--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Liebig himself seems to have occupied the…" description: "\"Liebig himself seems to have occupied the role of a gate, or sorting-demon, such as his younger contemporary Clerk Maxwell once proposed, helping to co..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/098/thomas-pynchon-533_clerks_liebig-himself-seems-to-have-occupied-th_1229997.jpg" --- # Liebig himself seems to have occupied the role of a gate… ![“Liebig himself seems to have occupied the role of a gate, or sorting-demon, such as his younger contemporary Clerk Maxwell once proposed, helping to concentrate energy into one favored room of the Creation at the expense of everything else.” quote by Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/098/thomas-pynchon-533_clerks_liebig-himself-seems-to-have-occupied-th_1229997.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/098/thomas-pynchon-533_clerks_liebig-himself-seems-to-have-occupied-th_1229997.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/098/thomas-pynchon-533_clerks_liebig-himself-seems-to-have-occupied-th_1229997.jpg) > “Liebig himself seems to have occupied the role of a gate, or sorting-demon, such as his younger contemporary Clerk Maxwell once proposed, helping to concentrate energy into one favored room of the Creation at the expense of everything else.” [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote likens scientific discovery to a gatekeeper, concentrating energy into a favored domain while discarding others, reflecting selective focus in creation. **In simple terms:** Science acts as a gate, focusing energy and discarding the rest. Key Takeaway Beware of narrow focus that excludes alternatives. Themes science selection energy creation Mood thoughtful critical intellectual Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - research design - technology development - resource allocation Key Concepts philosophy systems theory entropy Questions to Reflect On - What alternatives are being ignored? - How can we balance focus with openness? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on one path can limit broader understanding. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Creation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creation/) [Demon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/demon/) [Energy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/energy/) ## Related quotes > [ James Clerk Maxwell's \[work is the\] most profound and the most fruitful ... ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/james-clerk-maxwell-s-work-is-the-most-profound-and-the-most-fruitful/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [One scientific epoch ended and another began with James Clerk Maxwell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/one-scientific-epoch-ended-and-another-began-with-james-clerk-maxwell/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [But as with Maxwell's Demon, so now. Either she could not communicate, or he did not exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/but-as-with-maxwell-s-demon-so-now-either-she-could-not-communicate/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [Many of my heroes, like Galileo, Maxwell, Newton and, less explicitly, Einstein thought what they were doing was finding out what God is. All…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-wilczek/many-of-my-heroes-like-galileo-maxwell-newton-and-less-explicitly/) [Frank Wilczek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-wilczek/) > [A successful person finds the right place for himself. But a successful leader finds the right place for others. By John Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-successful-person-finds-the-right-place-for-himself-but-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“We all behave like Maxwell’s demon. Organisms organize. In everyday experience lies the reason sober physicists across two centuries kept this cartoon fantasy alive.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/we-all-behave-like-maxwell-s-demon-organisms-organize-in-everyday/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) > [I'm looking for someone to quench my thirst-for all eternity" -Luna Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-schreiber/i-m-looking-for-someone-to-quench-my-thirst-for-all-eternity-luna/) [Ellen Schreiber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-schreiber/) > [The rigid electron is in my view a monster in relation to Maxwell's equations, whose innermost harmony is the principle of relativity... the rigid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-minkowski/the-rigid-electron-is-in-my-view-a-monster-in-relation-to-maxwell-s/) [Hermann Minkowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-minkowski/) > [“In his great treatise, Electricity and Magnetism, Clerk Maxwell had remarked that we are often told that in science we must, first of all,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-kohler/in-his-great-treatise-electricity-and-magnetism-clerk-maxwell-had/) [Wolfgang Kohler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-kohler/) > [“ Qu'une goutee de vin tombe dans un verre d'eau; quelle que soit la loi du movement interne du liquide, nous verrons bientôt se…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-poincare/qu-une-goutee-de-vin-tombe-dans-un-verre-d-eau-quelle-que-soit-la-loi/) [Henri Poincaré](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-poincare/) > [“In despair, I offer your readers their choice of the following definitions of entropy. My authorities are such books and journals as I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-herbert-evershed/in-despair-i-offer-your-readers-their-choice-of-the-following/) Sydney Herbert Evershed > [Actually, my favourite roles have been in theatre, but on TV, my faves were Slap Maxwell and Larry Sanders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-gallagher/actually-my-favourite-roles-have-been-in-theatre-but-on-tv-my-faves/) [Megan Gallagher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-gallagher/) > [Leadership belongs to all of us. I'm a big believer in John Maxwell, a leadership speaker and author, who talks about the 360-degree leader.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-yaeger/leadership-belongs-to-all-of-us-i-m-a-big-believer-in-john-maxwell-a/) [Don Yaeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-yaeger/) > [“A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.” -John C. Maxwell”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-maxwell/a-leader-is-one-who-knows-the-way-goes-the-way-and-shows-the-way-john/) [John C. Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-maxwell/) > [“From a long view of the history of mankind-seen from, say, ten thousand years from now-there can be little doubt that the most significant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-feynman/from-a-long-view-of-the-history-of-mankind-seen-from-say-ten-thousand/) [Richard Feynman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-feynman/) ## More by Thomas Pynchon > [“How strange tonight, this city. As if something trembled below its surface, waiting to burst through.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/how-strange-tonight-this-city-as-if-something-trembled-below-its/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“It was one of those great iron afternoons in London: the yellow sun being teased apart by a thoasand chimneys breathing, fawning upward without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/it-was-one-of-those-great-iron-afternoons-in-london-the-yellow-sun/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“Surely for as long as there have been nights as bad as this one---something to raise the possibility of another night that could actually,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/surely-for-as-long-as-there-have-been-nights-as-bad-as-this-one/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“Death glided by, shadowless, among the empties on the grass.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/death-glided-by-shadowless-among-the-empties-on-the-grass/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“People read what news they wanted to and each accordingly built his own rathouse of history's rags and straws.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/people-read-what-news-they-wanted-to-and-each-accordingly-built-his/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“Out of that night and day of unconditional wrath, folks would've expected to see any city, if it survived, all newly reborn, purified by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/out-of-that-night-and-day-of-unconditional-wrath-folks-would-ve/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“As spread thighs are to the libertine...so was the letter V to young Stencil.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/as-spread-thighs-are-to-the-libertine-so-was-the-letter-v-to-young/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“Oedipa wondered whether, at the end of this (if it were supposed to end), she too might not be left with only compiled memories…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/oedipa-wondered-whether-at-the-end-of-this-if-it-were-supposed-to-end/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don't have to worry about answers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/if-they-can-get-you-asking-the-wrong-questions-they-don-t-have-to/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“remember didn't you sneak away from camp to have a moment alone with What you felt stirring across the land . . . it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/remember-didn-t-you-sneak-away-from-camp-to-have-a-moment-alone-with/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“Through rain...then through dreaming glass, green with the evening. And herself in chair, old-fashioned, bonneted, looking west over the deck of Earth, inferno red…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/through-rain-then-through-dreaming-glass-green-with-the-evening-and/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“She knew instinctively: he will be fine as the fraternity boy just out of an Ivy League school who knows he will never stop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/she-knew-instinctively-he-will-be-fine-as-the-fraternity-boy-just-out/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“Lovely morning, World War Two.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/lovely-morning-world-war-two/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“Listen to anything and take it apart again. Spectrum analysis, in my head. I can break down chords, and timbres, and words too into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/listen-to-anything-and-take-it-apart-again-spectrum-analysis-in-my/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [A screaming comes across the sky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/a-screaming-comes-across-the-sky/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) [Explore all 483 Thomas Pynchon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) ## More Clerks quotes > [ Gonna rain like a cow pissin' on a flat rock" \[drugstore clerk to detective Virgil Flowers\] Dark of the Moon, p.7 ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sandford/gonna-rain-like-a-cow-pissin-on-a-flat-rock-drugstore-clerk-to/) [John Sandford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-sandford/) > [I like to change liquor stores frequently because the clerks got to know your habits if you went in night and day and bought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/i-like-to-change-liquor-stores-frequently-because-the-clerks-got-to/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [My dad was a bartender. My mom was a cashier, a maid and a stock clerk at K-Mart. They never made it big. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-rubio/my-dad-was-a-bartender-my-mom-was-a-cashier-a-maid-and-a-stock-clerk/) [Marco Rubio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-rubio/) > [My law clerks come from diverse backgrounds and points of view.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brett-kavanaugh/my-law-clerks-come-from-diverse-backgrounds-and-points-of-view/) [Brett Kavanaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brett-kavanaugh/) > [I do not rule Russia: ten thousand clerks do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-do-not-rule-russia-ten-thousand-clerks-do/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I am proud that a majority of my law clerks have been women.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brett-kavanaugh/i-am-proud-that-a-majority-of-my-law-clerks-have-been-women/) [Brett Kavanaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brett-kavanaugh/) > [I had a lot of jobs, because I wanted to be an actor, and I had this bad habit of wanting to eat regularly.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-hilton-jacobs/i-had-a-lot-of-jobs-because-i-wanted-to-be-an-actor-and-i-had-this/) [Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-hilton-jacobs/) > [Corporate types love to pretend their life is exciting. The whispers, fist-pumping and animated hand gestures are all designed to lift our job description…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chetan-bhagat/corporate-types-love-to-pretend-their-life-is-exciting-the-whispers/) [Chetan Bhagat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chetan-bhagat/) > [I actually never acted on "Deadwood." I have meetings all the time where people look at my IMDb page and see that I played…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-jeselnik/i-actually-never-acted-on-deadwood-i-have-meetings-all-the-time-where/) [Anthony Jeselnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-jeselnik/) > [The key to success is to get out into the store and listen to what the associates have to say. It's terribly important for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-walton/the-key-to-success-is-to-get-out-into-the-store-and-listen-to-what/) [Sam Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-walton/) > [As a judge, I hire four law clerks each year. I look for the best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brett-kavanaugh/as-a-judge-i-hire-four-law-clerks-each-year-i-look-for-the-best/) [Brett Kavanaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brett-kavanaugh/) > [“They play like file clerks file.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-kessler/they-play-like-file-clerks-file/) Lauren Kessler > [Turks have a dismissive phrase: he works like a clerk. I have turned this insult around: I am proud to say that I work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/turks-have-a-dismissive-phrase-he-works-like-a-clerk-i-have-turned/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) > [At the enchanted metropolitan twilight I felt a haunting loneliness sometimes, and felt it in others -- poor young clerks who loitered in front…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/at-the-enchanted-metropolitan-twilight-i-felt-a-haunting-loneliness/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [But do not give it to a lawyer's clerk to write, for they use a legal hand that Satan himself will not understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/but-do-not-give-it-to-a-lawyer-s-clerk-to-write-for-they-use-a-legal/) [Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/) Browse all 184 Clerks quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Liebig himself seems to have occupied the role of a gate, or sorting-demon, such as his younger contemporary Clerk Maxwell once proposed, helping to concentrate energy into one favored room of the Creation at the expense of everything else.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thomas Pynchon" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/liebig-himself-seems-to-have-occupied-the-role-of-a-gate-or-sorting/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Clerks" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/liebig-himself-seems-to-have-occupied-the-role-of-a-gate-or-sorting/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/098/thomas-pynchon-533_clerks_liebig-himself-seems-to-have-occupied-th_1229997.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/098/thomas-pynchon-533_clerks_liebig-himself-seems-to-have-occupied-th_1229997.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/098/thomas-pynchon-533_clerks_liebig-himself-seems-to-have-occupied-th_1229997.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Liebig himself seems to have occupied the role of a gate, or sorting-demon, such as his younger contemporary…” — Thomas Pynchon", "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": "Thomas Pynchon", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Liebig himself seems to have occupied...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/liebig-himself-seems-to-have-occupied-the-role-of-a-gate-or-sorting/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/liebig-himself-seems-to-have-occupied-the-role-of-a-gate-or-sorting/#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 } } ] } ```