Again and again the imaginary plan on which one attempts to build up that order breaks down and then we must try another. This imaginative vision and faith in the ultimate success are indispensable. The pure rationalist has no place here.
Meaning
Planck describes how scientists keep building theories that fail and then start again, relying on imagination as well as logic. Failed models are part of the process. When your own plan collapses, write down what it taught you and draft a different approach instead of abandoning the goal.
Source: Where Is Science Going? (1932)
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About the author
Max Planck (1858–1947) was a German theoretical physicist who originated quantum theory with his introduction of the quantum of action. He received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1918.
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