--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Every brilliant experiment, like every…" description: "\"“Every brilliant experiment, like every great work of art, starts with an act of imagination. Unfortunately, our current culture subscribes to a very n..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c09/jonah-lehrer-9286_art_every-brilliant-experiment-like-every-gr_78155.png" --- # Every brilliant experiment, like every great work of art… ![“Every brilliant experiment, like every great work of art, starts with an act of imagination. Unfortunately, our current culture subscribes to a very narrow definition of truth. If something can’t be quantified and calculated, then it can’t be true. Because this strict scientific approach has…” quote by Jonah Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c09/jonah-lehrer-9286_art_every-brilliant-experiment-like-every-gr_78155.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c09/jonah-lehrer-9286_art_every-brilliant-experiment-like-every-gr_78155.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c09/jonah-lehrer-9286_art_every-brilliant-experiment-like-every-gr_78155.png) > ““Every brilliant experiment, like every great work of art, starts with an act of imagination. Unfortunately, our current culture subscribes to a very narrow definition of truth. If something can’t be quantified and calculated, then it can’t be true. Because this strict scientific approach has explained so much, we assume that it can explain everything. But every method, even the experimental method, has limits. Take the human mind. Scientists describe our brain in terms of its physical details; they say we are nothing but a loom of electrical cells and synaptic spaces. What science forgets is that this isn’t how we experience the world. (We feel like the ghost, not like the machine.) It is ironic but true: the one reality science cannot reduce is the only reality we will ever know. This is why we need art. By expressing our actual experience, the artist reminds us that our science is incomplete, that no map of matter will ever explain the immateriality of our consciousness.”” [Jonah Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-lehrer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote argues that imagination and artistic expression are essential because scientific methods, while powerful, cannot capture subjective human experience and consciousness. **In simple terms:** Science can't fully explain consciousness. Key Takeaway Art fills the gaps left by science. Themes imagination science vs art subjective experience limitations of reductionism consciousness Mood reflective inspirational critical Type philosophical cautionary celebratory When to use this quote - creative research - educational curricula - mental health therapy - public policy debates - media criticism Key Concepts epistemology aesthetics cognitive science philosophy of mind Practical Applications - integrating art into STEM education - using artistic narratives to communicate scientific concepts Questions to Reflect On - How can we balance empirical rigor with creative insight? - What role should art play in scientific discourse? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Brilliant Experiment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brilliant-experiment-1005657/) [Experiment Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experiment-like-1005658/) [Human mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-mind/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Reality Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality-science-365658/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) ## Related quotes > [Every brilliant experiment, like every great work of art, starts with an act of imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-lehrer/every-brilliant-experiment-like-every-great-work-of-art-starts-with-2/) [Jonah Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-lehrer/) > [The one reality science cannot reduce is the only reality we will ever know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-lehrer/the-one-reality-science-cannot-reduce-is-the-only-reality-we-will/) [Jonah Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-lehrer/) > [It is ironic but true: the one reality science cannot reduce is the only reality we will ever know. This is why we need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-lehrer/it-is-ironic-but-true-the-one-reality-science-cannot-reduce-is-the/) [Jonah Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-lehrer/) > [You know how it is when you go to be the subject of a psychology experiment and nobody else shows up and you think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wright/you-know-how-it-is-when-you-go-to-be-the-subject-of-a-psychology/) [Steven Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wright/) > [My life has always been unplanned. So when something comes along, I feel like, Why not give it a try? It's fun to experiment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoko-ono/my-life-has-always-been-unplanned-so-when-something-comes-along-i/) [Yoko Ono](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoko-ono/) > [We are like an experiment.And like an experiment,if you succeed they keep you in,but if you fail you will be abandoned,just like the other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-pabualan/we-are-like-an-experiment-and-like-an-experiment-if-you-succeed-they/) [Jenny Pabualan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-pabualan/) > [A good physiological experiment like a good physical one requires that it should present anywhere, at any time, under identical conditions, the same certain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-good-physiological-experiment-like-a-good-physical-one-requires/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“This, in essence, is the problem with the scientific view of reality. Science is a kind of glorified tailoring enterprise, a method for taking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-crichton/this-in-essence-is-the-problem-with-the-scientific-view-of-reality/) [Michael Crichton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-crichton/) > [“Myths continue to dominate humankind, and science only makes these myths stronger. Instead of destroying the intersubjective reality, science will enable it to control…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/myths-continue-to-dominate-humankind-and-science-only-makes-these/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [I believe that the evidence for telepathy is overwhelming and that it is a part of reality that is above science. 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From Imagine: How Creativity Works pg 23 (hardcover)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-lehrer/you-break-out-of-the-box-by-stepping-into-shackles-from-imagine-how/) [Jonah Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-lehrer/) > [“Perception is like painting a scenery - no matter how beautifully you paint, it will still be a painting of the scenery, not the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/perception-is-like-painting-a-scenery-no-matter-how-beautifully-you/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [Books represent the accumulated workings of the human mind, the endless treasures of man's thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-b-hinckley/books-represent-the-accumulated-workings-of-the-human-mind-the/) [Gordon B. Hinckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-b-hinckley/) ## More by Jonah Lehrer > [It's a hard thing to describe. It's just this sense that you got something to say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-lehrer/it-s-a-hard-thing-to-describe-it-s-just-this-sense-that-you-got/) [Jonah Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-lehrer/) > [“When the mind is denied the emotional sting of losing , it never figures out how to win.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-lehrer/when-the-mind-is-denied-the-emotional-sting-of-losing-it-never/) [Jonah Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-lehrer/) > [“Insights, after all, come from the overlap between seemingly unrelated thoughts. They emerge when concepts are transposed, when the rules of one place are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-lehrer/insights-after-all-come-from-the-overlap-between-seemingly-unrelated/) [Jonah Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-lehrer/) > [“You break out of the box by stepping into shackles. 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In a way, the power of dissent is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-lehrer/even-when-alternative-views-are-clearly-wrong-being-exposed-to-them/) [Jonah Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-lehrer/) > [Cities force us to interact with strangers and with the strange. They pry the mind open. And that is why they are the idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-lehrer/cities-force-us-to-interact-with-strangers-and-with-the-strange-they/) [Jonah Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-lehrer/) > [Distance and difference are the secret tonic of creativity. When we get home, home is still the same. But something in our mind has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-lehrer/distance-and-difference-are-the-secret-tonic-of-creativity-when-we/) [Jonah Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-lehrer/) > [In fact, the only way to remain creative over time--to not be undone by our expertise--is to experiment with ignorance, to stare at things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-lehrer/in-fact-the-only-way-to-remain-creative-over-time-to-not-be-undone-by/) [Jonah Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-lehrer/) > [“Science has discovered that, like any work of literature, the human genome is a text in need of commentary, for what Eliot said of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-lehrer/science-has-discovered-that-like-any-work-of-literature-the-human/) [Jonah Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-lehrer/) > [...new ideas are merely several old thoughts that occur at the exact same time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-lehrer/new-ideas-are-merely-several-old-thoughts-that-occur-at-the-exact/) [Jonah Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-lehrer/) > [Like a work of art, we exceed our materials. 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You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) [Taf Teh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taf-teh/) > [The house has to serve comfort. 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