--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In science there is only physics; all the…" description: "\"In science there is only physics; all the rest is stamp collecting.\" — Lord Kelvin" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3f/lord-kelvin-10819_collecting_in-science-there-is-only-physics-all-the_3004243.png" --- # In science there is only physics; all the rest is stamp… ![“In science there is only physics; all the rest is stamp collecting.” quote by Lord Kelvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3f/lord-kelvin-10819_collecting_in-science-there-is-only-physics-all-the_3004243.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3f/lord-kelvin-10819_collecting_in-science-there-is-only-physics-all-the_3004243.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3f/lord-kelvin-10819_collecting_in-science-there-is-only-physics-all-the_3004243.png) > “In science there is only physics; all the rest is stamp collecting.” [Lord Kelvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-kelvin/) ## 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 dismisses all scientific pursuits except physics, likening other fields to mere collection of specimens. **In simple terms:** Physics is the only true science; others are mere cataloguing. Key Takeaway Focus on fundamental physical principles. Themes physics scientific hierarchy reductionism Mood analytical critical Type philosophical academic When to use this quote - research methodology - interdisciplinary study - science policy Key Concepts philosophy of science history of physics education Questions to Reflect On - Why might physics be considered foundational? - How do other sciences complement physics? A Different Perspective Other sciences provide valuable insights and applications. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Collecting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/collecting/) [Physics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/physics/) [Physics Rest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/physics-rest-4784311/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Science physics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science-physics/) [Stamp collecting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stamp-collecting/) ## Related quotes > [All science is either physics or stamp collecting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-rutherford/all-science-is-either-physics-or-stamp-collecting/) [Ernest Rutherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-rutherford/) > [All of science can be divided into physics and stamp-collecting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-kelvin/all-of-science-can-be-divided-into-physics-and-stamp-collecting/) [Lord Kelvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-kelvin/) > [Physics is the only real science. The rest are just stamp collecting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-rutherford/physics-is-the-only-real-science-the-rest-are-just-stamp-collecting/) [Ernest Rutherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-rutherford/) > [I don't think being obsessed with sex is any stranger than being obsessed with stamp collecting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-sprinkle/i-don-t-think-being-obsessed-with-sex-is-any-stranger-than-being/) [Annie Sprinkle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-sprinkle/) > [Preserving tradition has become a nice hobby, like stamp collecting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/preserving-tradition-has-become-a-nice-hobby-like-stamp-collecting/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [It would be hard to conceive of any activity more useless than stamp collecting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/it-would-be-hard-to-conceive-of-any-activity-more-useless-than-stamp/) [Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/) > [When people discover they are no good at baseball or hockey, they put away their bats and their skates and they take up amateur…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-lynch/when-people-discover-they-are-no-good-at-baseball-or-hockey-they-put/) [Peter Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-lynch/) > [If the poet wants to be a poet, the poet must force the poet to revise. If the poet doesn't wish to revise, let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-hall/if-the-poet-wants-to-be-a-poet-the-poet-must-force-the-poet-to-revise/) [Donald Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-hall/) > [When I began my career as a cosmologist some twenty years ago, I was a convinced atheist. I never in my wildest dreams imagined…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-j-tipler/when-i-began-my-career-as-a-cosmologist-some-twenty-years-ago-i-was-a/) [Frank J. Tipler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-j-tipler/) > [When you are courting a nice girl an hour seems like a second.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/when-you-are-courting-a-nice-girl-an-hour-seems-like-a-second/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [I hope I have helped to raise the profile of science and to show that physics is not a mystery but can be understood…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/i-hope-i-have-helped-to-raise-the-profile-of-science-and-to-show-that/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [I was already sort of mixing my science physics enthusiasm with entertainment and directing and puppetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-henson/i-was-already-sort-of-mixing-my-science-physics-enthusiasm-with/) [Brian Henson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-henson/) > [“A lot of people feel that way. That if you didn’t pay your dues by being ostracized then you’re not \*really\* a geek. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/a-lot-of-people-feel-that-way-that-if-you-didn-t-pay-your-dues-by/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [Radioactivity is shown to be accompanied by chemical changes in which new types of matter are being continually produced. … The conclusion is drawn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-rutherford/radioactivity-is-shown-to-be-accompanied-by-chemical-changes-in-which/) [Ernest Rutherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-rutherford/) > [“Birdwatching, at first glance, seems like a pursuit designed specifically for people who find stamp collecting too stimulating. But oh, how wrong they would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-kyriacou/birdwatching-at-first-glance-seems-like-a-pursuit-designed/) [Natalie Kyriacou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-kyriacou/) ## More by Lord Kelvin > [Christianity without the cross is nothing. The cross was the fitting close of a life of rejection, scorn and defeat. But in no true…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-kelvin/christianity-without-the-cross-is-nothing-the-cross-was-the-fitting/) [Lord Kelvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-kelvin/) > [If you study science deep enough and long enough, it will force you to believe in God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-kelvin/if-you-study-science-deep-enough-and-long-enough-it-will-force-you-to/) [Lord Kelvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-kelvin/) > [When you are face to face with a difficulty, you are up against a discovery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-kelvin/when-you-are-face-to-face-with-a-difficulty-you-are-up-against-a/) [Lord Kelvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-kelvin/) > [If you can not measure it, you can not improve it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-kelvin/if-you-can-not-measure-it-you-can-not-improve-it/) [Lord Kelvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-kelvin/) > [I often say that when you can measure what you are speaking about, and express it in numbers, you know something about it; but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-kelvin/i-often-say-that-when-you-can-measure-what-you-are-speaking-about-and/) [Lord Kelvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-kelvin/) > [If you cannot measure it, then it is not science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-kelvin/if-you-cannot-measure-it-then-it-is-not-science/) [Lord Kelvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-kelvin/) > [Simplification of modes of proof is not merely an indication of advance in our knowledge of a subject, but is also the surest guarantee…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-kelvin/simplification-of-modes-of-proof-is-not-merely-an-indication-of/) [Lord Kelvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-kelvin/) > [Quaternions came from Hamilton after his really good work had been done, and though beautifully ingenious, have been an unmixed evil to those who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-kelvin/quaternions-came-from-hamilton-after-his-really-good-work-had-been/) [Lord Kelvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-kelvin/) > [Do not imagine that mathematics is hard and crabbed, and repulsive to common sense. It is merely the etherealization of common sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-kelvin/do-not-imagine-that-mathematics-is-hard-and-crabbed-and-repulsive-to/) [Lord Kelvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-kelvin/) > [Let nobody be afraid of true freedom of thought. Let us be free in thought and criticism; but, with freedom, we are bound to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-kelvin/let-nobody-be-afraid-of-true-freedom-of-thought-let-us-be-free-in/) [Lord Kelvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-kelvin/) > [Symmetrical equations are good in their place, but ' vector ' is a useless survival, or offshoot from quaternions, and has never been of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-kelvin/symmetrical-equations-are-good-in-their-place-but-vector-is-a-useless/) [Lord Kelvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-kelvin/) > [Mathematics is the only good metaphysics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-kelvin/mathematics-is-the-only-good-metaphysics/) [Lord Kelvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-kelvin/) > [You know only insofar as you can measure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-kelvin/you-know-only-insofar-as-you-can-measure/) [Lord Kelvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-kelvin/) > [Fourier is a mathematical poem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-kelvin/fourier-is-a-mathematical-poem/) [Lord Kelvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-kelvin/) > [When you can measure what you are speaking about, and express it in numbers, you know something about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-kelvin/when-you-can-measure-what-you-are-speaking-about-and-express-it-in/) [Lord Kelvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-kelvin/) [Explore all 63 Lord Kelvin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-kelvin/) ## More Collecting quotes > [I've always been interested in photographs, collecting them not systematically but randomly. They get lost, then turn up again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-g-sebald/i-ve-always-been-interested-in-photographs-collecting-them-not/) [W. G. Sebald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-g-sebald/) > [Taking photos is a form of collecting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-parr/taking-photos-is-a-form-of-collecting/) [Martin Parr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-parr/) > [If you're feeling fancy free, come wander through the world with me, and any place we chance to be, will be a rendezvous. Two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-mancini/if-you-re-feeling-fancy-free-come-wander-through-the-world-with-me/) [Henry Mancini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-mancini/) > [I found so-called great art too pompous, too stiff. What at this time was called minor art was freer, more imaginative, more open to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lipchitz/i-found-so-called-great-art-too-pompous-too-stiff-what-at-this-time/) [Jacques Lipchitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lipchitz/) > [My real first job was delivering newspapers with I was 15. I would ride my bike around and chuck papers at people's houses. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dane-cook/my-real-first-job-was-delivering-newspapers-with-i-was-15-i-would/) [Dane Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dane-cook/) > [I didn't really grow up a comic book fanatic. I was a big baseball player, and my passion in life, in third grade, was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-ritchson/i-didn-t-really-grow-up-a-comic-book-fanatic-i-was-a-big-baseball/) [Alan Ritchson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-ritchson/) > [I don't know who had the training of you," he continued doggedly, "but your morals are shocking. You spent a night in my bed,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loretta-chase/i-don-t-know-who-had-the-training-of-you-he-continued-doggedly-but/) [Loretta Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loretta-chase/) > [...You can go your whole life collecting days, and none will outweigh the one you wish you had back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/you-can-go-your-whole-life-collecting-days-and-none-will-outweigh-the/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [Instead of collecting things and staying in one space, I want to collect experiences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kesh/instead-of-collecting-things-and-staying-in-one-space-i-want-to/) [Kesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kesh/) > [I started collecting couture when I was about 10 or 11 years old, and the very first piece I bought was a Balenciaga suit from 1962.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hamish-bowles/i-started-collecting-couture-when-i-was-about-10-or-11-years-old-and/) [Hamish Bowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hamish-bowles/) > [I imagine the wave of water colliding with the rock and spilling over the tile floor, collecting around my shoes. Doing a little at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/i-imagine-the-wave-of-water-colliding-with-the-rock-and-spilling-over/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [I needed more knowledge in rigging and knotting. I started collecting books on knots and really learning more and more. That's how it started.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philippe-petit/i-needed-more-knowledge-in-rigging-and-knotting-i-started-collecting/) [Philippe Petit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philippe-petit/) > [Physics is the only real science. The rest are just stamp collecting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-rutherford/physics-is-the-only-real-science-the-rest-are-just-stamp-collecting/) [Ernest Rutherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-rutherford/) > [Some prescient American collectors, including Vicki and Kent Logan and Mera and Donald Rubell, began collecting Chinese art before 2000 with a genuine passion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arne-glimcher/some-prescient-american-collectors-including-vicki-and-kent-logan-and/) [Arne Glimcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arne-glimcher/) > [If I collected all the diamonds in the world, I'd have no 'income' but I'd have a lot of 'assets'. Would my company be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vinod-khosla/if-i-collected-all-the-diamonds-in-the-world-i-d-have-no-income-but-i/) [Vinod Khosla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vinod-khosla/) [Browse all 493 Collecting quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/collecting/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In science there is only physics; all the rest is stamp collecting.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lord Kelvin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-kelvin/in-science-there-is-only-physics-all-the-rest-is-stamp-collecting/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Collecting" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-kelvin/in-science-there-is-only-physics-all-the-rest-is-stamp-collecting/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3f/lord-kelvin-10819_collecting_in-science-there-is-only-physics-all-the_3004243.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3f/lord-kelvin-10819_collecting_in-science-there-is-only-physics-all-the_3004243.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3f/lord-kelvin-10819_collecting_in-science-there-is-only-physics-all-the_3004243.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In science there is only physics; all the rest is stamp collecting.” — Lord Kelvin", "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": "Lord Kelvin", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-kelvin/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "In science there is only physics;...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-kelvin/in-science-there-is-only-physics-all-the-rest-is-stamp-collecting/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-kelvin/in-science-there-is-only-physics-all-the-rest-is-stamp-collecting/#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 } } ] } ```