--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If infinities are signs of missing…" description: "\"“If infinities are signs of missing unification, a unified theory will have none. It will be what we call a finite theory, a theory that answers every ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/623/lee-smolin-4171_infinities_if-infinities-are-signs-of-missing-unifi_708730.png" --- # If infinities are signs of missing unification, a unified… ![“If infinities are signs of missing unification, a unified theory will have none. It will be what we call a finite theory, a theory that answers every question in terms of sensible finite numbers.” quote by Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/623/lee-smolin-4171_infinities_if-infinities-are-signs-of-missing-unifi_708730.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/623/lee-smolin-4171_infinities_if-infinities-are-signs-of-missing-unifi_708730.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/623/lee-smolin-4171_infinities_if-infinities-are-signs-of-missing-unifi_708730.png) > ““If infinities are signs of missing unification, a unified theory will have none. It will be what we call a finite theory, a theory that answers every question in terms of sensible finite numbers.”” [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A truly unified theory would have no infinities; it would be a finite theory that answers all questions with sensible numbers. **In simple terms:** Unified theory eliminates infinities, using finite numbers for all answers. Key Takeaway Seek finite, testable explanations over infinite abstractions. Themes theory unification finite numbers Mood analytical speculative Type scientific philosophical When to use this quote - research planning - academic teaching - public outreach - policy advising Key Concepts physics philosophy of science Questions to Reflect On - Can a finite theory capture all phenomena? - What are the risks of discarding infinities? A Different Perspective Infinite concepts may still be useful heuristics; eliminating them could limit exploratory models. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Finite Theory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/finite-theory-5594562/) [Infinities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/infinities/) [Missing u](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/missing-u/) [Theory Finite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theory-finite-5594561/) [Unification](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unification/) [Unified Theory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unified-theory-725484/) ## Related quotes > [“I have already mentioned two features that successful unifications tend to share. The first, surprise, cannot be underestimated. If there is no surprise, then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/i-have-already-mentioned-two-features-that-successful-unifications/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [“The mind calls out for a third theory to unify all of physics, and for a simple reason. Nature is in an obvious sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/the-mind-calls-out-for-a-third-theory-to-unify-all-of-physics-and-for/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [“Quantum theory, in turn, has its own trouble with infinities. They appear whenever you attempt to use quantum mechanics to describe fields, like the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/quantum-theory-in-turn-has-its-own-trouble-with-infinities-they/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [“General relativity has a problem with infinities because inside a black hole the density of matter and the strength of the gravitational field quickly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/general-relativity-has-a-problem-with-infinities-because-inside-a/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [A successful unification of quantum theory and relativity would necessarily be a theory of the universe as a whole. It would tell us, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/a-successful-unification-of-quantum-theory-and-relativity-would/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [“One way to unify things that appear different is to show that the apparent difference is due to the difference in the perspective of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/one-way-to-unify-things-that-appear-different-is-to-show-that-the/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [“Besides the argument based on the unity of nature, there are problems specific to each theory that call for unification with the other. Each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/besides-the-argument-based-on-the-unity-of-nature-there-are-problems/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [“Thus, the double unification given by the equivalence principle becomes a triple unification: All motions are equivalent once the effects of gravity are taken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/thus-the-double-unification-given-by-the-equivalence-principle/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [“The most cherished goal in physics, as in bad romance novels, is unification.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/the-most-cherished-goal-in-physics-as-in-bad-romance-novels-is/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [The revolution which began with the creation of quantum theory and relativity theory can only be finished with their unification into a single theory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/the-revolution-which-began-with-the-creation-of-quantum-theory-and/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [“Now, if you believe that the universe is not arbitrary, but is governed by definite laws, you ultimately have to combine the partial theories…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/now-if-you-believe-that-the-universe-is-not-arbitrary-but-is-governed/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [“To gain any intuitive understanding of the breakdown of this ultimate symmetry through vacuum effects at the critical 10^-44 seconds after the Big Bang,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-genz/to-gain-any-intuitive-understanding-of-the-breakdown-of-this-ultimate/) [Henning Genz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-genz/) > [I would say in one sentence my goal is to at least be part of the journey to find the unified theory that Einstein…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-greene/i-would-say-in-one-sentence-my-goal-is-to-at-least-be-part-of-the/) [Brian Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-greene/) > [A unified theory would put us at the doorstep of a vast universe of things that we could finally explore with precision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-greene/a-unified-theory-would-put-us-at-the-doorstep-of-a-vast-universe-of/) [Brian Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-greene/) > [“Even if there is only one possible unified theory, it is just a set of rules and equations. What is it that breathes fire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/even-if-there-is-only-one-possible-unified-theory-it-is-just-a-set-of/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) ## More by Lee Smolin > [“This unification of forces and motion has a simple consequence. In a particle theory, you can freely add all kinds of forces, so there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/this-unification-of-forces-and-motion-has-a-simple-consequence-in-a/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [“One field Faraday studied was the electric field. This is not a number but a vector, which we may visualize as an arrow and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/one-field-faraday-studied-was-the-electric-field-this-is-not-a-number/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [“It is interesting to note that the quantum-mechanical revolution was made by a virtually orphaned generation of scientists. Many members of the generation above…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/it-is-interesting-to-note-that-the-quantum-mechanical-revolution-was/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [“In fact, the particle-antiparticle annihilation and the closing of the string is necessary, if the theory is to be consistent with relativity, meaning the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/in-fact-the-particle-antiparticle-annihilation-and-the-closing-of-the/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [Every string theory that's been written down says the speed of light is universal. But other ideas about quantum gravity predict the speed of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/every-string-theory-that-s-been-written-down-says-the-speed-of-light/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [“Unfortunately, no one has ever successfully postulated a super-symmetry holding between two known particles. Instead, in all the supersymmetric theories the numbers of particles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/unfortunately-no-one-has-ever-successfully-postulated-a-super/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [Those who do good science do so because they choose problems that are suited to them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/those-who-do-good-science-do-so-because-they-choose-problems-that-are/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [“Here's a simplified version of what the Stanford group did. They started with a much-studied kind of string theory-a flat four-dimensional spacetime with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/here-s-a-simplified-version-of-what-the-stanford-group-did-they/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [“The current crisis in particle physics springs from the fact that the theories have gone beyond the standard model in the last thirty years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/the-current-crisis-in-particle-physics-springs-from-the-fact-that-the/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [“By the time I began my study of physics in the early 1970s, the idea of unifying gravity with the other forces was as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/by-the-time-i-began-my-study-of-physics-in-the-early-1970s-the-idea/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [“These two discoveries, of relativity and of the quantum, each required us to break definitively with Newtonian physics. However, in spite of great progress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/these-two-discoveries-of-relativity-and-of-the-quantum-each-required/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [“So the challenge for any quantum theory of gravity is to give us a deeper understanding of Bekenstein's entropy and Hawking's temperature.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/so-the-challenge-for-any-quantum-theory-of-gravity-is-to-give-us-a/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [“Problem 1: Combine general relativity and quantum theory into a single theory that can claim to be the complete theory of nature. This is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/problem-1-combine-general-relativity-and-quantum-theory-into-a-single/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [“The loop approach to quantum gravity is now a thriving field of research. Many of the older ideas, such as supergravity and the study…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/the-loop-approach-to-quantum-gravity-is-now-a-thriving-field-of/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [“During the life of a black hole, it will pull in huge amounts of matter, carrying huge amounts of intrinsic information. At the end,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/during-the-life-of-a-black-hole-it-will-pull-in-huge-amounts-of/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) [Explore all 114 Lee Smolin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) ## More Infinities quotes > [Infinities and indivisibles transcend our finite understanding, the former on account of their magnitude, the latter because of their smallness; Imagine what they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galileo-galilei/infinities-and-indivisibles-transcend-our-finite-understanding-the/) [Galileo Galilei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galileo-galilei/) > [Some infinities are bigger than other infinities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/some-infinities-are-bigger-than-other-infinities/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [It seemed like forever ago, like we've had this brief but still infinite forever. Some infinities are bigger than other infinities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/it-seemed-like-forever-ago-like-we-ve-had-this-brief-but-still/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [There are two infinities: God and stupidity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgard-varese/there-are-two-infinities-god-and-stupidity/) [Edgard Varese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgard-varese/) > [“like we’d had this brief but still infinite forever. Some infinities are bigger than other infinities.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/like-we-d-had-this-brief-but-still-infinite-forever-some-infinities/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [In the western philosophy you can't perceive infinities at every moment. It's not there to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/in-the-western-philosophy-you-can-t-perceive-infinities-at-every/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [I see the beauty of God's archetypal infinity reflected in the towers of infinities in set theory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vern-poythress/i-see-the-beauty-of-god-s-archetypal-infinity-reflected-in-the-towers/) [Vern Poythress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vern-poythress/) > [“we'd had this brief but infinite forever. Some infinities are bigger than other infinities.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/we-d-had-this-brief-but-infinite-forever-some-infinities-are-bigger/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“There were millions of different infinities and they weren’t only measured in time, but in people. And in each one, I could find a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mackie-burt/there-were-millions-of-different-infinities-and-they-weren-t-only/) [Mackie Burt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mackie-burt/) > [“No behavior has an infinite set of possibilities. Think of a lightning strike, although the state space is very high the bolt never make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-delmonico/no-behavior-has-an-infinite-set-of-possibilities-think-of-a-lightning/) [Rick Delmonico](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-delmonico/) > [We have never observed infinity in nature. Whenever you have infinities in a theory, that's where the theory fails as a description of nature.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janna-levin/we-have-never-observed-infinity-in-nature-whenever-you-have/) [Janna Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janna-levin/) > [ \[Georg Cantor was the first to prove that there could be a series of infinities; that infinities come in an infinite number of sizes.\]… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-maitland/georg-cantor-was-the-first-to-prove-that-there-could-be-a-series-of/) [Sara Maitland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-maitland/) > [There are two infinities in this world: God up above, and down below, human baseness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-de-goncourt/there-are-two-infinities-in-this-world-god-up-above-and-down-below/) [Jules de Goncourt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-de-goncourt/) > [“In Cantor's mind there were an infinite number of infinities-the transfinite numbers-each nested in the other. Aleph 0 is smaller than Aleph 1, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-seife/in-cantor-s-mind-there-were-an-infinite-number-of-infinities-the/) [Charles Seife](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-seife/) > [Thus passing through the infinite varieties of space we reach the Divine space which is absolutely free from all dimensions and constitutes the meeting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-iqbal/thus-passing-through-the-infinite-varieties-of-space-we-reach-the/) [Muhammad Iqbal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-iqbal/) [Browse all 30 Infinities quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/infinities/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“If infinities are signs of missing unification, a unified theory will have none. 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