--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We have to remember that what we observe…" description: "\"“We have to remember that what we observe is not nature in itself but nature exposed to our method of questioning. ”\" — Werner Heisenberg" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0a/werner-heisenberg-4501_nature_we-have-to-remember-that-what-we-observe_286202.jpg" --- # We have to remember that what we observe is not nature in… ![“We have to remember that what we observe is not nature in itself but nature exposed to our method of questioning.” quote by Werner Heisenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0a/werner-heisenberg-4501_nature_we-have-to-remember-that-what-we-observe_286202.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0a/werner-heisenberg-4501_nature_we-have-to-remember-that-what-we-observe_286202.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0a/werner-heisenberg-4501_nature_we-have-to-remember-that-what-we-observe_286202.jpg) > ““We have to remember that what we observe is not nature in itself but nature exposed to our method of questioning. ”” [Werner Heisenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-heisenberg/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Our observations are shaped by the questions we ask, not just by nature itself. **In simple terms:** Observation depends on questioning. Key Takeaway Ask better questions to understand reality. Themes science philosophy perception Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical scientific When to use this quote - conducting experiments - designing surveys - teaching critical thinking - evaluating data - making policy decisions Key Concepts observer effect epistemology scientific method Questions to Reflect On - What assumptions underlie your observations? - How can you minimize question bias? A Different Perspective Questioning can bias results if not controlled. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Questioning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/questioning/) ## Related quotes > [“what we observe is not nature itself, but nature exposed to our method of questioning’.77”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-heisenberg/what-we-observe-is-not-nature-itself-but-nature-exposed-to-our-method/) [Werner Heisenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-heisenberg/) > [What we observe is not nature itself but nature exposed to our method of questioning. Our scientific work in physics consists in asking questions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-heisenberg/what-we-observe-is-not-nature-itself-but-nature-exposed-to-our-method-2/) [Werner Heisenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-heisenberg/) > [We cannot remember too often that when we observe nature, and especially the ordering of nature, it is always ourselves alone we are observing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/we-cannot-remember-too-often-that-when-we-observe-nature-and/) [Georg C. Lichtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/) > [“Remember. Observe, assess and act. No hesitation. No remorse.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-ramirez/remember-observe-assess-and-act-no-hesitation-no-remorse/) [Steven Ramirez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-ramirez/) > [Observation is the generative act in scientific discovery. For all its aberrations, the evidence of the senses is essentially to be relied upon provided…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-medawar/observation-is-the-generative-act-in-scientific-discovery-for-all-its/) [Peter Medawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-medawar/) > [“Whenever I observe something in nature that I (or mankind) think is wrong, I assume that I’m wrong and try to figure out why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-dalio/whenever-i-observe-something-in-nature-that-i-or-mankind-think-is/) [Ray Dalio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-dalio/) > [The place to observe nature is where you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burroughs/the-place-to-observe-nature-is-where-you-are/) [John Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burroughs/) > [Nothing makes me so happy as to observe nature and to paint what I see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-rousseau/nothing-makes-me-so-happy-as-to-observe-nature-and-to-paint-what-i-see/) [Henri Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-rousseau/) > [Study the behavior of animals and you will understand human psychology and sociology. Study a flower excited under sunlight, and you will understand how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzy-kassem/study-the-behavior-of-animals-and-you-will-understand-human/) [Suzy Kassem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzy-kassem/) > [It's the default premise in science: If you observe something in nature only once, you assume that what you've seen is typical. That's because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/it-s-the-default-premise-in-science-if-you-observe-something-in/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [That man can interrogate as well as observe nature was a lesson slowly learned in his evolution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-osler/that-man-can-interrogate-as-well-as-observe-nature-was-a-lesson/) [William Osler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-osler/) > [“Observe Nature thoughtfully rather than labour thoughtlessly” from “One Straw Revolution”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/observe-nature-thoughtfully-rather-than-labour-thoughtlessly-from-one/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Because I am a transvestite, people often assume that this gives me a special insight into the opposite gender. But this is rubbish: how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grayson-perry/because-i-am-a-transvestite-people-often-assume-that-this-gives-me-a/) [Grayson Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grayson-perry/) > [I think people need to be comfortable questioning the authority of a doctor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susannah-cahalan/i-think-people-need-to-be-comfortable-questioning-the-authority-of-a/) [Susannah Cahalan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susannah-cahalan/) > [Because of the womb being a central phenomenon in the feminine body, the whole psychology of woman differs: she is non-aggressive, non-inquiring, non-questioning, non-doubting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/because-of-the-womb-being-a-central-phenomenon-in-the-feminine-body/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) ## More by Werner Heisenberg > [“Revere those things beyond science which really matter and about which it is so difficult to speak.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-heisenberg/revere-those-things-beyond-science-which-really-matter-and-about/) [Werner Heisenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-heisenberg/) > [“In the history of science, ever since the famous trial of Galileo, it has repeatedly been claimed that scientific truth cannot be reconciled with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-heisenberg/in-the-history-of-science-ever-since-the-famous-trial-of-galileo-it/) [Werner Heisenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-heisenberg/) > [The more closely you look at one thing, the less closely can you see something else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-heisenberg/the-more-closely-you-look-at-one-thing-the-less-closely-can-you-see/) [Werner Heisenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-heisenberg/) > [I think that if a United States of Europe were to be formed, it would be in our interests to fight for it, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-heisenberg/i-think-that-if-a-united-states-of-europe-were-to-be-formed-it-would/) [Werner Heisenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-heisenberg/) > [Whether we electrons, light quanta, benzol molecules, or stones, we shall always come up against these two characteristics, the corpuscular and the undular.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-heisenberg/whether-we-electrons-light-quanta-benzol-molecules-or-stones-we-shall/) [Werner Heisenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-heisenberg/) > [It is probably true quite generally that in the history of human thinking the most fruitful developments frequently take place at those points where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-heisenberg/it-is-probably-true-quite-generally-that-in-the-history-of-human/) [Werner Heisenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-heisenberg/) > [If we made atomic bombs, we would bring about a terrible change in the world. Who knows what would happen from this?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-heisenberg/if-we-made-atomic-bombs-we-would-bring-about-a-terrible-change-in-the/) [Werner Heisenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-heisenberg/) > [The positivists have a simple solution: the world must be divided into that which we can say clearly and the rest, which we had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-heisenberg/the-positivists-have-a-simple-solution-the-world-must-be-divided-into/) [Werner Heisenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-heisenberg/) > [“what we observe is not nature itself, but nature exposed to our method of questioning’.77”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-heisenberg/what-we-observe-is-not-nature-itself-but-nature-exposed-to-our-method/) [Werner Heisenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-heisenberg/) > [A consistent pursuit of classical physics forces a transformation in the very heart of that physics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-heisenberg/a-consistent-pursuit-of-classical-physics-forces-a-transformation-in/) [Werner Heisenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-heisenberg/) > [ It was about three o'clock at night when the final result of the calculation \[which gave birth to quantum mechanics\] lay before me ...… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-heisenberg/it-was-about-three-o-clock-at-night-when-the-final-result-of-the/) [Werner Heisenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-heisenberg/) > [Only a few know, how much one must know to know how little one knows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-heisenberg/only-a-few-know-how-much-one-must-know-to-know-how-little-one-knows/) [Werner Heisenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-heisenberg/) > [I think that modern physics has definitely decided in favor of Plato. In fact the smallest units of matter are not physical objects in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-heisenberg/i-think-that-modern-physics-has-definitely-decided-in-favor-of-plato/) [Werner Heisenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-heisenberg/) > [The end of the First World War had thrown Germany's youth into great turmoil. The reins of power had fallen from the hands of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-heisenberg/the-end-of-the-first-world-war-had-thrown-germany-s-youth-into-great/) [Werner Heisenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-heisenberg/) > [Nature is made in such a way as to be able to be understood. Or perhaps I should put it-more correctly-the other way around,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-heisenberg/nature-is-made-in-such-a-way-as-to-be-able-to-be-understood-or/) [Werner Heisenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-heisenberg/) [Explore all 109 Werner Heisenberg quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-heisenberg/) ## More Nature quotes > [It is indeed a surprising and fortunate fact that nature can be expressed by relatively low-order mathematical functions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-carnap/it-is-indeed-a-surprising-and-fortunate-fact-that-nature-can-be/) [Rudolf Carnap](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-carnap/) > [Remember that your natural state is joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/remember-that-your-natural-state-is-joy/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Put on my J's and dance the whole night away Im naughty by nature like Im hip-hop hooray With my hands in the sky,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/put-on-my-j-s-and-dance-the-whole-night-away-im-naughty-by-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Borrow trouble for yourself, if that's your nature, but don't lend it to your neighbours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/borrow-trouble-for-yourself-if-that-s-your-nature-but-don-t-lend-it/) [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) > [There is no human nature, since there is no god to conceive it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/there-is-no-human-nature-since-there-is-no-god-to-conceive-it/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [“Men mistook measurement for understanding. And they always had to put themselves at the center of everything. That was their greatest conceit. The earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/men-mistook-measurement-for-understanding-and-they-always-had-to-put/) [Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/) > [“She was, he knew- and had known very early, he supposed- one of those rare and always lovely humans whose moral nature was so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-williams/she-was-he-knew-and-had-known-very-early-he-supposed-one-of-those/) [John Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-williams/) > [“When the water covers the earth the sun will vanish the darkess and the cold will come.When the last dragon and the last Elf…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/silvana-de-mari/when-the-water-covers-the-earth-the-sun-will-vanish-the-darkess-and/) [Silvana de Mari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/silvana-de-mari/) > [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/) [Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/) > [“It is not the force of the wind, but the depth of the roots.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/it-is-not-the-force-of-the-wind-but-the-depth-of-the-roots/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [The history of mankind interests us only as it exhibits a steady gain of truth and right, in the incessant conflict which it records…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-history-of-mankind-interests-us-only-as-it-exhibits-a-steady-gain/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Nothing is so powerful as an insight into human nature... what compulsions drive a man, what instincts dominate his action. If you know these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bernbach/nothing-is-so-powerful-as-an-insight-into-human-nature-what/) [William Bernbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bernbach/) > [Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/sing-like-no-one-s-listening-love-like-you-ve-never-been-hurt-dance/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) [Browse all 47,383 Nature quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We have to remember that what we observe is not nature in itself but nature exposed to our method of questioning. ”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Werner Heisenberg" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-heisenberg/we-have-to-remember-that-what-we-observe-is-not-nature-in-itself-but/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Nature" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-heisenberg/we-have-to-remember-that-what-we-observe-is-not-nature-in-itself-but/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0a/werner-heisenberg-4501_nature_we-have-to-remember-that-what-we-observe_286202.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0a/werner-heisenberg-4501_nature_we-have-to-remember-that-what-we-observe_286202.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0a/werner-heisenberg-4501_nature_we-have-to-remember-that-what-we-observe_286202.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We have to remember that what we observe is not nature in itself but nature exposed to our method of…” — Werner Heisenberg", "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": "Werner Heisenberg", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-heisenberg/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“We have to remember that what...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-heisenberg/we-have-to-remember-that-what-we-observe-is-not-nature-in-itself-but/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-heisenberg/we-have-to-remember-that-what-we-observe-is-not-nature-in-itself-but/#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 } } ] } ```