Sir Arthur Eddington writes:

The search for physical reality is not necessarily utilitarian, but it has been by no means profitless. As the geometry became more complex, the physics became simpler; until finally it almost appears that the physics has been absorbed into the geometry. We did not consciously set out to construct a geometrical theory of the world; we were seeking physical reality by approved methods, and this is what happened.

(from Space, Time and Gravitation, Chapter XII (1920); quoted in part in "From This Angle, Geometry Rules the Universe" by K. C. Cole, Los Angeles Times (4 Nov 1999); cf. OnSomethingness (17 Jan 2000), No Concepts At All (22 Feb 2001), ...)

TopicScience - TopicLearning - 2005-11-12

(correlates: OnSomethingness, SherlockHolmes, NothingnessShowsThrough, ...)