--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A theorist today is hardly considered…" description: "\"A theorist today is hardly considered respectable if he or she has not introduced at least one new particle for which there is no experimental evidence..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/734/steven-weinberg-3159_evidence_a-theorist-today-is-hardly-considered-re_1609525.png" --- # A theorist today is hardly considered respectable if he or… ![“A theorist today is hardly considered respectable if he or she has not introduced at least one new particle for which there is no experimental evidence.” quote by Steven Weinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/734/steven-weinberg-3159_evidence_a-theorist-today-is-hardly-considered-re_1609525.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/734/steven-weinberg-3159_evidence_a-theorist-today-is-hardly-considered-re_1609525.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/734/steven-weinberg-3159_evidence_a-theorist-today-is-hardly-considered-re_1609525.png) > “A theorist today is hardly considered respectable if he or she has not introduced at least one new particle for which there is no experimental evidence.” [Steven Weinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-weinberg/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A theorist must propose at least one unverified particle to be taken seriously, emphasizing the role of speculation in science. **In simple terms:** Theorists need bold, untested ideas to gain respect. Key Takeaway Embrace bold hypotheses, even without data. Themes science speculation credibility Mood inquisitive analytical Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - research proposals - academic debates - grant applications Key Concepts theory development risk taking Questions to Reflect On - What untested ideas could reshape your field? - How to balance daring with rigor? A Different Perspective Unverified ideas may be dismissed as fringe. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Particles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/particles/) [Programming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/programming/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Theorist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theorist/) [Theorists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theorists/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) ## Related quotes > [Today again I am hardly myself. It happens over and over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/today-again-i-am-hardly-myself-it-happens-over-and-over/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [Every cold empirick, when his heart is expanded by a successful experiment, swells into a theorist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/every-cold-empirick-when-his-heart-is-expanded-by-a-successful/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [There is no person, no theorist so reckless as he who says that the facts speak for themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-friedman/there-is-no-person-no-theorist-so-reckless-as-he-who-says-that-the/) [Milton Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-friedman/) > [I will always be referred to as a theorist, but I was only a fellow traveller with a degree.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/volkmar-sigusch/i-will-always-be-referred-to-as-a-theorist-but-i-was-only-a-fellow/) [Volkmar Sigusch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/volkmar-sigusch/) > [A theoretical physicist can spend his entire lifetime missing the intellectual challenge of experimental work, experiencing none of the thrills and dangers - the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-m-lederman/a-theoretical-physicist-can-spend-his-entire-lifetime-missing-the/) [Leon M. Lederman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-m-lederman/) > [In the context of a question regarding what an artist might be, I would want to raise the question of what a theorist might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-elkins/in-the-context-of-a-question-regarding-what-an-artist-might-be-i/) [James Elkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-elkins/) > [It is universally appreciated, I think, that theorists are able to tweak their assumptions in order to reach any conclusion they wish. The believability…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-m-kreps/it-is-universally-appreciated-i-think-that-theorists-are-able-to/) David M. Kreps > [A rare theorist turned experimentalist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willis-lamb/a-rare-theorist-turned-experimentalist/) [Willis Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willis-lamb/) > [A conspiracy theorist is a person who tacitly admits that they have insufficient data to prove their points. A conspiracy is a battle cry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/a-conspiracy-theorist-is-a-person-who-tacitly-admits-that-they-have/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [Man, I'm a conspiracy theorist by nature. You can't experience the federal penal system and not be somewhat skeptical.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-i/man-i-m-a-conspiracy-theorist-by-nature-you-can-t-experience-the/) T.I > [I would not call myself a veteran conspiracy theorist. Or an obsessed one. I pretty much peaked on the whole conspiracy theory thing in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-davis/i-would-not-call-myself-a-veteran-conspiracy-theorist-or-an-obsessed/) [Patti Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-davis/) > [I'm a theorist, not an institutionalist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myron-scholes/i-m-a-theorist-not-an-institutionalist/) [Myron Scholes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myron-scholes/) > [There is no great harm in the theorist who makes up a new theory to fit a new event. But the theorist who starts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/there-is-no-great-harm-in-the-theorist-who-makes-up-a-new-theory-to/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [We really try to have only one new particle per paper.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-really-try-to-have-only-one-new-particle-per-paper/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We have reached a milestone in our understanding of nature. The discovery of a particle consistent with the Higgs boson opens the way to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rolf-dieter-heuer/we-have-reached-a-milestone-in-our-understanding-of-nature-the/) [Rolf-Dieter Heuer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rolf-dieter-heuer/) ## More by Steven Weinberg > [On balance the moral influence of religion has been awful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-weinberg/on-balance-the-moral-influence-of-religion-has-been-awful/) [Steven Weinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-weinberg/) > [“The apparent strengths of the forces in any field theory depend on two kinds of numerical parameter: the masses (if any) of the particles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-weinberg/the-apparent-strengths-of-the-forces-in-any-field-theory-depend-on/) [Steven Weinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-weinberg/) > [“Many people do simply awful things out of sincere religious belief, not using religion as a cover the way that Saddam Hussein may have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-weinberg/many-people-do-simply-awful-things-out-of-sincere-religious-belief/) [Steven Weinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-weinberg/) > [This is often the way it is in physics - our mistake is not that we take our theories too seriously, but that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-weinberg/this-is-often-the-way-it-is-in-physics-our-mistake-is-not-that-we/) [Steven Weinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-weinberg/) > [With or without religion, you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-weinberg/with-or-without-religion-you-would-have-good-people-doing-good-things/) [Steven Weinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-weinberg/) > [I would say it's a lot easier to develop a decoy system than to develop the intercontinental ballistic missile itself. I would think that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-weinberg/i-would-say-it-s-a-lot-easier-to-develop-a-decoy-system-than-to/) [Steven Weinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-weinberg/) > [Rational argument can be defeated by refusing to argue rationally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-weinberg/rational-argument-can-be-defeated-by-refusing-to-argue-rationally/) [Steven Weinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-weinberg/) > [The universe is an enormous direct product of representations of symmetry groups.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-weinberg/the-universe-is-an-enormous-direct-product-of-representations-of/) [Steven Weinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-weinberg/) > [Its a consequence of the experience of science. As you learn more and more about the universe, you find you can understand more and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-weinberg/its-a-consequence-of-the-experience-of-science-as-you-learn-more-and/) [Steven Weinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-weinberg/) > [Our job in physics is to see things simply, to understand a great many complicated phenomena in a unified way, in terms of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-weinberg/our-job-in-physics-is-to-see-things-simply-to-understand-a-great-many/) [Steven Weinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-weinberg/) > [“Plato and the neo-Platonists taught that the beauty we see in nature is a reflection of the beauty of the ultimate, the nous. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-weinberg/plato-and-the-neo-platonists-taught-that-the-beauty-we-see-in-nature/) [Steven Weinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-weinberg/) > [An expert is a person who avoids the small errors while sweeping on to the grand fallacy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-weinberg/an-expert-is-a-person-who-avoids-the-small-errors-while-sweeping-on/) [Steven Weinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-weinberg/) > [If (the antiproton) had not been discovered, the foundations of physics really would have crumbled.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-weinberg/if-the-antiproton-had-not-been-discovered-the-foundations-of-physics/) [Steven Weinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-weinberg/) > [Even though I knew pretty early that I was going to be a scientist, it wasn't the science that interested me in science fiction;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-weinberg/even-though-i-knew-pretty-early-that-i-was-going-to-be-a-scientist-it/) [Steven Weinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-weinberg/) > [If history is any guide at all, it seems to me to suggest that there is a final theory. In this century we have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-weinberg/if-history-is-any-guide-at-all-it-seems-to-me-to-suggest-that-there/) [Steven Weinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-weinberg/) [Explore all 137 Steven Weinberg quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-weinberg/) ## More Evidence quotes > [The truth is, of course, that the curtness of the Ten Commandments is an evidence, not of the gloom and narrowness of a religion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-truth-is-of-course-that-the-curtness-of-the-ten-commandments-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Never underestimate the power of the human mind to believe what it wants to believe, no matter the conflicting evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-herbert/never-underestimate-the-power-of-the-human-mind-to-believe-what-it/) [Brian Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-herbert/) > [We only enter into the full life if our faith gives thanks. Because how else do we accept His free gift of salvation if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/we-only-enter-into-the-full-life-if-our-faith-gives-thanks-because/) [Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/) > [Be neither too early in the fashion, nor too long out of it, nor too precisely in it; what custom hath civilized is become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-quarles/be-neither-too-early-in-the-fashion-nor-too-long-out-of-it-nor-too/) [Francis Quarles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-quarles/) > [“What you owe your critics are your RESULTS not explanations not defence just RESULTS.Evidence terminates Arguments.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fela-durotoye/what-you-owe-your-critics-are-your-results-not-explanations-not/) [Fela Durotoye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fela-durotoye/) > [“Dogmatism compensates for evidence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-wallace/dogmatism-compensates-for-evidence/) Dana Wallace > [“Cops aren't really your friends, they are trying to be your friends but they are not… - They are searching evidence to PIN YOU.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deyth-banger/cops-aren-t-really-your-friends-they-are-trying-to-be-your-friends/) Deyth Banger > [There's overwhelming evidence... circumstantial and otherwise, to suggest a connection between Iraq and al Qaeda.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-pence/there-s-overwhelming-evidence-circumstantial-and-otherwise-to-suggest/) [Mike Pence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-pence/) > [Miracles are like candles lit up until the sun rises, and then blown out. Therefore, I am amused when I hear sects and churches…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/miracles-are-like-candles-lit-up-until-the-sun-rises-and-then-blown/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [“Human unhappiness is evidence of our immortality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rodriguez/human-unhappiness-is-evidence-of-our-immortality/) [Richard Rodriguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rodriguez/) > [The state is in danger of falling into disrepute due to the evidence of its inadequate resources.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jurgen-habermas/the-state-is-in-danger-of-falling-into-disrepute-due-to-the-evidence/) [Jurgen Habermas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jurgen-habermas/) > [You are innocent until proven guilty. And if folks have come forward, whether it is judge Roy Moore or whether it is anyone else,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-rosendale/you-are-innocent-until-proven-guilty-and-if-folks-have-come-forward/) [Matt Rosendale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-rosendale/) > [There is still zero empirical evidence that anthropogenic production of CO2 is making any measurable contribution to the world's present warming trend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-cockburn/there-is-still-zero-empirical-evidence-that-anthropogenic-production/) [Alexander Cockburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-cockburn/) > [“‎If you regard evidence as a constraint and seek to free yourself, you sell yourself into the chains of your whims. For you cannot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/if-you-regard-evidence-as-a-constraint-and-seek-to-free-yourself-you/) [Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/) > [ We have reached a situation where a theory has been accepted as fact by some, and possible contrary evidence is shunted aside. \[This is\]… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-shapiro/we-have-reached-a-situation-where-a-theory-has-been-accepted-as-fact/) [Robert Shapiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-shapiro/) Browse all 3,643 Evidence quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A theorist today is hardly considered respectable if he or she has not introduced at least one new particle for which there is no experimental evidence.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Steven Weinberg" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-weinberg/a-theorist-today-is-hardly-considered-respectable-if-he-or-she-has/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Evidence" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-weinberg/a-theorist-today-is-hardly-considered-respectable-if-he-or-she-has/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/734/steven-weinberg-3159_evidence_a-theorist-today-is-hardly-considered-re_1609525.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/734/steven-weinberg-3159_evidence_a-theorist-today-is-hardly-considered-re_1609525.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/734/steven-weinberg-3159_evidence_a-theorist-today-is-hardly-considered-re_1609525.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A theorist today is hardly considered respectable if he or she has not introduced at least one new particle…” — Steven Weinberg", "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": "Steven Weinberg", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-weinberg/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A theorist today is hardly considered...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-weinberg/a-theorist-today-is-hardly-considered-respectable-if-he-or-she-has/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-weinberg/a-theorist-today-is-hardly-considered-respectable-if-he-or-she-has/#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 } } ] } ```