'There is only one science, physics: everything else is social work.'
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- The speaker dismisses all fields except physics as merely social work, implying they lack hard empirical rigor.
- In plain terms
- Physics is the only real science; everything else is just helping people.
- What can you take from it?
- Prioritize hard sciences over social sciences for objective truth.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Is physics truly the only science?
- What value do non-hard sciences provide?
Another view
Reducing social sciences to service ignores their critical role in understanding human behavior.
More from James D. Watson
'No one may have the guts to say this, but if we could make better human beings by knowing how to add genes, why shouldn't we?'
Permalink to quote #2 'If we don't play god, who will?'
Permalink to quote #1
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