Another time Quote by Richard P. Feynman
““Another time somebody gave a talk about poetry. He talked about the structure of the poem and the emotions that come with it; he divided everything up into certain kinds of classes. In the discussion that came afterwards, he said, “Isn’t that the same as in mathematics, Dr. Eisenhart?” Dr. Eisenhart was the dean of the graduate school and a great professor of mathematics. He was also very clever. He said, “I’d like to know what Dick Feynman thinks about it in reference to theoretical physics.” He was always putting me on in this kind of situation. I got up and said, “Yes, it’s very closely related. In theoretical physics, the analog of the word is the mathematical formula, the analog of the structure of the poem is the interrelationship of the theoretical bling-bling with the so-andso”–and I went through the whole thing, making a perfect analogy. The speaker’s eyes were _beaming_ with happiness. Then I said, “It seems to me that no matter _what_ you say about poetry, I could find a way of making up an analog with _any_ subject, just as I did for theoretical physics. I don’t consider such analogs meaningful.””
About This Quote
Source Interview: The Pleasure of Finding Things Out, Richard P. Feynman, 1981
Analogies can link disparate fields like poetry and physics, but forcing connections may dilute true meaning in each discipline.
In simple terms: Finding parallels is fun, yet not always useful.
Use analogies wisely, not for every topic.
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- teaching
- public speaking
- writing
- science communication
Key Concepts
Questions to Reflect On
- When does an analogy become misleading?
- How can you test the strength of a comparison?
Analogies can oversimplify complex subjects.