We must be clear that when it comes to atoms, language can be used only as in poetry. The poet, too, is not nearly so concerned with describing facts as with creating images and establishing mental connections.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Describing atoms requires poetic language that creates mental images rather than strict factual descriptions.
- In plain terms
- Talking about atoms is like writing poetry, not listing facts.
- What can you take from it?
- Use metaphor when science words fail.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How do you explain the unexplainable?
- Is poetry valid science?
Another view
Technical precision may suffer with poetic language.
More from Niels Bohr
The great extension of our experience in recent years has brought light to the insufficiency of our simple mechanical conceptions and, as a consequence, has sh…
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Permalink to quote #3 What is it that we humans depend on? We depend on our words... Our task is to communicate experience and ideas to others. We must strive continually to extend …
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