Science Quote by Roger Penrose

Penrose is swatting at a reflex that’s become almost theological in modern high-energy physics: when reality won’t fit, bolt on more space. His line is deceptively modest, but it carries a sharp methodological rebuke. Twistor theory, in his original pitch, isn’t a baroque escape hatch into hidden dimensions; it’s an attempt to redraw the map so the old terrain suddenly makes sense. The provocation is that the problem might be our coordinates, not the universe.

The intent is partly defensive. Twistor theory often gets lumped in with other “beyond standard” frameworks, and Penrose is insisting on a difference in taste and principle. Extra dimensions can feel like a kind of accounting trick: introduce more degrees of freedom so the equations balance. Twistors, by contrast, change the fundamental language. They recast spacetime events into objects better aligned with light cones and conformal structure, foregrounding causality and the geometry of null rays. It’s a move of intellectual minimalism masquerading as radicalism.

The subtext is Penrose’s lifelong suspicion of physics that grows by ornamentation rather than insight. He’s always been drawn to ideas where elegance is earned, not purchased. In the broader context - string theory’s long dominance and its cultural prestige - this becomes a pointed counterclaim about what “deep” looks like. Don’t inflate the universe; learn to see it differently. That’s why the sentence lands: it’s not an explanation, it’s a philosophy of restraint disguised as a technical aside.