"I think perhaps the most important problem is that we are trying to understand the fundamental workings of the universe via a language devised for telling one another when the best fruit is"
About this Quote
The intent isn’t to sneer at science; it’s to humble the listener. Pratchett is dramatizing a mismatch between evolved purpose and modern ambition. Language is optimized for social coordination, persuasion, and storytelling - functions that reward compression, metaphor, and shared assumptions. Physics, by contrast, demands precision, formalization, and a tolerance for counterintuitive truth. When we insist on explaining quantum mechanics or cosmology in everyday speech, we smuggle in the wrong intuitions: objects “behave,” time “flows,” nothingness “exists.” The verbs do too much, the nouns pretend to be solid, and our metaphors start driving the bus.
Context matters: Pratchett spent a career satirizing the stories people live inside, from religion to bureaucracy to “common sense.” Here, he’s aiming that satire at our most prestigious story of all - the story that the universe is fully legible to the human mouth. The punchline is evolutionary: we’re primates with shopping-list syntax, trying to narrate infinity without embarrassing ourselves.
Quote Details
| Topic | Deep |
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| Source | Help us find the source |
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Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Prachett, Terry. (2026, January 16). I think perhaps the most important problem is that we are trying to understand the fundamental workings of the universe via a language devised for telling one another when the best fruit is. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-think-perhaps-the-most-important-problem-is-90463/
Chicago Style
Prachett, Terry. "I think perhaps the most important problem is that we are trying to understand the fundamental workings of the universe via a language devised for telling one another when the best fruit is." FixQuotes. January 16, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-think-perhaps-the-most-important-problem-is-90463/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"I think perhaps the most important problem is that we are trying to understand the fundamental workings of the universe via a language devised for telling one another when the best fruit is." FixQuotes, 16 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-think-perhaps-the-most-important-problem-is-90463/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.
