"Inexactness" or the "uncertainty" principle, as formulated by
physicist Werner Heisenberg, is an end often seen as the
beginning. It reflects T.S. Eliot's observation: "what she
gives, gives with such supple confusions that the giving
famishes the craving". In 1927, Heisenberg showed that
uncertainty is inherent in quantum mechanics. It is impossible
to simultaneously measure certain properties—position and
momentum. In the quantum world, matter can take the form of
either particle or waves. Fundamental elements are neither
particles nor waves, but can behave as either and are merely
different theoretical ways of picturing the quantum world. The
profound beauty of Inexactness transects science, mathematics,
method, philosophy, linguistics and faith. Inexactness marks an
end to certainty. In seeking to measure one property more
precisely and accurately, the ability to measure the other
property is undermined. The act of measurement negates elements
of our knowledge of the system. It undermines scientific dete