Dirac, Paul

"To understand the physical world, one must first understand mathematics."

"A successful theory must have a mathematical foundation."

"The gravitational field is produced by the presence of matter and its energy."

"One finds it strange to turn to past scientific theories in order to find forgotten truths."

"Method is more important than strength, when you wish to control your enemies."

"The ability to observe without judging is the first and last laboratory skill."

"It is important that we should be able to imagine new possibilities."

"The study of physics is ultimately the study of simplicity."

"I don't mind how abstract mathematics is, as long as it is in the service of truth."

"Nature has its own logic, and we must learn to speak it."

"The fundamental constants of nature are windows into the deepest structure of reality."

"One can think of the universe as being built up of separate identifiable portions."

"The electron is an essentially simple structure."

"When you have an inconsistency, you know that you must change something."

"God plays dice after all, but the dice are always loaded."

"The aim of the physicist is to understand the world and to predict its future behaviour."

"Most of the fundamental ideas of science are essentially simple."

"A physicist is not someone who is good at mathematics; a physicist is someone who can think clearly."

"One must have a consistent theory to make predictions that are testable."

"The power of mathematics lies in its ability to describe nature with precision and elegance."

"I have not been able to understand success in terms of anything but luck."

"When faced with the choice between elegance and accuracy, elegance should win."

"The joy of understanding how nature works is reward enough for any scientist."

"What is the use of a rule when you have no laws to govern it?"

"The more success the quantum theory has, the sillier it looks."

"To make progress, one must abandon old ways of thinking."

"The universe is governed by laws, and our task is to discover them."

"In every scientific discovery there is a moment when you realize something profound about nature."

"One must separate the messenger from the message."

"Tolerance is the virtue of those who appreciate that they might be wrong."