Richard Feynman — "The thing about science is that it's all about discovery. It's all about trying …"
The thing about science is that it's all about discovery. It's all about trying to find out what's going on.
Get This Quote & Author's Image Illustrated On:
Click any product to generate a realistic preview. Up to 3 at a time.
* Initial load can take up to 90 seconds — revising the preview in another color is nearly instant.
Kitchen
Apparel
Other
More from Richard Feynman
"I would often go to these conferences where they would talk about the ultimate theory, and I would always say, 'What's the ultimate experiment?'"
"I just want to understand the world, and I find that the best way to do that is to ask a lot of questions."
"It doesn't seem to me that this fantastically marvelous universe, this tremendous range of time and space and different kinds of animals, and all the different planets, and all these atoms with all th…"
"I found myself in a situation where I was giving an answer to a question that I didn't understand, and that alarmed me."
"The thing that bothers me is that I can tell that the students don't understand. They are taught to remember things, but they don't understand."
About Richard Feynman (1918-1988)
American theoretical physicist who shared the 1965 Nobel for QED, developed Feynman diagrams, and wrote the Feynman Lectures on Physics. Closely associated with Julian Schwinger (co-Nobelist for QED) and Murray Gell-Mann (Caltech rival and Eightfold-Way physicist). For an intellectual contrast, see Deepak Chopra, physician and quantum-mysticism author — Feynman's Caltech 'cargo cult science' commencement address is the precise template for what he saw as misuse of physics terminology — Chopra-style appropriation of quantum vocabulary for metaphysical claims is the canonical example of what Feynman called 'fooling yourself'.
Verification
Unverifiable
Found in 1 providers: grok
1 source checked
Understanding this quote
What it means
Science is fundamentally an act of exploration rather than confirmation. It means approaching the universe with genuine curiosity, following evidence wherever it leads, and accepting that you don't yet know the answer. The goal isn't to prove what you already believe but to uncover how things actually work, even when the truth is strange or uncomfortable.
Relevance to Richard Feynman
Feynman embodied this relentlessly. His Nobel Prize-winning work in quantum electrodynamics emerged from playing with spinning plates and following curiosity without a fixed destination. He taught physics through raw wonder, not rote formulas, famously saying he'd rather have questions than answers. His Challenger investigation, his bongo drumming, his safe-cracking—all reflected a man compelled to find out how things work.
The era
Feynman worked through the Cold War and post-WWII scientific boom, when science was simultaneously celebrated and weaponized. The Manhattan Project showed science could destroy cities; Sputnik made discovery a geopolitical race. Against this backdrop of politicized science, Feynman insisted discovery must remain pure—driven by curiosity, not ideology or national interest—a stance that felt radical when governments funded science to win wars.
AI-generated insights based on extensive research and information for context. Factual errors? Email [email protected].