--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In our work, we are always between Scylla…" description: "\"In our work, we are always between Scylla and Charybdis; we may fail to abstract enough, and miss important physics, or we may abstract too much and en..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/247/murray-gell-mann-12560_abstract_in-our-work-we-are-always-between-scylla_3113108.jpg" --- # In our work, we are always between Scylla and Charybdis… ![“In our work, we are always between Scylla and Charybdis; we may fail to abstract enough, and miss important physics, or we may abstract too much and end up with fictitious objects in our models turning into real monsters that devour us.” quote by Murray Gell-Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/247/murray-gell-mann-12560_abstract_in-our-work-we-are-always-between-scylla_3113108.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/247/murray-gell-mann-12560_abstract_in-our-work-we-are-always-between-scylla_3113108.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/247/murray-gell-mann-12560_abstract_in-our-work-we-are-always-between-scylla_3113108.jpg) > “In our work, we are always between Scylla and Charybdis; we may fail to abstract enough, and miss important physics, or we may abstract too much and end up with fictitious objects in our models turning into real monsters that devour us.” [Murray Gell-Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-gell-mann/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He cautions that too much or too little abstraction in models can lead to errors or unrealistic outcomes. **In simple terms:** Balance detail and abstraction in models. Key Takeaway Find the right level of abstraction. Themes science modeling complexity Mood analytical cautious Type technical educational When to use this quote - engineering design - climate modeling - AI research Key Concepts physics philosophy of science Questions to Reflect On - When does a model become too abstract? - How to test if abstraction is sufficient? A Different Perspective Over‑abstraction may miss critical details. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abstract](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstract/) [Charybdis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/charybdis/) [End Fictitious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/end-fictitious-4767660/) [Ends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ends/) [Enough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enough/) [Failing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failing/) [Fictitious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fictitious/) [Fictitious Objects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fictitious-objects-1938241/) [Important](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/important/) [Important Physics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/important-physics-5442116/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Missing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/missing/) [Models](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/models/) [Monsters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/monsters/) [Objects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/objects/) [Physics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/physics/) [Real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real/) [Real Monsters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-monsters-1144186/) [Scylla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scylla-165128/) [Too much](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/too-much/) ## Related quotes > [He talks about the Scylla of Atheism and the Charybdis of Christianity - a state of mind which, by the way, is not conducive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-douglas/he-talks-about-the-scylla-of-atheism-and-the-charybdis-of/) [Norman Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-douglas/) > [Making mathematics accessible to the educated layman, while keeping high scientific standards, has always been considered a treacherous navigation between the Scylla of professional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gian-carlo-rota/making-mathematics-accessible-to-the-educated-layman-while-keeping/) [Gian-Carlo Rota](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gian-carlo-rota/) > [Anxiety and Ennui are the Scylla and Charybdis on which the bark of human happiness is most often wrecked.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-edward-hartpole-lecky/anxiety-and-ennui-are-the-scylla-and-charybdis-on-which-the-bark-of/) [William Edward Hartpole Lecky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-edward-hartpole-lecky/) > [The rich have become richer, and the poor have become poorer; and the vessel of the state is driven between the Scylla and Charybdis…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/the-rich-have-become-richer-and-the-poor-have-become-poorer-and-the/) [Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/) > [Man's world' and 'woman's place' have confronted each other since Scylla first faced Charybdis. ... if women have only a place, clearly the rest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-janeway/man-s-world-and-woman-s-place-have-confronted-each-other-since-scylla/) [Elizabeth Janeway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-janeway/) > [This is what the Church is said to want, not party men, but sensible, temperate, sober, well-judging persons, to guide it through the channel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-henry-newman/this-is-what-the-church-is-said-to-want-not-party-men-but-sensible/) [John Henry Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-henry-newman/) > [The phenomenon is something real and not visionary or fictitious. There are objects approximating the shape of a disc, some of which appear flat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-farragut-twining/the-phenomenon-is-something-real-and-not-visionary-or-fictitious/) [Nathan Farragut Twining](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-farragut-twining/) > [O that the gods would bring to a miserable end such fictitious, crazy, deformed labours, with which the minds of the studious are blinded!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gilbert/o-that-the-gods-would-bring-to-a-miserable-end-such-fictitious-crazy/) [William Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gilbert/) > [ \[Question: What do you think was the most important physics idea to emerge this year?\] We won't know for a few years. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/question-what-do-you-think-was-the-most-important-physics-idea-to/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [“We are the scylla sisters. We love each other so much though sometimes it hurts and sometimes it is joy and always together. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-griffin/we-are-the-scylla-sisters-we-love-each-other-so-much-though-sometimes/) [Kate Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-griffin/) > [“But it must be borne in mind that, if there is a Scylla before me, there is also a Charybdis - and that, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-carroll/but-it-must-be-borne-in-mind-that-if-there-is-a-scylla-before-me/) [Lewis Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-carroll/) > [He knows enough, the mariner, who knows Where lurk the shelves, and where the whirlpools boil, What signs portend the storm: to subtler minds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/he-knows-enough-the-mariner-who-knows-where-lurk-the-shelves-and/) [John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/) > [For all his pain, he longed to see the author of it. Although he hated Margaret at times, when he thought of that gentle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gaskell/for-all-his-pain-he-longed-to-see-the-author-of-it-although-he-hated/) [Elizabeth Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gaskell/) > [“… we have bad dreams because our brain is trying to protect us… If we can figure out a way to beat the imaginary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-poblocki/we-have-bad-dreams-because-our-brain-is-trying-to-protect-us-if-we/) [Dan Poblocki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-poblocki/) > [“But just being whatever it is that I am . . . I don’t think that makes me a monster. Believe me, I know.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-selden/but-just-being-whatever-it-is-that-i-am-i-don-t-think-that-makes-me-a/) [Michael Selden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-selden/) ## More by Murray Gell-Mann > [Of course the word chaos is used in rather a vague sense by a lot of writers, but in physics it means a particular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-gell-mann/of-course-the-word-chaos-is-used-in-rather-a-vague-sense-by-a-lot-of/) [Murray Gell-Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-gell-mann/) > [ My colleagues in elementary particle theory in many lands \[and I\] are driven by the usual insatiable curiosity of the scientist, and our work… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-gell-mann/my-colleagues-in-elementary-particle-theory-in-many-lands-and-i-are/) [Murray Gell-Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-gell-mann/) > [Think how hard physics would be if particles could 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results.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-gell-mann/i-am-frequently-astonished-that-it-so-often-results-in-correct/) [Murray Gell-Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-gell-mann/) > [Superstitions typically involve seeing order where in fact there is none, and denial amounts to rejecting evidence of regularities, sometimes even ones that are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-gell-mann/superstitions-typically-involve-seeing-order-where-in-fact-there-is/) [Murray Gell-Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-gell-mann/) > [I thought of killing myself but soon decided that I could always try MIT and then kill myself later if it was that bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-gell-mann/i-thought-of-killing-myself-but-soon-decided-that-i-could-always-try/) [Murray Gell-Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-gell-mann/) > [In fact any experiment that measures a quantum effect is one in which the quantum effect is aligned with the behavior of some 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off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-gell-mann/just-because-things-get-a-little-dingy-at-the-subatomic-level-doesn-t/) [Murray Gell-Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-gell-mann/) [Explore all 54 Murray Gell-Mann quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-gell-mann/) ## More Abstract quotes > [Love is like that, fragile and light. 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Painting operates through signs which are not abstract and incorporeal like words. 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