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About this quote

What does it mean?
Feynman suggests that nature's patterns are woven with long threads, so small details reveal the whole.
In plain terms
Small parts of nature show the organization of the entire system.
What can you take from it?
Study small details to understand the whole system.

Where it applies

  • scientific research
  • design
  • learning

Putting it to work

  • examine samples
  • look for patterns
  • scale up insights

Questions to consider

  • What small thing taught you about the big picture?
  • Where do you see patterns repeating?

Another view

Sometimes local details do not reflect the whole.

More from Richard Feynman

  1. Mathematics is not real, but it feels real. Where is this place?

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  2. People say to me, 'Are you looking for the ultimate laws of physics?' No, I'm not... If it turns out there is a simple ultimate law which explains everything, …

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  3. It doesn't matter how beautiful your theory is, it doesn't matter how smart you are. If it doesn't agree with experiment, it's wrong.

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