--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The natural scientist is concerned with a…" description: "\"The natural scientist is concerned with a particular kind of phenomena ... he has to confine himself to that which is reproducible ... I do not claim t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77d/wolfgang-pauli-14510_aim_the-natural-scientist-is-concerned-with_2289423.png" --- # The natural scientist is concerned with a particular kind… ![“The natural scientist is concerned with a particular kind of phenomena ... he has to confine himself to that which is reproducible ... I do not claim that the reproducible by itself is more important than the unique. But I do claim that the unique exceeds the treatment by scientific method. Indeed…” quote by Wolfgang Pauli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77d/wolfgang-pauli-14510_aim_the-natural-scientist-is-concerned-with_2289423.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77d/wolfgang-pauli-14510_aim_the-natural-scientist-is-concerned-with_2289423.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77d/wolfgang-pauli-14510_aim_the-natural-scientist-is-concerned-with_2289423.png) > “The natural scientist is concerned with a particular kind of phenomena ... he has to confine himself to that which is reproducible ... I do not claim that the reproducible by itself is more important than the unique. But I do claim that the unique exceeds the treatment by scientific method. Indeed it is the aim of this method to find and test natural laws...” [Wolfgang Pauli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-pauli/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Science focuses on reproducible phenomena, but unique, non‑reproducible events can surpass methodical treatment in importance. **In simple terms:** Unique events can be more significant than repeatable ones. Key Takeaway Appreciate both reproducibility and uniqueness. Themes science methodology uniqueness Mood analytical inquisitive Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - research design - innovation - creative problem solving Key Concepts epistemology philosophy of science Questions to Reflect On - How can science incorporate unique phenomena? - What are the limits of reproducibility? A Different Perspective Focusing on uniqueness may challenge scientific rigor. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Natural law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/natural-law/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Scientific method](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scientific-method/) [Scientist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scientist/) [Tests](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tests/) [Treatment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/treatment/) ## Related quotes > [“Science, however, is never conducted as a popularity contest, but instead advances through testable, reproducible, and falsifiable theories.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michio-kaku/science-however-is-never-conducted-as-a-popularity-contest-but/) [Michio Kaku](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michio-kaku/) > [In my view, the only recourse for a scientist concerned about the social consequences of his work is to remain involved with it to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-william-galston/in-my-view-the-only-recourse-for-a-scientist-concerned-about-the/) Arthur William Galston > [When you study natural science and the miracles of creation, if you don't turn into a mystic you are not a natural scientist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-hofmann/when-you-study-natural-science-and-the-miracles-of-creation-if-you/) [Albert Hofmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-hofmann/) > [When everything is immediately available and infinitely reproducible, nothing is valuable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-frazier/when-everything-is-immediately-available-and-infinitely-reproducible/) [Charles Frazier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-frazier/) > [Biologists have long attempted by chemical means to induce in higher organisms predictable and specific changes which thereafter could be transmitted in series as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-avery/biologists-have-long-attempted-by-chemical-means-to-induce-in-higher/) Oswald Avery > [The pure natural scientist is liable to forget that minds exist, and that if it were not for them he could neither know nor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-d-broad/the-pure-natural-scientist-is-liable-to-forget-that-minds-exist-and/) [Charles D. Broad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-d-broad/) > [“I consider it an error in scientific communication that, most of the time, merely the polished and flawless results of natural research are displayed,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilhelm-reich/i-consider-it-an-error-in-scientific-communication-that-most-of-the/) [Wilhelm Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilhelm-reich/) > [“Infrastructure as Code.” If you’re going to do operations reliably, you need to make it reproducible and programmatic.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-loukides/infrastructure-as-code-if-you-re-going-to-do-operations-reliably-you/) Mike Loukides > [In my mind the job of a natural scientist is to bend over backwards to say something which can be demonstrated to be true…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lewontin/in-my-mind-the-job-of-a-natural-scientist-is-to-bend-over-backwards/) [Richard Lewontin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lewontin/) > [“What was the nature of the universe into which she had been born? Why did it exist at all? If it had a purpose,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/what-was-the-nature-of-the-universe-into-which-she-had-been-born-why/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“Further, in the modern story, reality is that which is observable, measurable, and repeatable - the kinds of phenomena available, accessible, and verifiable to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-keel/further-in-the-modern-story-reality-is-that-which-is-observable/) [Tim Keel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-keel/) > [Science is composed of laws which were originally based on a small, carefully selected set of observations, often not very accurately measured originally; but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-hamming/science-is-composed-of-laws-which-were-originally-based-on-a-small/) [Richard Hamming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-hamming/) > [Our modern conception of the universe is so foreign to what even scientists generally believed a mere century ago that it is a tribute…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-m-krauss/our-modern-conception-of-the-universe-is-so-foreign-to-what-even/) [Lawrence M. Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-m-krauss/) > [By committing the scientific method to religious claims you're committing a logical fallacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-collins/by-committing-the-scientific-method-to-religious-claims-you-re/) [Francis Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-collins/) > [“The scientific method is famous for requiring objectivity and emotional detachment on the part of the investigator. Scientific experimentation also involves extensive manipulation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-heath/the-scientific-method-is-famous-for-requiring-objectivity-and/) [Joseph Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-heath/) ## More by Wolfgang Pauli > [Modern man, seeking a middle position in the evaluation of sense impression and thought, can, following Plato , interpret the process of understanding nature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-pauli/modern-man-seeking-a-middle-position-in-the-evaluation-of-sense/) [Wolfgang Pauli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-pauli/) > [Although I have no objection to accepting the existence of relatively constant psychic contents that survive personal ego, it must always be born in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-pauli/although-i-have-no-objection-to-accepting-the-existence-of-relatively/) [Wolfgang Pauli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-pauli/) > [ The fact of the existence of two theories \[causal and acausal\] that contradict each other in Jung ... corresponds psychologically to the vascillation between 3 and 4. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-pauli/the-fact-of-the-existence-of-two-theories-causal-and-acausal-that/) [Wolfgang Pauli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-pauli/) > [A colleague who met me strolling rather aimlessly in the beautiful streets of Copenhagen said to me in a friendly manner, "You look very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-pauli/a-colleague-who-met-me-strolling-rather-aimlessly-in-the-beautiful/) [Wolfgang Pauli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-pauli/) > [“Our friend Dirac has a creed; and the main tenet of that creed is: There is no God, and Dirac is his prophet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-pauli/our-friend-dirac-has-a-creed-and-the-main-tenet-of-that-creed-is/) [Wolfgang Pauli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-pauli/) > [One shouldn't work on semiconductors, that is a filthy mess; who knows whether any semiconductors exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-pauli/one-shouldn-t-work-on-semiconductors-that-is-a-filthy-mess-who-knows/) [Wolfgang Pauli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-pauli/) > [The fact that the author thinks slowly is not serious, but the fact that he publishes faster than he thinks is inexcusable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-pauli/the-fact-that-the-author-thinks-slowly-is-not-serious-but-the-fact/) [Wolfgang Pauli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-pauli/) > [When one analyzes the pre-conscious step to concepts, one always finds ideas which consist of 'symbolic images.' The first step to thinking is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-pauli/when-one-analyzes-the-pre-conscious-step-to-concepts-one-always-finds/) [Wolfgang Pauli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-pauli/) > [The layman always means, when he says reality that he is speaking of something self-evidently known; whereas to me it seems the most important…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-pauli/the-layman-always-means-when-he-says-reality-that-he-is-speaking-of/) [Wolfgang Pauli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-pauli/) > [The best that most of us can hope to achieve in physics is simply to misunderstand at a deeper level.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-pauli/the-best-that-most-of-us-can-hope-to-achieve-in-physics-is-simply-to/) [Wolfgang Pauli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-pauli/) > [God made the bulk; the surface was invented by the devil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-pauli/god-made-the-bulk-the-surface-was-invented-by-the-devil/) [Wolfgang Pauli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-pauli/) > [How can one avoid despondency if one thinks of the anomalous Zeeman effect?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-pauli/how-can-one-avoid-despondency-if-one-thinks-of-the-anomalous-zeeman/) [Wolfgang Pauli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-pauli/) > [If speculative ideas can not be tested, they're not science; they don't even rise to the level of being wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-pauli/if-speculative-ideas-can-not-be-tested-they-re-not-science-they-don-t/) [Wolfgang Pauli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-pauli/) > [From the point of view of logic, my report on 'Exclusion principle and quantum mechanics' has no conclusion. I believe that it will only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-pauli/from-the-point-of-view-of-logic-my-report-on-exclusion-principle-and/) [Wolfgang Pauli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-pauli/) > [For quite a while I have set for myself the rule if a theoretician says 'universal' it just means pure nonsense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-pauli/for-quite-a-while-i-have-set-for-myself-the-rule-if-a-theoretician/) [Wolfgang Pauli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-pauli/) [Explore all 46 Wolfgang Pauli quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-pauli/) ## More Aim quotes > [If you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zig-ziglar/if-you-aim-at-nothing-you-will-hit-it-every-time/) [Zig Ziglar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zig-ziglar/) > [A good aim surveys the present state of experience of pupils, and forming a tentative plan of treatment, keeps the plan constantly in view…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/a-good-aim-surveys-the-present-state-of-experience-of-pupils-and/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [The Christian man must aim at that complete obedience to God in which life finds its highest happiness, its greatest good, its perfect consummation,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barclay/the-christian-man-must-aim-at-that-complete-obedience-to-god-in-which/) [William Barclay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barclay/) > [ He \[an earnest young reporter\] seemed to share the view of many intelligent, well-educated, well-meaning people that, while adult literature may aim to be… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-paterson/he-an-earnest-young-reporter-seemed-to-share-the-view-of-many/) [Katherine Paterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-paterson/) > [In Bosnia, little children shot in the head by a guy who thinks it's okay to aim his gun at a child.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christiane-amanpour/in-bosnia-little-children-shot-in-the-head-by-a-guy-who-thinks-it-s/) [Christiane Amanpour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christiane-amanpour/) > [Design certainly has a cosmetic, aesthetic aim. It always aims at making things beautiful. But relevance is just as important. I often say, 'If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yves-behar/design-certainly-has-a-cosmetic-aesthetic-aim-it-always-aims-at/) [Yves Behar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yves-behar/) > [My aim was to make money for the bank. You lose track of the amounts involved when you are engaged in this kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-kerviel/my-aim-was-to-make-money-for-the-bank-you-lose-track-of-the-amounts/) [Jerome Kerviel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-kerviel/) > [My only aim is to clock a time that everyone remembers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hima-das/my-only-aim-is-to-clock-a-time-that-everyone-remembers/) [Hima Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hima-das/) > [My main aim has always been to do good quality films with roles that have some substance. With Power and Beauty there were loads…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-henstridge/my-main-aim-has-always-been-to-do-good-quality-films-with-roles-that/) [Natasha Henstridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-henstridge/) > [ I really enjoyed it - being involved in watching rushes and playback \[in "The Invisible Woman"\]. Ralph \[Fiennes\] was very open to my input,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felicity-jones/i-really-enjoyed-it-being-involved-in-watching-rushes-and-playback-in/) [Felicity Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felicity-jones/) > [My aim is to be counted among the top players.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/babar-azam/my-aim-is-to-be-counted-among-the-top-players/) [Babar Azam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/babar-azam/) > [The single aim of my life is that every child is: free to be a child, free to grow and develop, free to eat,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kailash-satyarthi/the-single-aim-of-my-life-is-that-every-child-is-free-to-be-a-child/) [Kailash Satyarthi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kailash-satyarthi/) > [The aim of good prose words is to mean what they say. The aim of good poetical words is to mean what they do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/the-aim-of-good-prose-words-is-to-mean-what-they-say-the-aim-of-good/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [Prescribing hard work for the soft, or easy work for the hardy, is generally nonsense. What is always needed in any aim is right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/prescribing-hard-work-for-the-soft-or-easy-work-for-the-hardy-is/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [To be normal is the ultimate aim of the unsuccessful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/to-be-normal-is-the-ultimate-aim-of-the-unsuccessful/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) Browse all 3,047 Aim quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The natural scientist is concerned with a particular kind of phenomena ... he has to confine himself to that which is reproducible ... I do not claim that the reproducible by itself is more important than the unique. But I do claim that the unique exceeds the treatment by scientific method. 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