--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: All great discoveries in experimental…" description: "\"“All great discoveries in experimental physics have been due to the intuition of men who made free use of models, which were for them not products of t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f9/victor-j-stenger-16236_discoveries_all-great-discoveries-in-experimental-ph_3075660.png" --- # All great discoveries in experimental physics have been… ![“All great discoveries in experimental physics have been due to the intuition of men who made free use of models, which were for them not products of the imagination but representatives of real things. Max Born (1953)” quote by Victor J. Stenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f9/victor-j-stenger-16236_discoveries_all-great-discoveries-in-experimental-ph_3075660.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f9/victor-j-stenger-16236_discoveries_all-great-discoveries-in-experimental-ph_3075660.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f9/victor-j-stenger-16236_discoveries_all-great-discoveries-in-experimental-ph_3075660.png) > ““All great discoveries in experimental physics have been due to the intuition of men who made free use of models, which were for them not products of the imagination but representatives of real things. Max Born (1953)”” [Victor J. Stenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-j-stenger/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Great discoveries arise when scientists use models as realistic representations, not mere fantasies, allowing intuition to guide breakthroughs. **In simple terms:** Intuitive, realistic models drive scientific breakthroughs. Key Takeaway Use grounded models to explore and predict phenomena. Themes science intuition modeling discovery Mood analytical inquisitive Type educational philosophical When to use this quote - research design - education - technology development - theory testing Key Concepts philosophy of science epistemology creativity Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance intuition with empirical testing? - When should a model be discarded? A Different Perspective Models can mislead if they oversimplify complex reality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Discoveries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discoveries/) [Discoveries Experimental](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discoveries-experimental-5222917/) [Experimental Physics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experimental-physics-3477877/) [Intuition Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intuition-men-5190607/) [Physics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/physics/) [Physics Intuition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/physics-intuition-5222918/) [Real things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-things/) [Theory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theory/) ## Related quotes > [“(...) the easiest to conquer were also more worthy of it, because women have better intuition than men for the love affinity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-harris/the-easiest-to-conquer-were-also-more-worthy-of-it-because-women-have/) [Frank Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-harris/) > [how lacking in intuition men could be in persuading themselves that mending some stranger's socks, and attending to his comfort, could content a woman...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/how-lacking-in-intuition-men-could-be-in-persuading-themselves-that/) [Daphne du Maurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/) > [One thing they don't tell you about doing experimental physics is that sometimes you must work under adverse conditions... like a state of sheer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kenneth-hartmann/one-thing-they-don-t-tell-you-about-doing-experimental-physics-is/) [William Kenneth Hartmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kenneth-hartmann/) > [As for me, I want to have fun while I'm working. Now not everyone thinks physics is fun, but I do. I think experimental…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-strickland/as-for-me-i-want-to-have-fun-while-i-m-working-now-not-everyone/) [Donna Strickland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-strickland/) > [But, contrary to the lady's prejudices about the engineering profession, the fact is that quite some time ago the tables were turned between theory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-metropolis/but-contrary-to-the-lady-s-prejudices-about-the-engineering/) [Nicholas Metropolis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-metropolis/) > [The detection of gravitational waves is truly a triumph of modern large-scale experimental physics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-barish/the-detection-of-gravitational-waves-is-truly-a-triumph-of-modern/) [Barry Barish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-barish/) > [The wonderment of humanity leads to its greatest discoveries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-thomas-newton/the-wonderment-of-humanity-leads-to-its-greatest-discoveries/) [Charles Thomas Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-thomas-newton/) > [Like buried treasures, the outposts of the universe have beckoned to the adventurous from immemorial times. Princes and potentates, political or industrial, equally with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-ellery-hale/like-buried-treasures-the-outposts-of-the-universe-have-beckoned-to/) [George Ellery Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-ellery-hale/) > [There seems to be one quality of mind which seems to be of special and extreme advantage in leading him to make discoveries. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-darwin/there-seems-to-be-one-quality-of-mind-which-seems-to-be-of-special/) [Francis Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-darwin/) > [It's nice to witness these discoveries at first hand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-aspel/it-s-nice-to-witness-these-discoveries-at-first-hand/) [Michael Aspel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-aspel/) > [“We only know a tiny proportion about the complexity of the natural world. Wherever you look, there are still things we don’t know about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-attenborough/we-only-know-a-tiny-proportion-about-the-complexity-of-the-natural/) [David Attenborough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-attenborough/) > [Science is the most exciting and sustained enterprise of discovery in the history of our species. It is the great adventure of our time.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-crichton/science-is-the-most-exciting-and-sustained-enterprise-of-discovery-in/) [Michael Crichton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-crichton/) > [To me, part of the magic of this era is that the very same innovations, discoveries, and technologies that are allowing us to live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-sebelius/to-me-part-of-the-magic-of-this-era-is-that-the-very-same-innovations/) [Kathleen Sebelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-sebelius/) > [“The nimble of mind long for the challenge of new discoveries. Weary minds cling to what is already known.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-lee-lerner/the-nimble-of-mind-long-for-the-challenge-of-new-discoveries-weary/) [K. Lee Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-lee-lerner/) > [Out of the questions of students come most of the creative ideas and discoveries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-langer/out-of-the-questions-of-students-come-most-of-the-creative-ideas-and/) [Ellen Langer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-langer/) ## More by Victor J. Stenger > [People want to be at the center of the Universe...and they're going to flock to anybody who tells them that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-j-stenger/people-want-to-be-at-the-center-of-the-universe-and-they-re-going-to/) [Victor J. Stenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-j-stenger/) > [Is there a place in a church where you leave your brains when you enter?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-j-stenger/is-there-a-place-in-a-church-where-you-leave-your-brains-when-you/) [Victor J. Stenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-j-stenger/) > [To most theistic believers, human life can have no meaning in a universe without God. Quite sincerely, and with understandable yearning for a meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-j-stenger/to-most-theistic-believers-human-life-can-have-no-meaning-in-a/) [Victor J. Stenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-j-stenger/) > [ Until recent times, absence of evidence for his \[Jehovah's\] existence has not been sufficient to rule him out. However, we now have enough knowledge… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-j-stenger/until-recent-times-absence-of-evidence-for-his-jehovah-s-existence/) [Victor J. Stenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-j-stenger/) > [The problem is that people think faith is something to be admired. In fact, faith means you believe in something for which you have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-j-stenger/the-problem-is-that-people-think-faith-is-something-to-be-admired-in/) [Victor J. Stenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-j-stenger/) > [In short, evolution is as close to being a scientific fact as is possible for any theory, given that science is open - ended…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-j-stenger/in-short-evolution-is-as-close-to-being-a-scientific-fact-as-is/) [Victor J. Stenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-j-stenger/) > [Debating is not an honest intellectual exercise. It's like a trial in which the goal is not to get to the truth but to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-j-stenger/debating-is-not-an-honest-intellectual-exercise-it-s-like-a-trial-in/) [Victor J. Stenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-j-stenger/) > [Fifteen years of skepticism has done more for me than 20 years of force-fed religion and 30 years of indifference in between.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-j-stenger/fifteen-years-of-skepticism-has-done-more-for-me-than-20-years-of/) [Victor J. Stenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-j-stenger/) > [Just because quantum mechanics is weird does not mean that everything that is weird is quantum mechanics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-j-stenger/just-because-quantum-mechanics-is-weird-does-not-mean-that-everything/) [Victor J. Stenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-j-stenger/) > [In fact, current cosmological observations indicate that the average density of matter and energy in the universe is equal, within measurement errors, to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-j-stenger/in-fact-current-cosmological-observations-indicate-that-the-average/) [Victor J. Stenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-j-stenger/) > [Selling eternal life is an unbeatable business, with no customers ever asking for their money back after the goods are not delivered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-j-stenger/selling-eternal-life-is-an-unbeatable-business-with-no-customers-ever/) [Victor J. Stenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-j-stenger/) > [“The myth of quantum consciousness sits well with many whose egos have made it impossible for them to accept the insignificant place science perceives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-j-stenger/the-myth-of-quantum-consciousness-sits-well-with-many-whose-egos-have/) [Victor J. Stenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-j-stenger/) > [Any strategy that attempts to reinforce faith by undermining science is also doomed to failure. Showing that some scientific theory is wrong will not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-j-stenger/any-strategy-that-attempts-to-reinforce-faith-by-undermining-science/) [Victor J. Stenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-j-stenger/) > [Nature is capable of building complex structures by processes of self-organization; simplicity begets complexity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-j-stenger/nature-is-capable-of-building-complex-structures-by-processes-of-self/) [Victor J. Stenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-j-stenger/) > [Define self-awareness and tell me what it is about it that requires something more than a material explanation. I do not accept the burden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-j-stenger/define-self-awareness-and-tell-me-what-it-is-about-it-that-requires/) [Victor J. Stenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-j-stenger/) [Explore all 40 Victor J. Stenger quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-j-stenger/) ## More Discoveries quotes > [Out of the questions of students come most of the creative ideas and discoveries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-langer/out-of-the-questions-of-students-come-most-of-the-creative-ideas-and/) [Ellen Langer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-langer/) > [“The nimble of mind long for the challenge of new discoveries. Weary minds cling to what is already known.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-lee-lerner/the-nimble-of-mind-long-for-the-challenge-of-new-discoveries-weary/) [K. Lee Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-lee-lerner/) > [To me, part of the magic of this era is that the very same innovations, discoveries, and technologies that are allowing us to live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-sebelius/to-me-part-of-the-magic-of-this-era-is-that-the-very-same-innovations/) [Kathleen Sebelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-sebelius/) > [Science is the most exciting and sustained enterprise of discovery in the history of our species. It is the great adventure of our time.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-crichton/science-is-the-most-exciting-and-sustained-enterprise-of-discovery-in/) [Michael Crichton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-crichton/) > [“We only know a tiny proportion about the complexity of the natural world. Wherever you look, there are still things we don’t know about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-attenborough/we-only-know-a-tiny-proportion-about-the-complexity-of-the-natural/) [David Attenborough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-attenborough/) > [It's nice to witness these discoveries at first hand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-aspel/it-s-nice-to-witness-these-discoveries-at-first-hand/) [Michael Aspel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-aspel/) > [There seems to be one quality of mind which seems to be of special and extreme advantage in leading him to make discoveries. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-darwin/there-seems-to-be-one-quality-of-mind-which-seems-to-be-of-special/) [Francis Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-darwin/) > [Like buried treasures, the outposts of the universe have beckoned to the adventurous from immemorial times. Princes and potentates, political or industrial, equally with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-ellery-hale/like-buried-treasures-the-outposts-of-the-universe-have-beckoned-to/) [George Ellery Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-ellery-hale/) > [The wonderment of humanity leads to its greatest discoveries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-thomas-newton/the-wonderment-of-humanity-leads-to-its-greatest-discoveries/) [Charles Thomas Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-thomas-newton/) > [“One of the greatest discoveries you could actually discover in life is the treasure of solitude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/one-of-the-greatest-discoveries-you-could-actually-discover-in-life/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [The real achievement in discoveries... is seeing an analogy where no one saw one before... The essence of discovery is that unlikely marriage of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/the-real-achievement-in-discoveries-is-seeing-an-analogy-where-no-one/) [Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/) > [It (the Bible) has never bowed its head before the discoveries of science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/it-the-bible-has-never-bowed-its-head-before-the-discoveries-of/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [If innovations were predictable, they wouldn't be discoveries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-m-krauss/if-innovations-were-predictable-they-wouldn-t-be-discoveries/) [Lawrence M. Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-m-krauss/) > [At one time or another the more fortunate among us make three startling discoveries. Discovery number one: Each one of us has, in varying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-huxley/at-one-time-or-another-the-more-fortunate-among-us-make-three/) [Laura Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-huxley/) > [“Never underestimate the power of thought; it is the greatest path to discovery.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idowu-koyenikan/never-underestimate-the-power-of-thought-it-is-the-greatest-path-to/) [Idowu Koyenikan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idowu-koyenikan/) [Browse all 268 Discoveries quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discoveries/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“All great discoveries in experimental physics have been due to the intuition of men who made free use of models, which were for them not products of the imagination but representatives of real things. Max Born (1953)”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Victor J. 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