--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: One thing that makes the adventure of…" description: "\"One thing that makes the adventure of working in our field particularly rewarding, especially in attempting to improve the theory, is that... a chief c..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d89/murray-gell-mann-12560_adventure_one-thing-that-makes-the-adventure-of-wo_1406926.jpg" --- # One thing that makes the adventure of working in our field… ![“One thing that makes the adventure of working in our field particularly rewarding, especially in attempting to improve the theory, is that... a chief criterion for the selection of a correct hypothesis... seems to be the criterion of beauty, simplicity, or elegance.” quote by Murray Gell-Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d89/murray-gell-mann-12560_adventure_one-thing-that-makes-the-adventure-of-wo_1406926.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d89/murray-gell-mann-12560_adventure_one-thing-that-makes-the-adventure-of-wo_1406926.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d89/murray-gell-mann-12560_adventure_one-thing-that-makes-the-adventure-of-wo_1406926.jpg) > “One thing that makes the adventure of working in our field particularly rewarding, especially in attempting to improve the theory, is that... a chief criterion for the selection of a correct hypothesis... seems to be the criterion of beauty, simplicity, or elegance.” [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. Aesthetic criteria like simplicity and elegance guide scientists toward hypotheses that are both plausible and compelling. **In simple terms:** Beauty, simplicity, elegance help select good scientific ideas. Key Takeaway Value elegant, simple explanations in research. Themes beauty simplicity elegance science Mood analytical inquisitive inspirational Type philosophical scientific motivational When to use this quote - research design - theoretical physics - data analysis - academic teaching Key Concepts theory selection philosophy of science model building Questions to Reflect On - Can simplicity ever mislead scientific truth? - How do you balance beauty with empirical adequacy? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on elegance may overlook complex realities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adventure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adventure/) [Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) [Chiefs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chiefs/) [Criterion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/criterion/) [Elegance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elegance/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Simplicity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/simplicity/) ## Related quotes > [Utility is the true criterion of beauty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-von-stephanitz/utility-is-the-true-criterion-of-beauty/) [Max von Stephanitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-von-stephanitz/) > [Simplicity is indeed often the sign of truth and a criterion of beauty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahlon-hoagland/simplicity-is-indeed-often-the-sign-of-truth-and-a-criterion-of-beauty/) Mahlon Hoagland > [The criterion of truth is that it works even if nobody is prepared to acknowledge it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/the-criterion-of-truth-is-that-it-works-even-if-nobody-is-prepared-to/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [That of War and Peace or of Almagestes. All are satisfactory. The only criterion of a work is its validity: that it should grip…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/that-of-war-and-peace-or-of-almagestes-all-are-satisfactory-the-only/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [The main criterion for an award (of a research contract from the NCI) is the capacity to demonstrate the relevance of the project to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/june-goodfield/the-main-criterion-for-an-award-of-a-research-contract-from-the-nci/) [June Goodfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/june-goodfield/) > [Profitability is the sovereign criterion of the enterprise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/profitability-is-the-sovereign-criterion-of-the-enterprise/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [Since growth is the characteristic of life, education is all one with growing; it has no end beyond itself. The criterion of the value…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/since-growth-is-the-characteristic-of-life-education-is-all-one-with/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [I can speak of my own criterion for judging whether or not a book is good or bad. I ask of it a single…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-clark-powell/i-can-speak-of-my-own-criterion-for-judging-whether-or-not-a-book-is-2/) [Lawrence Clark Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-clark-powell/) > [Just remember one criterion: whatever you do should not be in the service of destruction, it should be in the service of creativity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/just-remember-one-criterion-whatever-you-do-should-not-be-in-the/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [I don't care who likes it or buys it. Because if you use that criterion, Mozart would never have written Don Giovanni, Charlie Parker…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-parker/i-don-t-care-who-likes-it-or-buys-it-because-if-you-use-that-2/) [Charlie Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-parker/) > [I don't care who likes it or buys it. Because if you use that criterion, Mozart would have never written Don Giovanni, Charlie Parker…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/branford-marsalis/i-don-t-care-who-likes-it-or-buys-it-because-if-you-use-that/) [Branford Marsalis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/branford-marsalis/) > [The criterion for what is good is based on whether it relieves someone, brings joy, or soothes a distress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bert-hellinger/the-criterion-for-what-is-good-is-based-on-whether-it-relieves/) [Bert Hellinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bert-hellinger/) > [Whatever mitigates the woes, or increases the happiness of others, is a just criterion of goodness; and whatever injures society at large, or any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/whatever-mitigates-the-woes-or-increases-the-happiness-of-others-is-a/) [Oliver Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/) > [His overriding life necessity was not love, it was his profession…He had come to medicine not by coincidence or calculation but by a deep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/his-overriding-life-necessity-was-not-love-it-was-his-profession-he/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [The criterion of true beauty is, that it increases in examination; of false, that it lessens. There is something, therefore, in true beauty that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-grenville/the-criterion-of-true-beauty-is-that-it-increases-in-examination-of/) George Grenville ## 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 think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-gell-mann/think-how-hard-physics-would-be-if-particles-could-think/) [Murray Gell-Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-gell-mann/) > [Sustainability is living on nature's income rather than living on its capital.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-gell-mann/sustainability-is-living-on-nature-s-income-rather-than-living-on-its/) [Murray Gell-Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-gell-mann/) > [But when researchers at Bell Labs discovered that static tends to come from particular places in the sky, the whole field of radio astronomy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-gell-mann/but-when-researchers-at-bell-labs-discovered-that-static-tends-to/) [Murray Gell-Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-gell-mann/) > [I am frequently astonished that it so often results in correct predictions of experimental 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 heavy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-gell-mann/in-fact-any-experiment-that-measures-a-quantum-effect-is-one-in-which/) [Murray Gell-Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-gell-mann/) > [So the old Copenhagen interpretation needs to be generalized, needs to be replaced by something that can be used for the whole universe, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-gell-mann/so-the-old-copenhagen-interpretation-needs-to-be-generalized-needs-to/) [Murray Gell-Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-gell-mann/) > [Enthusiasm is followed by disappointment and even depression, and then by renewed enthusiasm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-gell-mann/enthusiasm-is-followed-by-disappointment-and-even-depression-and-then/) [Murray Gell-Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-gell-mann/) > [If I have seen further than others, it is because I am surrounded by dwarfs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-gell-mann/if-i-have-seen-further-than-others-it-is-because-i-am-surrounded-by/) [Murray Gell-Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-gell-mann/) > [If we look at the way the universe behaves, quantum mechanics gives us fundamental, unavoidable indeterminacy, so that alternative histories of the universe can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-gell-mann/if-we-look-at-the-way-the-universe-behaves-quantum-mechanics-gives-us/) [Murray Gell-Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-gell-mann/) > [Now, what that means is that there is fundamental indeterminacy from quantum mechanics, but besides that there are other sources of effective indeterminacy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-gell-mann/now-what-that-means-is-that-there-is-fundamental-indeterminacy-from/) [Murray Gell-Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-gell-mann/) > [Just because things get a little dingy at the subatomic level doesn't mean all bets are 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 Adventure quotes > [I'm trying to write a film with my friend. I'd love to get the thrill of speaking actors making my work even funnier.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-howard/i-m-trying-to-write-a-film-with-my-friend-i-d-love-to-get-the-thrill/) [Russell Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-howard/) > [I painted the words "GREAT ADVENTURE" in Beijing, Dallas, San Francisco, Copenhagen, and Japan. What it means to me is completely different to everybody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-eine/i-painted-the-words-great-adventure-in-beijing-dallas-san-francisco/) [Ben Eine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-eine/) > [I've used the Phoenix Centrifuge to replicate what the body's going to go through on the flight up. I've also done some gravity tests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/i-ve-used-the-phoenix-centrifuge-to-replicate-what-the-body-s-going/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [I have lifted my plane . . . for perhaps a thousand flights and I have never felt her wheels glide from the Earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-markham/i-have-lifted-my-plane-for-perhaps-a-thousand-flights-and-i-have/) [Beryl Markham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beryl-markham/) > [I am attracted to looking at the different things language can mean even in one sometimes quite ordinary utterance. Writing is partly about listening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-armantrout/i-am-attracted-to-looking-at-the-different-things-language-can-mean/) [Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/) > [What a thrill. You know you've entered new territory when you realise that your outfit cost more than your film.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-yu/what-a-thrill-you-know-you-ve-entered-new-territory-when-you-realise/) Jessica Yu > [“So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned by a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-supertramp-chris-mccandless/so-many-people-live-within-unhappy-circumstances-and-yet-will-not/) Alexander Supertramp Chris McCandless > [A common fallacy in much of the adverse criticism to which science is subjected today is that it claims certainty, infallibility and complete emotional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/a-common-fallacy-in-much-of-the-adverse-criticism-to-which-science-is/) [Cyril Norman Hinshelwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/) > [“Exactly. I think the original tantric Buddhists took notice of was some very wise old people who never studied in their youth, but took…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-niemczura/exactly-i-think-the-original-tantric-buddhists-took-notice-of-was/) [Joe Niemczura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-niemczura/) > [As an adventurer...I try to protect against the downside. I make sure I have covered as many eventualities as I can. In the end,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/as-an-adventurer-i-try-to-protect-against-the-downside-i-make-sure-i/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [“Love can give you such happiness, then can break the very heart it filled, leaving a hole that can never be fixed or protected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-mcleod/love-can-give-you-such-happiness-then-can-break-the-very-heart-it/) Kevin McLeod > [“It always gave Wolf a peculiar thrill thus to tighten his grip upon his stick, thus to wrap himself more closely in his faded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cowper-powys/it-always-gave-wolf-a-peculiar-thrill-thus-to-tighten-his-grip-upon/) [John Cowper Powys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cowper-powys/) > [“It all had to be squeezed and squeezed again, to provide a thrill, to provide enjoyment. What did people mean, with their simply determined…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence-2/it-all-had-to-be-squeezed-and-squeezed-again-to-provide-a-thrill-to/) [D.H. 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