If, in some cataclysm, all of scientific knowledge were to be destroyed, and only one… — Richard Feynman

If, in some cataclysm, all of scientific knowledge were to be destroyed, and only one sentence passed on to the next generations of creatures, what statement would contain the most information in the fewest words? I believe it is the atomic hypothesis (or the atomic fact, or whatever you wish to call it) that all things are made of atoms-little particles that move around in perpetual motion, attracting each other when they are a little distance apart, but repelling upon being squeezed and into one another.

1961
★ 1.8
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Feynman, Richard. Lecture at Caltech. c. 1961, Caltech, Pasadena, CA, USA.

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