Periodically in the history of human observation the world of external reality has been rediscovered, reclassified, and redescribed. It is difficult for us to understand the reality of Democritus, of Aristotle, of Pliny, for they did not see what we see and yet we know them to be careful observers. We must concede that their universe was different from ours or that they warped it and to a certain extent created their own realities. And if they did, there is no reason to suppose that we do not. Possibly our warp is less, owing to our use of precise measuring devices. But, in immeasurables, we probably create our own world.

—John Steinbeck, 1948