Discussion Forum—A Way with Words, a fun radio show and podcast about language

Reminds me of one of the entries in my tagline file:   "In science one tries to tell people, in such a way as to be understood by everyone, something that no one ever knew before....in poetry, it's the exact opposite."   -Paul Dirac

The way I've always read that quote is that in science you're trying to explain intellectual truths that people didn't know before, in language that is as simple and clear as possible; while in poetry you're trying to remind people of truths that are other than intellectual and that people have always known but often forgotten.   The language you must use for the two purposes is different, of   course, and after all poets aim to touch people emotionally with beauty.   I don't know Dirac or Oppenheimer, except as names in books on science history; your interpretation may be correct.   But I confess mine pleases me more.   This despite the fact that I've never enjoyed poetry much, and have never felt that I'm successful at it myself.   I don't despise it, I just don't get it, mostly.

...Though come to think of it I like some of Kipling's very much, and Billy Collins.   Maybe I'm not a complete Philistine.   Anyway, I think of this quote not as disparaging poetry but as clarifying how it and science serve different functions.