting of pure thought, the thought of what for want of a better word we must describe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-jeans/the-universe-can-best-be-pictured-as-consisting-of-pure-thought-the/) [James Jeans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-jeans/) > [Science should leave off making pronouncements: the river of knowledge has too often turned back on itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-jeans/science-should-leave-off-making-pronouncements-the-river-of-knowledge/) [James Jeans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-jeans/) [Explore all 26 James Jeans quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-jeans/) ## More Accounts quotes > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [Think of these things, whence you came, where you are going, and to whom you must account.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/think-of-these-things-whence-you-came-where-you-are-going-and-to-whom/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [There is nothing that we can properly call our own but our time, and yet everybody fools us out of it who has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/there-is-nothing-that-we-can-properly-call-our-own-but-our-time-and/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [The Hindus have a peculiar slovenliness in business matters, not being sufficiently methodical and strict in keeping accounts etc.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/the-hindus-have-a-peculiar-slovenliness-in-business-matters-not-being/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [With the Truman book, I wrote the entire account of his experiences in World War I before going over to Europe to follow his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/with-the-truman-book-i-wrote-the-entire-account-of-his-experiences-in/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [A great read; an exciting, frightening account of organized crime today. But like all important works of nonfiction, it goes further… This book is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/le-ly-hayslip/a-great-read-an-exciting-frightening-account-of-organized-crime-today/) [Le Ly Hayslip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/le-ly-hayslip/) > [I had a very blessed journey with the upbringing I had. When you're working on sets as a stuntman, you have a firsthand account…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ric-roman-waugh/i-had-a-very-blessed-journey-with-the-upbringing-i-had-when-you-re/) [Ric Roman Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ric-roman-waugh/) > [The suppression of uncomfortable ideas may be common in religion or in politics, but it is not the path to knowledge; it has no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/the-suppression-of-uncomfortable-ideas-may-be-common-in-religion-or/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [You've got to exercise. Your health account, your bank account, they're the same thing. The more you put in, the more you can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-lalanne/you-ve-got-to-exercise-your-health-account-your-bank-account-they-re/) [Jack LaLanne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-lalanne/) > [No physiologist who calmly considers the question in connection with the general truths of his science, can long resist the conviction that different parts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/no-physiologist-who-calmly-considers-the-question-in-connection-with/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [God puts you where God needs you. You are where you are supposed to be. The job you are doing may not be any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-kushner/god-puts-you-where-god-needs-you-you-are-where-you-are-supposed-to-be/) [Lawrence Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-kushner/) > [Stop trying to treat music like it's a tennis shoe, something to be branded. If the music industry wants to save money, they should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-tweedy/stop-trying-to-treat-music-like-it-s-a-tennis-shoe-something-to-be/) [Jeff Tweedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-tweedy/) > [Anyone who thinks science is trying to make human life easier or more pleasant is utterly mistaken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/anyone-who-thinks-science-is-trying-to-make-human-life-easier-or-more/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [That surely must be a concern to anyone who decides this drug must be given to stop transmissions, again from mother to child, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thabo-mbeki/that-surely-must-be-a-concern-to-anyone-who-decides-this-drug-must-be/) [Thabo Mbeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thabo-mbeki/) [Browse all 2,677 Accounts quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accounts/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The essential fact is that all the pictures which science now draws of nature, and which alone seem capable of according with observational facts, are mathematical pictures.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "James Jeans" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-jeans/the-essential-fact-is-that-all-the-pictures-which-science-now-draws/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Accounts" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-jeans/the-essential-fact-is-that-all-the-pictures-which-science-now-draws/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/981/james-jeans-23389_accounts_the-essential-fact-is-that-all-the-pictu_2478953.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/981/james-jeans-23389_accounts_the-essential-fact-is-that-all-the-pictu_2478953.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/981/james-jeans-23389_accounts_the-essential-fact-is-that-all-the-pictu_2478953.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The essential fact is that all the pictures which science now draws of nature, and which alone seem capable…” — James Jeans", "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": "James Jeans", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-jeans/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The essential fact is that all...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-jeans/the-essential-fact-is-that-all-the-pictures-which-science-now-draws/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-jeans/the-essential-fact-is-that-all-the-pictures-which-science-now-draws/#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 } } ] } ```