It's not observation but theory that led me to this result that experience has confirmed afterwards.
• Explaining how he was led to discover the law characterizing interference fringes, in Œuvres complètes d'Augustin Fresnel (1866), p. 61
• It was not observation but theory which led me to this result which experience then confirmed.
• "Google Translate" (2020·05·09)
• Explaining how he was led to discover the law characterizing interference fringes, in Œuvres complètes d'Augustin Fresnel (1866), p. 61
• It was not observation but theory which led me to this result which experience then confirmed.
• "Google Translate" (2020·05·09)
“
Ce n'est point l'observation mais la théorie qui m'a conduit à ce résultat que l'expérience a ensuite confirmé.
• Variant translation:
— Augustin-Jean Fresnel
What It Means
This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "Ce n'est point l'observation mais la théorie qui m'a conduit à ce résultat que l'expérience a ensuite confirmé.
• Variant translation:" in the context of "It's not observation but theory that led me to this result that experience has confirmed afterwards.
• Explaining how he was led to discover the law characterizing interference fringes, in Œuvres complètes d'Augustin Fresnel (1866), p. 61
• It was not observation but theory which led me to this result which experience then confirmed.
• "Google Translate" (2020·05·09)" to mean that wisdom is timeless.
Source: Wikiquote: "Augustin-Jean Fresnel" (Quotes)
The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
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About Augustin-Jean Fresnel
Augustin-Jean Fresnel (10 May 1788 – 14 July 1827) was a French civil engineer and physicist whose research in optics led to the almost unanimous acceptance of the wave theory of light, excluding any remnant of Newton's corpuscular theory, from the late 1830s until the end of the 19th century. But he is perhaps better known for inventing the catadioptric (reflective/refractive) Fresnel lens and for pioneering the use of "stepped" lenses to extend the visibility of lighthouses, saving unknown numbers of lives at sea.
About Augustin-Jean Fresnel
Augustin-Jean Fresnel (10 May 1788 – 14 July 1827) was a French civil engineer and physicist whose research in optics led to the almost unanimous acceptance of the wave theory of light, excluding any remnant of Newton's corpuscular theory, from the late 1830s until the end of the 19th century. But he is perhaps better known for inventing the catadioptric (reflective/refractive) Fresnel lens and for pioneering the use of "stepped" lenses to extend the visibility of lighthouses, saving unknown numbers of lives at sea.
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