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Book: Six Not-So-Easy Pieces: Einstein's Relativity, Symmetry, and Space-Time
Quotes of Book: Six Not-So-Easy Pieces:
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  1. Richard P. Feynman _ Six Not-So-Easy Pieces:

    So our problem is to explain where symmetry comes from. Why is nature so nearly symmetrical? No one has any idea why. The only thing we might suggest is something like this: There is a gate inJapan, a gate in Neiko, which is sometimes called by the Japanesethe most beautiful gate in all Japan; it was built in a time whenthere was great influence from Chinese art. This gate is very elaborate,with lots of gables and beautiful carving and lots of columnsand dragon heads and princes carved into the pillars, and so on.But when one looks closely he sees that in the elaborate and complexdesign along one of the pillars, one of the small design elementsis carved upside down; otherwise the thing is completelysymmetrical. If one asks why this is, the story is that it was carvedupside down so that the gods will not be jealous of the perfectionof man. So they purposely put an error in there, so that the godswould not be jealous and get angry with human beings.We might like to turn the idea around and think that the trueexplanation of the near symmetry of nature is this: that God madethe laws only nearly symmetrical so that we should not be jealousof His perfection!
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