Leonard Susskind quotes - page 2

Leonard Susskind is an American theoretical physicist and professor, recognized as one of the founding fathers of string theory. His research has contributed significantly to quantum field theory, black hole physics, and the concept of the holographic principle. He has also written several popular science books, inspiring countless students and science enthusiasts. Here are 41 of his quotes:

Whether or not evolution is compatible with faith, science and religion represent two extremely different worldviews, which, if they coexist at all, do so most uncomfortably.

Leonard Susskind

Physics is perceived as a lonesome, nerdy kind of enterprise that has very little to do with human feelings and the things that excite people day-to-day about each other. Yet physicists in their own working environment are very social creatures.

Leonard Susskind

It seems hopelessly improbable that any particular rules accidentally led to the miracle of intelligent life. Nevertheless, this is exactly what most physicists have believed: intelligent life is a purely serendipitous consequence of physical principles that have nothing to do with our own existence.

Leonard Susskind

Man - life in general - seems irrelevant to the workings of the universe: a mere smudge of water, grease, and carbon on a pinpoint planet circling a star of no special consequence.

Leonard Susskind

I'm not going to argue with people about the existence of God. I have not the vaguest idea of whether the universe was created by an intelligence.

Leonard Susskind

The most important single thing about string theory is that it's a highly mathematical theory, and the mathematics holds together in a very tight and consistent way. It contains in its basic structure both quantum mechanics and the theory of gravity. That's big news.

Leonard Susskind

Is the universe 'elegant,' as Brian Greene tells us? Not as far as I can tell, not the usual laws of particle physics, anyway. I think I might find the universal principles of String Theory most elegant - if I only knew what they were.

Leonard Susskind

I have always enjoyed explaining physics. In fact it's more than just enjoyment: I need to explain physics.

Leonard Susskind

I'm a great believer that scientists should spend as much time as possible explaining, and you do explain in the process of teaching.

Leonard Susskind

I went to college because my father thought that I should learn engineering, because he wanted to go into the heating business with me. There, I realized I wanted to be a physicist. I had to tell him, which was a somewhat traumatic experience.

Leonard Susskind

I have a funny mental framework when I do physics. I create an imaginary audience in my head to explain things to - it is part of the way I think. For me, teaching and explaining, even to my imaginary audience, is part of the process.

Leonard Susskind

You are a victim of your own neural architecture which doesn't permit you to imagine anything outside of three dimensions. Even two dimensions. People know they can't visualise four or five dimensions, but they think they can close their eyes and see two dimensions. But they can't.

Leonard Susskind

The dark energy is not exactly zero, but the first 122 decimal points are zero. That's crazy. That is really one of the craziest things we've ever discovered.

Leonard Susskind

The word 'universe' is obviously not intended to have a plural, but science has evolved in such a way that we need a plural noun for something similar to what we ordinarily call our universe.

Leonard Susskind