--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To describe externals, you become a…" description: "\"To describe externals, you become a scientist. To describe experience, you become an artist.\" — Timothy Leary" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e46/timothy-leary-2431_art_to-describe-externals-you-become-a-scien_818263.png" --- # To describe externals, you become a scientist. To describe… ![“To describe externals, you become a scientist. To describe experience, you become an artist.” quote by Timothy Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e46/timothy-leary-2431_art_to-describe-externals-you-become-a-scien_818263.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e46/timothy-leary-2431_art_to-describe-externals-you-become-a-scien_818263.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e46/timothy-leary-2431_art_to-describe-externals-you-become-a-scien_818263.png) > “To describe externals, you become a scientist. To describe experience, you become an artist.” [Timothy Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-leary/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Scientific description treats external phenomena objectively; artistic description captures subjective experience. **In simple terms:** Science explains the world; art expresses feeling. Key Takeaway Choose the method that fits your purpose. Themes objectivity subjectivity creativity knowledge Mood contemplative inquisitive Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - research - painting - writing - teaching - personal reflection Key Concepts epistemology aesthetics Questions to Reflect On - When do you need facts versus feeling? - How can you blend both approaches? A Different Perspective Art may lack empirical verification; science may miss emotional nuance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Experience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experience/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Scientist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scientist/) ## Related quotes > [The externals are important but I'm not interested in superficiality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyan-douglas/the-externals-are-important-but-i-m-not-interested-in-superficiality/) [Kyan Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyan-douglas/) > [“This is why we can’t let externals determine whether something was worth it or not. It’s on us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-holiday/this-is-why-we-can-t-let-externals-determine-whether-something-was/) [Ryan Holiday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-holiday/) > [We pay far too much attention to externals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-d-jakes/we-pay-far-too-much-attention-to-externals/) [T. D. Jakes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-d-jakes/) > [The externals are simply so many props; everything we need is within us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etty-hillesum/the-externals-are-simply-so-many-props-everything-we-need-is-within-us/) [Etty Hillesum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etty-hillesum/) > [Artists don't really want to be marginalized. They believe that everybody should be able to appreciate the experience that an artist gives them, an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-fischl/artists-don-t-really-want-to-be-marginalized-they-believe-that/) [Eric Fischl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-fischl/) > [“There are seven incarnations (and six correlates) necessary to becoming an Artist: 1. Explorer (Courage) 2. Surveyor (Vision) 3. Miner (Strength) 4. Refiner (Patience)…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-z-danielewski/there-are-seven-incarnations-and-six-correlates-necessary-to-becoming/) [Mark Z. Danielewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-z-danielewski/) > [I'd really want to - just from my own experience as an artist working with a writer, I'd want to do everything I could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-finch/i-d-really-want-to-just-from-my-own-experience-as-an-artist-working/) [David Finch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-finch/) > [“What is art? It is not decoration. It is the re-living of experience. The artist says, 'I will make that event happen again, altering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/what-is-art-it-is-not-decoration-it-is-the-re-living-of-experience-2/) [Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) > [The importance of art is in the process of doing it, in the learning experience where the artist interacts with whatever is being made.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-lichtenstein/the-importance-of-art-is-in-the-process-of-doing-it-in-the-learning/) [Roy Lichtenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-lichtenstein/) > [It is sometimes said that scientists are unromantic, that their passion to figure out robs the world of beauty and mystery. 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Heritage Foundation political scientist Robert Rector has worked up figures showing that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/in-comparative-terms-there-s-no-poverty-in-america-by-a-long-shot/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [We believe a scientist because he can substantiate his remarks, not because he is eloquent and forcible in his enunciation. In fact, we distrust…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i-a-richards/we-believe-a-scientist-because-he-can-substantiate-his-remarks-not/) [I. A. Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/i-a-richards/) > [I am convinced that we will never build a democratic state based on rule of law if we do not at the same time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/i-am-convinced-that-we-will-never-build-a-democratic-state-based-on/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) ## More by Timothy Leary > [You are a God Act like one!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-leary/you-are-a-god-act-like-one/) [Timothy Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-leary/) > [Throughout human history, as our species has faced the frightening, terrorizing fact that we do not know who we are, or where we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-leary/throughout-human-history-as-our-species-has-faced-the-frightening/) [Timothy Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-leary/) > [Psychedelic drugs cause paranoia, confusion, and total loss of reality in politicians that have never taken them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-leary/psychedelic-drugs-cause-paranoia-confusion-and-total-loss-of-reality/) [Timothy Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-leary/) > [Tune in, turn on, and drop out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-leary/tune-in-turn-on-and-drop-out/) [Timothy Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-leary/) > [The most important thing you do in your life is to die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-leary/the-most-important-thing-you-do-in-your-life-is-to-die/) [Timothy Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-leary/) > [The aim of human life is to know thyself. Think for yourself. Question authority. Think with your friends. Create, create new realities. Philosophy is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-leary/the-aim-of-human-life-is-to-know-thyself-think-for-yourself-question/) [Timothy Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-leary/) > [Learning how to operate a soul figures to take time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-leary/learning-how-to-operate-a-soul-figures-to-take-time/) [Timothy Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-leary/) > [At the peak of his scientific triumphs, Newton became a 'head,' a student of the inner spiritual world - or in modern terms, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-leary/at-the-peak-of-his-scientific-triumphs-newton-became-a-head-a-student/) [Timothy Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-leary/) > [When you teach someone how to perform creatively (ie, associate dead symbols in new combinations), you expand his potential for experiencing more widely and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-leary/when-you-teach-someone-how-to-perform-creatively-ie-associate-dead/) [Timothy Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-leary/) > [In the Eleusinian mysteries, they would always warn people, "if you go in here, your ego will die. You're going to have to confront…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-leary/in-the-eleusinian-mysteries-they-would-always-warn-people-if-you-go/) [Timothy Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-leary/) > [At every level there are eight stages of intelligence. You have to turn your brain on to the circuits that are used at that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-leary/at-every-level-there-are-eight-stages-of-intelligence-you-have-to/) [Timothy Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-leary/) > [Intelligence is the ultimate aphrodisiac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-leary/intelligence-is-the-ultimate-aphrodisiac/) [Timothy Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-leary/) > [You cannot use butterfly language to communicate with caterpillars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-leary/you-cannot-use-butterfly-language-to-communicate-with-caterpillars/) [Timothy Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-leary/) > [Of course, the drug does not produce the transcendent experience. It merely acts as a chemical key — it opens the mind, frees the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-leary/of-course-the-drug-does-not-produce-the-transcendent-experience-it/) [Timothy Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-leary/) > [Seven million people I turned on, and only one hundred thousand have come by to thank me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-leary/seven-million-people-i-turned-on-and-only-one-hundred-thousand-have/) [Timothy Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-leary/) [Explore all 165 Timothy Leary quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-leary/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "To describe externals, you become a scientist. 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