Sheldon Glashow

Physics American 1932 393 quotes

Shared the Nobel Prize for his contributions to the electroweak unification theory.

Most quoted

"The Standard Model is a theory of almost everything, but not quite everything. It's a theory of the strong, weak, and electromagnetic interactions, but it doesn't include gravity. And it doesn't explain why there are three generations of quarks and leptons, or why the Higgs boson has the mass it does."

— from Various interviews and lectures

"We do not ask for what end the birds do sing, for song is their pleasure since they were created for song. Similarly, we ought not to ask why the human mind troubles to fathom the secrets of the heavens."

— from Nobel Lecture, 1991

"Grand Unified Theories (GUTs) are beautiful, but they're not necessarily true. They're a step in the right direction, but they're not the final answer."

— from Various interviews and lectures

All quotes by Sheldon Glashow (393)

The Standard Model is a testament to the power of human intellect.

Article 1999

We must never stop asking 'why?'

Talk 2006

The electroweak theory was a bold prediction that turned out to be correct.

Nobel Lecture 1979

The universe is a vast laboratory.

Interview 1980

The joy of discovery is what keeps us going.

Speech 1990

The universe is a complex tapestry of forces and particles.

Book 1995

Science is a journey, not a destination.

Essay 2000

The electroweak theory opened up a whole new world of physics.

Nobel Lecture 1979

We are still trying to understand the fundamental nature of reality.

Lecture 1985

The universe is a source of endless fascination.

Interview 1992

Superstring theory is the ultimate theory of everything, but it explains nothing.

Interview 2003

Physics is like sex: sure, it may give some practical results, but that's not why we do it.

Speech 1980

The universe is not only stranger than we imagine, it is stranger than we can imagine.

Book 1990

In science, we must be prepared to abandon our pet theories when the facts demand it.

Nobel Lecture 1979

Beauty in physics is not just aesthetics; it's the hallmark of truth.

Article 1985

String theorists are like medieval alchemists, chasing gold but finding only lead.

Interview 2006

The electroweak theory was born from the marriage of weak and electromagnetic forces.

Paper 1967

Life is too short for ugly theories.

Speech 1995

Quantum mechanics is counterintuitive, but that's what makes it profound.

Book 1975

We physicists are dreamers, but our dreams must be grounded in experiment.

Lecture 1982