Larry Wall (1954) American computer programmer and author, creator of Perl
[20031213210102.GE18685@wall.org, 2003]
Usenet postings, 2003
Source: Never Let Me Go
Larry Wall (1954) American computer programmer and author, creator of Perl
[20031213210102.GE18685@wall.org, 2003]
Usenet postings, 2003
Colum McCann book Let the Great World Spin
Let the Great World Spin (2009), Book Three: All Hail and Hallelujah
Olympia Snowe (1947) United States Senator from Maine
As quoted in "Andrea Mitchell's exclusive interview with Sen. Olympia Snowe" by Weesie Vieira (29 February 2012).
“Don't we all live in our heads? Where else could we possibly exist? Our brainsthe universe.”
Kate DiCamillo (1964) American children's writer
Source: Flora and Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures
“Physics is like sex: sure, it may give some practical results, but that's not why we do it.”
Richard Feynman (1918–1988) American theoretical physicist
Does not appear to be from any of his books or cited in a biography. A Google Books search shows that the oldest book citing "physics is like sex" is Scary Monsters and Bright Ideas (2000) by science broadcaster Robyn Williams. On p. 44, this book claims: "Einstein said, 'You do not really understand something unless you can explain it to your grandmother'. Richard Feynman added, 'Physics is like sex: sure, it may give some practical results, but that's not why we do it'." Given that Einstein didn't really say the former, it's likely that Feynman didn't really say the latter.
Disputed and/or attributed
Variant: Physics is like sex: sure, it may give some practical results, but that's not why we do it.
“We had great sex, but we argued politics. […] Now we enjoy politics and argue sex.”
Harvey Fierstein (1954) actor from the United States
This Is Not Going to Be Pretty, Live at the Bottom Line (1995), Safe Sex