--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: No one undertakes research in physics…" description: "\"No one undertakes research in physics with the intention of winning a prize. It is the joy of discovering something no one knew before.\" — Stephen Hawking" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4cd/stephen-hawking-389_discovering_no-one-undertakes-research-in-physics-wi_529824.jpg" --- # No one undertakes research in physics with the intention… ![“No one undertakes research in physics with the intention of winning a prize. It is the joy of discovering something no one knew before.” quote by Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4cd/stephen-hawking-389_discovering_no-one-undertakes-research-in-physics-wi_529824.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4cd/stephen-hawking-389_discovering_no-one-undertakes-research-in-physics-wi_529824.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4cd/stephen-hawking-389_discovering_no-one-undertakes-research-in-physics-wi_529824.jpg) > “No one undertakes research in physics with the intention of winning a prize. It is the joy of discovering something no one knew before.” [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Research is driven by curiosity, not by awards. **In simple terms:** Science for love of discovery. Key Takeaway Pursue knowledge for its own sake. Themes curiosity discovery motivation science Mood inspirational reflective Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - academic research - personal learning - innovation Key Concepts intrinsic motivation philosophy of science Questions to Reflect On - What drives your curiosity? - How do you stay motivated without recognition? A Different Perspective External rewards can distract from true purpose. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Discovering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discovering/) [Intention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intention/) [Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joy/) [Physics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/physics/) [Prize](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prize/) [Prize Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prize-joy-4453846/) [Research](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/research/) [Research Physics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/research-physics-1925744/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Undertakes Research](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/undertakes-research-4453847/) [Winning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/winning/) [Winning Prize](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/winning-prize-1496366/) ## Related quotes > [Winning the prize wasn't half as exciting as doing the work itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-goeppert-mayer/winning-the-prize-wasn-t-half-as-exciting-as-doing-the-work-itself/) [Maria Goeppert-Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-goeppert-mayer/) > [A good deal of my research in physics has consisted in not setting out to solve some particular problem, but simply examining mathematical equations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-dirac/a-good-deal-of-my-research-in-physics-has-consisted-in-not-setting/) [Paul Dirac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-dirac/) > [Discovering vocation does not mean scrambling toward some prize just beyond my reach but accepting the treasure of true self I already posses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/parker-j-palmer/discovering-vocation-does-not-mean-scrambling-toward-some-prize-just-2/) [Parker J. Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/parker-j-palmer/) > [Most of us fall in love with someone's persona and spend the next three to five years discovering who that person really is. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-aniston/most-of-us-fall-in-love-with-someone-s-persona-and-spend-the-next/) [Jennifer Aniston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-aniston/) > [Discovering vocation does not mean scrambling toward some prize just beyond my reach but accepting the treasure of true self I already possess. Vocation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/discovering-vocation-does-not-mean-scrambling-toward-some-prize-just/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [We can go up or we can do down. I think generally the world is going on an upward swing. We're in a part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-harrison/we-can-go-up-or-we-can-do-down-i-think-generally-the-world-is-going/) [George Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-harrison/) > [ “d\] One speaks in a language one doesn't understand, uses money whose worth one does not know, and wanders down streets for the very… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/d-one-speaks-in-a-language-one-doesn-t-understand-uses-money-whose/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [TV is, as I'm discovering now, a marathon. You have to keep going and going and going.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-nolan/tv-is-as-i-m-discovering-now-a-marathon-you-have-to-keep-going-and/) [Jonathan Nolan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-nolan/) > [There are people I'll always love to listen to, and I'm always ending up discovering new songs by them, which is crazy. 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Wheatley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-j-wheatley/) > [I think the best SF writers are very aware of what we, in the scientific community, are doing, thinking, and discovering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grinspoon/i-think-the-best-sf-writers-are-very-aware-of-what-we-in-the/) [David Grinspoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grinspoon/) > [Discovering witnesses is just as important as catching criminals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-wiesenthal/discovering-witnesses-is-just-as-important-as-catching-criminals/) [Simon Wiesenthal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-wiesenthal/) > [Like a child exploring the attic of an old house on a rainy day, discovering a trunk full of treasure and then calling all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-h-peterson/like-a-child-exploring-the-attic-of-an-old-house-on-a-rainy-day/) [Eugene H. 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Science will win…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/there-is-a-fundamental-difference-between-religion-which-is-based-on/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [“In the eighteenth century, philosophers considered the whole of human knowledge, including science, to be their field and discussed questions such as: Did the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/in-the-eighteenth-century-philosophers-considered-the-whole-of-human/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [A model is a good model if first it interprets a wide range of observations in terms of a simple and elegant model, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/a-model-is-a-good-model-if-first-it-interprets-a-wide-range-of/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [“Empedocles noticed that if you cover the neck before you immerse it, a clepsydra does not fill. He reasoned that something invisible must be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/empedocles-noticed-that-if-you-cover-the-neck-before-you-immerse-it-a/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [The human race shouldn't have all its eggs in one basket, or on one planet. 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Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-h-peterson/) > [Discovering witnesses is just as important as catching criminals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-wiesenthal/discovering-witnesses-is-just-as-important-as-catching-criminals/) [Simon Wiesenthal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-wiesenthal/) > [I think the best SF writers are very aware of what we, in the scientific community, are doing, thinking, and discovering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grinspoon/i-think-the-best-sf-writers-are-very-aware-of-what-we-in-the/) [David Grinspoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grinspoon/) > [There is no power for change greater than a community discovering what it cares about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-j-wheatley/there-is-no-power-for-change-greater-than-a-community-discovering/) [Margaret J. Wheatley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-j-wheatley/) > [The future teachers I try to recruit are those show have refused to let themselves be neutered in this way, either in their private…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-kozol/the-future-teachers-i-try-to-recruit-are-those-show-have-refused-to/) [Jonathan Kozol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-kozol/) > [There are people I'll always love to listen to, and I'm always ending up discovering new songs by them, which is crazy. Like Stevie…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-armstrong/there-are-people-i-ll-always-love-to-listen-to-and-i-m-always-ending/) [Neil Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-armstrong/) > [TV is, as I'm discovering now, a marathon. You have to keep going and going and going.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-nolan/tv-is-as-i-m-discovering-now-a-marathon-you-have-to-keep-going-and/) [Jonathan Nolan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-nolan/) > [ “d\] One speaks in a language one doesn't understand, uses money whose worth one does not know, and wanders down streets for the very… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/d-one-speaks-in-a-language-one-doesn-t-understand-uses-money-whose/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [We can go up or we can do down. I think generally the world is going on an upward swing. We're in a part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-harrison/we-can-go-up-or-we-can-do-down-i-think-generally-the-world-is-going/) [George Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-harrison/) > [Marx, however imperfectly he worked out the details, set himself the task of discovering the law of motion of capitalism, and if there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-robinson/marx-however-imperfectly-he-worked-out-the-details-set-himself-the/) [Joan Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-robinson/) > [“There were a lot of stressed out people in the company as we were discovering how dangerous the DeSoto Solar Farm was!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/there-were-a-lot-of-stressed-out-people-in-the-company-as-we-were/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [Coming to appreciate your worth can, in some cases, dramatically improve your circumstances by changing the choices you make and the actions you take.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-millman/coming-to-appreciate-your-worth-can-in-some-cases-dramatically/) [Dan Millman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-millman/) > [Melbourne, where I grew up, is one of the street art capitals of the world. 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