Pierre-Simon Laplace
Newton of France, transformed probability and celestial mechanics
Quotes by Pierre-Simon Laplace
The universe is a vast ocean of knowledge, waiting to be explored.
The human mind is capable of achieving great things.
The laws of nature are a reflection of the divine order.
The universe is a symphony of harmonious movements.
The human mind is capable of understanding the deepest mysteries of existence.
The laws of nature are a source of wonder and awe.
The universe is a living organism, constantly evolving.
The human mind is capable of creating its own destiny.
The laws of nature are a guide to a meaningful life.
The universe is a boundless source of inspiration.
We ought to regard the present state of the universe as the effect of its anterior state and as the cause of the one which is to follow. An intelligence which, at a given instant, knew all the forces animating nature and the respective positions of the beings composing it, if moreover it were sufficiently vast to submit these data to analysis, would embrace in the same formula the movements of the greatest bodies in the universe and those of the lightest atom; for it, nothing would be uncertain and the future, as the past, would be present to its eyes.
I had no need of that hypothesis.
What we know is not much, what we do not know is immense.
The more profound the knowledge of the human mind, the more it is convinced that the universe is a vast problem, the solution of which is reserved for the future.
It is an important question in the theory of probabilities to determine the probability that the sun will rise tomorrow, given that it has risen every day for a very long time.
Given a sufficient number of observations, the most complicated phenomena can be reduced to simple laws.
The theory of probability is just common sense reduced to calculation.
The human mind has been able to understand the movements of the stars, and to predict them with precision; it has been able to measure the earth, and to weigh the planets; it has been able to discover the laws of motion, and to apply them to all the phenomena of nature.
The more we know, the more we are convinced that we know nothing.
It is a singular fact that the most important discoveries in science have been made by men who were not seeking them.