All science is either physics or stamp collecting

All science is either physics or stamp collecting

Ernest Rutherford, a renowned physicist often referred to as the "father of nuclear physics," is famously quoted as saying, "All science is either physics or stamp collecting." This statement has sparked much debate and discussion among scientists and scholars over the years.

Rutherford's statement can be interpreted in a few different ways. On one hand, he may have been emphasizing the importance of physics as the fundamental science that underpins all other branches of science. Physics deals with the fundamental laws of nature and seeks to understand the basic principles that govern the universe. In this sense, Rutherford may have been suggesting that all other sciences are simply applications or extensions of physics.

On the other hand, Rutherford's statement can also be seen as a critique of certain branches of science that he believed were less rigorous or less fundamental than physics. Stamp collecting, in this context, may refer to the practice of collecting and cataloging data or observations without necessarily seeking to understand the underlying principles or mechanisms at work. Rutherford may have been suggesting that some branches of science are more concerned with collecting facts and data than with developing theories or models to explain those facts.