--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Atoms, the building blocks of so-called…" description: "\"“Atoms, the building blocks of so-called matter, however much they might seem to be physically circumscribed, aren’t actually like tiny billiard balls...." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c37/sol-luckman-4953_atom_atoms-the-building-blocks-of-so-called-m_872913.jpg" --- # Atoms, the building blocks of so-called matter, however… ![“Atoms, the building blocks of so-called matter, however much they might seem to be physically circumscribed, aren’t actually like tiny billiard balls. That’s kindergarten science. From a shamanic or alchemical perspective, atoms are more like sentient waves, their intelligently responsive…” quote by Sol Luckman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c37/sol-luckman-4953_atom_atoms-the-building-blocks-of-so-called-m_872913.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c37/sol-luckman-4953_atom_atoms-the-building-blocks-of-so-called-m_872913.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c37/sol-luckman-4953_atom_atoms-the-building-blocks-of-so-called-m_872913.jpg) > ““Atoms, the building blocks of so-called matter, however much they might seem to be physically circumscribed, aren’t actually like tiny billiard balls. That’s kindergarten science. From a shamanic or alchemical perspective, atoms are more like sentient waves, their intelligently responsive existence a blur of potential until they magically appear to materialize.”” [Sol Luckman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-luckman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Atoms are not solid particles but dynamic, wave-like potentials that become materialized through observation and intent. **In simple terms:** Atoms behave like responsive waves, not tiny balls. Key Takeaway Recognize the fluid nature of reality. Themes science perception consciousness alchemy quantum mechanics Mood curious inquisitive reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - meditation - scientific research - creative problem solving - spiritual practice Key Concepts wave-particle duality potentiality observer effect Questions to Reflect On - How does perception shape material reality? - Can intention influence physical outcomes? A Different Perspective The analogy may oversimplify complex physics and lacks empirical support. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Atom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atom/) [Atoms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atoms/) [Atoms Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atoms-like-972144/) [Building blocks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/building-blocks/) [Called Matter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/called-matter-253418/) [Empiricism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/empiricism/) [Illusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illusion/) [Materialism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/materialism/) [Matter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matter/) [Matter Physically](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matter-physically-972143/) [Physicality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/physicality/) [Physics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/physics/) [Quantum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quantum/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Simulation-theory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/simulation-theory-170747/) [Theory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theory/) ## Related quotes > [“Like it or not, we’re doomed or blessed—depending on your perspective—to inhabit an eternally looping circuit that involves our thoughts, innermost desires, actions, etc.,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-luckman/like-it-or-not-we-re-doomed-or-blessed-depending-on-your-perspective/) [Sol Luckman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-luckman/) > [“This ‘reality’ is so obviously unreal. It’s like bad screenplay writing. No matter how many times you see the same tired script playing out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-luckman/this-reality-is-so-obviously-unreal-it-s-like-bad-screenplay-writing/) [Sol Luckman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-luckman/) > [“The Matrix can feel like a pretty hopeless place. I get that. Nobody in his or her right mind (a tiny minority, admittedly) wants…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-luckman/the-matrix-can-feel-like-a-pretty-hopeless-place-i-get-that-nobody-in/) [Sol Luckman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-luckman/) > [“To say that life is nothing but a property of certain peculiar combinations of atoms is like saying that Shakespeare's Hamlet is nothing but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-f-schumacher-2/to-say-that-life-is-nothing-but-a-property-of-certain-peculiar/) [E.F. Schumacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-f-schumacher-2/) > [“Science might maintain the quantitative constancy of matter, but the so-called matter is mere abstraction. To say matter is changeless is as much as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaiten-nukariya/science-might-maintain-the-quantitative-constancy-of-matter-but-the/) [Kaiten Nukariya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaiten-nukariya/) > [“2. Atoms would like to be free, too, but they’re not so pushy about it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-anderson/2-atoms-would-like-to-be-free-too-but-they-re-not-so-pushy-about-it/) [Chris Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-anderson/) > [Concerning matter, we have been all wrong. What we have called matter is energy, whose vibration has been so lowered as to be perceptible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/concerning-matter-we-have-been-all-wrong-what-we-have-called-matter/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [“This may be old hat to some, but in the quantum realm, the things we take for granted aren’t really things at all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-luckman/this-may-be-old-hat-to-some-but-in-the-quantum-realm-the-things-we/) [Sol Luckman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-luckman/) > [“Objectivity is a subjective fantasy implanted in us by an external will seeking to curtail our creativity by limiting our minds to our own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-luckman/objectivity-is-a-subjective-fantasy-implanted-in-us-by-an-external/) [Sol Luckman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-luckman/) > [“There are over a million types of fish in the sea as there are flowers in all of the world's gardens. There are at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzy-kassem/there-are-over-a-million-types-of-fish-in-the-sea-as-there-are/) [Suzy Kassem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzy-kassem/) > [“The void is 'not-being,' and no part of 'what is' is a 'not-being,'; for what 'is' in the strict sense of the term is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-void-is-not-being-and-no-part-of-what-is-is-a-not-being-for-what/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [The laws of physics should allow us to arrange things molecule by molecule and even atom by atom, and at some point it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-merkle/the-laws-of-physics-should-allow-us-to-arrange-things-molecule-by/) [Ralph Merkle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-merkle/) > [“In every atom, there is a reflection of the whole.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-woodman/in-every-atom-there-is-a-reflection-of-the-whole/) [Jay Woodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-woodman/) > [One atom is as purposeful as our planet. What is in one is in the whole.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-myss/one-atom-is-as-purposeful-as-our-planet-what-is-in-one-is-in-the-whole/) [Caroline Myss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-myss/) > [“The global population of Earth are involved in the following corporate government experiments: The long term effects of - 1. Nuclear bomb fallout radiation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/the-global-population-of-earth-are-involved-in-the-following/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) ## More by Sol Luckman > [“Recognize that your attention is the most valuable thing you can ever own, and you alone have the ultimate power to choose where to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-luckman/recognize-that-your-attention-is-the-most-valuable-thing-you-can-ever/) [Sol Luckman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-luckman/) > [“Life is too short to waste being a productive member of society.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-luckman/life-is-too-short-to-waste-being-a-productive-member-of-society/) [Sol Luckman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-luckman/) > [“The fight for freedom, relatively and ultimately speaking, begins and ends with our attention: where we place it and how we use it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-luckman/the-fight-for-freedom-relatively-and-ultimately-speaking-begins-and/) [Sol Luckman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-luckman/) > [“The evidence never seemed to matter to those in power, who had already made up their minds and did what people typically do when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-luckman/the-evidence-never-seemed-to-matter-to-those-in-power-who-had-already/) [Sol Luckman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-luckman/) > [“The Matrix can feel like a pretty hopeless place. I get that. Nobody in his or her right mind (a tiny minority, admittedly) wants…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-luckman/the-matrix-can-feel-like-a-pretty-hopeless-place-i-get-that-nobody-in/) [Sol Luckman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-luckman/) > [“The scene sucker-punched Max. He never saw it coming. It encapsulated in one poignant instant the tragic beauty of his family history.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-luckman/the-scene-sucker-punched-max-he-never-saw-it-coming-it-encapsulated/) [Sol Luckman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-luckman/) > [“So it was a crossroads summer, when the universe seemed to stand perilously still like an egg wobbling on a precipice, a regular rite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-luckman/so-it-was-a-crossroads-summer-when-the-universe-seemed-to-stand/) [Sol Luckman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-luckman/) > [“The possibility of waking up from (or even in) the dream offers a glimmer of hope, a sense that there’s more to existence than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-luckman/the-possibility-of-waking-up-from-or-even-in-the-dream-offers-a/) [Sol Luckman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-luckman/) > [“By any reasonable definition of the term, the Archons are crazy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-luckman/by-any-reasonable-definition-of-the-term-the-archons-are-crazy/) [Sol Luckman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-luckman/) > [“The creational scale—in tandem with sacred vowels—was used to fashion the universe and all life herein. The world, you might say, was literally spoken—or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-luckman/the-creational-scale-in-tandem-with-sacred-vowels-was-used-to-fashion/) [Sol Luckman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-luckman/) > [“Bill of Rights: (n.) official tally of how much our rights cost to keep.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-luckman/bill-of-rights-n-official-tally-of-how-much-our-rights-cost-to-keep/) [Sol Luckman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-luckman/) > [“Objectivity is a subjective fantasy implanted in us by an external will seeking to curtail our creativity by limiting our minds to our own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-luckman/objectivity-is-a-subjective-fantasy-implanted-in-us-by-an-external/) [Sol Luckman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-luckman/) > [“I’m a nonviolent guy, but the next time some brainwashed Duracell trapped in the Matrix tells you that by curtailing our liberties the authorities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-luckman/i-m-a-nonviolent-guy-but-the-next-time-some-brainwashed-duracell/) [Sol Luckman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-luckman/) > [“When it rains it pours and when it shines you get melanoma.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-luckman/when-it-rains-it-pours-and-when-it-shines-you-get-melanoma/) [Sol Luckman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-luckman/) > [“Every thought we think is like a brush stroke on the canvas of our lives. Let’s choose our thoughts, then, as a great artist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-luckman/every-thought-we-think-is-like-a-brush-stroke-on-the-canvas-of-our/) [Sol Luckman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-luckman/) [Explore all 104 Sol Luckman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-luckman/) ## More Atom quotes > [“The global population of Earth are involved in the following corporate government experiments: The long term effects of - 1. Nuclear bomb fallout radiation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/the-global-population-of-earth-are-involved-in-the-following/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [One atom is as purposeful as our planet. What is in one is in the whole.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-myss/one-atom-is-as-purposeful-as-our-planet-what-is-in-one-is-in-the-whole/) [Caroline Myss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-myss/) > [“In every atom, there is a reflection of the whole.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-woodman/in-every-atom-there-is-a-reflection-of-the-whole/) [Jay Woodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-woodman/) > [The laws of physics should allow us to arrange things molecule by molecule and even atom by atom, and at some point it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-merkle/the-laws-of-physics-should-allow-us-to-arrange-things-molecule-by/) [Ralph Merkle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-merkle/) > [“The void is 'not-being,' and no part of 'what is' is a 'not-being,'; for what 'is' in the strict sense of the term is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-void-is-not-being-and-no-part-of-what-is-is-a-not-being-for-what/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [“There are over a million types of fish in the sea as there are flowers in all of the world's gardens. There are at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzy-kassem/there-are-over-a-million-types-of-fish-in-the-sea-as-there-are/) [Suzy Kassem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzy-kassem/) > [It is harder to crack prejudice than an atom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/it-is-harder-to-crack-prejudice-than-an-atom/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Chemistry, until my childhood, not that long ago, was regarded as a calculating device. Because you couldn't reduce to physics. So it's just some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/chemistry-until-my-childhood-not-that-long-ago-was-regarded-as-a/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There is no evil in the atom; only in men's souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adlai-stevenson/there-is-no-evil-in-the-atom-only-in-men-s-souls/) [Adlai Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adlai-stevenson/) > [Do not despise anyone: an atom shadowing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pythagoras/do-not-despise-anyone-an-atom-shadowing/) [Pythagoras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pythagoras/) > [There is no likelihood that man can ever tap the power of the atom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-andrews-millikan/there-is-no-likelihood-that-man-can-ever-tap-the-power-of-the-atom/) [Robert Andrews Millikan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-andrews-millikan/) > [A physicist is just an atom's way of looking at itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niels-bohr/a-physicist-is-just-an-atom-s-way-of-looking-at-itself/) [Niels Bohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niels-bohr/) > [If 'Star Wars' wasn't enough to prepare me for a dark future, there was the 'Planet of the Apes' franchise, conveniently repeated for me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-van-eekhout/if-star-wars-wasn-t-enough-to-prepare-me-for-a-dark-future-there-was/) [Greg van Eekhout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-van-eekhout/) > [I will go only so far as to say that I knew what an atom was.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tibbets/i-will-go-only-so-far-as-to-say-that-i-knew-what-an-atom-was/) [Paul Tibbets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tibbets/) > [In the lab, we could not see or physically describe the mathematical objects that we called quarks, which we suspected were the key to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gross/in-the-lab-we-could-not-see-or-physically-describe-the-mathematical/) [David Gross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gross/) [Browse all 53 Atom quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atom/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Atoms, the building blocks of so-called matter, however much they might seem to be physically circumscribed, aren’t actually like tiny billiard balls. That’s kindergarten science. From a shamanic or alchemical perspective, atoms are more like sentient waves, their intelligently responsive existence a blur of potential until they magically appear to materialize.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sol Luckman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-luckman/atoms-the-building-blocks-of-so-called-matter-however-much-they-might/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Atom" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-luckman/atoms-the-building-blocks-of-so-called-matter-however-much-they-might/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c37/sol-luckman-4953_atom_atoms-the-building-blocks-of-so-called-m_872913.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c37/sol-luckman-4953_atom_atoms-the-building-blocks-of-so-called-m_872913.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c37/sol-luckman-4953_atom_atoms-the-building-blocks-of-so-called-m_872913.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Atoms, the building blocks of so-called matter, however much they might seem to be physically circumscribed…” — Sol Luckman", "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": "Sol Luckman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-luckman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Atoms, the building blocks of so-called...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-luckman/atoms-the-building-blocks-of-so-called-matter-however-much-they-might/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-luckman/atoms-the-building-blocks-of-so-called-matter-however-much-they-might/#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 } } ] } ```