“The method of guessing the equation seems to be a pretty effective way of guessing new laws”
The Character of Physical Law (1965)
Context: …Dirac discovered the correct laws for relativity quantum mechanics simply by guessing the equation. The method of guessing the equation seems to be a pretty effective way of guessing new laws. This shows again that mathematics is a deep way of expressing nature, and any attempt to express nature in philosophical principles, or in seat-of-the-pants mechanical feelings, is not an efficient way.
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Richard Feynman 181
American theoretical physicist 1918–1988Related quotes

“That's what law is: educated guesses at right and wrong.”
Source: Unwind

“Funny sort of science! I guess they were pretty ignorant in those days.”
“Don’t go running down our grandfathers. If it weren’t for them, you and I would be squatting in a cave, scratching fleas. No, Bub, they were pretty sharp; they just didn’t have all the facts. We’ve got more facts, but that doesn’t make us smarter.”
A Tenderfoot in Space (p. 691)
Short fiction, Off the Main Sequence (2005)

same passage in transcript: video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2NnquxdWFk&t=16m46s
The Character of Physical Law (1965)
Variant: In general we look for a new law by the following process. First we guess it. Then we compute the consequences of the guess to see what would be implied if this law that we guessed is right. Then we compare the result of the computation to nature, with experiment or experience, compare it directly with observation, to see if it works. If it disagrees with experiment it is wrong. In that simple statement is the key to science. It does not make any difference how beautiful your guess is. It does not make any difference how smart you are, who made the guess, or what his name is – if it disagrees with experiment it is wrong. That is all there is to it.

“Guesses based on guesses are of no value.”
Source: Forced Perspectives (2020), Chapter 2, “A Lot of M&Ms and Cigarettes” (p. 43)

Stuck on You.
Song lyrics, Can't Slow Down (1983)

“I guess I never felt I had an effect on people until I was in Korea.”
As quoted in Marilyn: a biography (1973) by Norman Mailer p. 21