Famous quotes
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“It is easy for the fool, especially the learned and scientific fool, to prove that there is no God, but, like the murmuring sea, which heeds not the scream of wandering birds, the soul of humanity murmurs for God, and confutes the erudite folly of the fool by disregarding it.”
John Service (Scottish divine) first seen 1877 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Salvation Here and Hereafter: Sermons and Essays (London: Macmillan and Co, 1877) X. "Christianity and Ritual", p. 217. Quoted in James Orr, The Christian View of God and the World, 7th ed. (Edinburgh: Andrew Elliot, 19…
“Many argue that the is inhumane, that meat is expensive, that it contains uric acid, that it may be tubercular, and so on. All this is too true; but I do not think that the scientific case for meat is sufficiently explained, or given its due as a body-builder and repairer, as a stimulant and appetizer, which is why, when most people go without it, they must have a substitute.”
Hallie Eustace Miles (1855–1947) first seen 1915 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: (133 pages; 160 recipes; 1st published in 1915)
“The-enemy-of-my-enemy-is-my-friend” goes a long way to explain most scientific controversies I’m familiar with; so much so, that one wonders why it is that such debates so quickly and permanently become polemically polarized. The long after-life of the medieval disputation-cum-duel?”
Lorraine Daston (born 1951) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“'s two specialties were s and birds, but during a trip he took north with and his sister Eva in 1823, he also collected plants. That may have been when Maria first discovered that she preferred botany too, since she preserved the specimens he "pulled up." Bachman also instilled in Maria his own habit of referring to plants by their scientific names.”
Marcia Bonta (born 1940) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“[The university must be] a hub of scientific activity, a true laboratory in which teachers and students work together to explore new truths and to re-examine issues that have already been discussed. In this way, students are nurtured to develop a critical spirit and, more importantly, given the special purpose of our University, a spirit of research.”
Agostino Gemelli (1878–1959) said by 1959 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The current fashion is to stress the social construction of scientific theories and concepts, and to deny that scientists are actually discovering the truth about the world, or that their efforts to do so have any moral or epistemological superiority to those of pseudoscientists, humanists, and theologians.”
Stephen G. Brush (born 1935) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We're basic researchers. It would be delightful if these things do filter into the world, but I'd like to believe that's not our mission. Our mission is to invent new scientific ideas and spread them, and hope they are useful to someone.”
Robert J. K. Jacob first seen 2014 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Callum Borchers, "Headband Could Help Brain Communicate with Computers", The Boston Globe, March 3, 2014.
“There have been two serious and recurring errors in Italy’s handling of the pandemic: the lack of scientific communication from the government and the decision to abandon the criteria of age and underlying health conditions in the vaccination campaign.”
Silvio Garattini (born 1928) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Bohm's vision is therefore truly a scientific formulation of the religious and philosophical mysticism from which we started, in which we find the complementary and fundamental roles of nothingness and everything, transformed into the modern physical versions of the vacuum and non-locality. (p. 84; 2008)”
Piergiorgio Odifreddi (born 1950) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Buddhism is therefore a wholly humanistic, democratic and scientific religion: this explains the interest it has aroused in Europe and America in recent times. This intrinsic interest is then combined with the allure of particular personalities and places, most notably the Dalai Lama and Tibet. (p. 202; 2008)”
Piergiorgio Odifreddi (born 1950) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Ultimately, Croce was a champion of scientific ignorance – and therefore of ignorance tout court – as well as a champion of lost causes. (p. 116)”
Piergiorgio Odifreddi (born 1950) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The greatest inspirations arrive from the strangest and most unexpected combinations of various cultural, technical, scientific and artistic positions. The world is increasingly a huge soup in which everything is combined and where ability consists in making combinations never considered before.”
Michele De Lucchi (born 1951) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The two Biological Sciences, ... considered as parts of , are Zoology and Botany. The latter is the natural history of the Vegetable Kingdom. It embraces every scientific inquiry that can be made respecting plants, their nature, their kinds, the laws which govern them, and the part they play in the general economy of the world.”
Asa Gray (1810–1888) first seen 1842 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: (1st edition published in 1842 with the title The Botanical Text-Book for Colleges, Schools and Private Students)
“I know for a fact that extraterrestrials are spying on us, keeping us under control. They fear us. Aliens are afraid of the use we can make of nuclear power, and have been here since the dawn of time. On UFOs we have remarkable scientific documentation, there is evidence of extraterrestrial vehicles. And if there are vehicles there must be someone inside too.”
Mario Borghezio (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Closely related to the questions of secular contraction and the are those vexed question of earthquakes, , the liquidity or solidity of the , and the of the earth's mass as a whole—all questions of the greatest interest, but still lingering on the battle-fields of scientific opinion.”
Robert Simpson Woodward (1849–1924) first seen 1889 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: (quote from p. 65; 1889 offprint; also published in Science, 6 September 1889, vol. 344, pp. 167–172)
“Just because you produce a great scientific theory doesn’t mean you’re not a corrupt human being. People like Newton and Schrödinger don’t belong up on a pedestal. There’s a phrase by the historian E.P. Thompson—“the condescension of posterity”—where it's very easy to think that we’re absolutely perfect today. But what are people going to think in 100 years’ time of the way we live?”
Patricia Fara (born 1948) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The literature on Ubuntu tends to ignore questions posed by modern scientific developments, particularly those associated with new technologies like artificial intelligence and genetic engineering. The literature on Ubuntu tends to focus on the human-to-human and the human-to-environment relationships, and the ontological, ethical and political issues associated with them”
Motsamai Molefe wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In addition to those maintained by the Federal and Territorial governments, the active scientific organizations of Hawaii include the , the , the , and the .”
Herbert E. Gregory (1869–1952) said by 1952 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“With the work of , Vesalius, and Harvey, s had again laid hold of the great scientific tools—observation, experiment, induction—which since have not slipped from their grasp.”
Lorande Loss Woodruff (1879–1947) said by 1947 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Grant but a single teleological explanation in biology, and you have left the path of scientific thinking. Plan there may be, but only a working plan, a vast experimentation still in course.”
Donald C. Peattie (1898–1964) said by 1964 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The NIIA undertakes a scientific study of international affairs all the time.”
Eghosa Osaghae wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We have the whole scientific world bent on the study of cause and effect. The verdict of the minds of men, our only criterion, is in favor, most pronouncedly, of cause, of causality. Is it not illogical, my friends, to have such a habit of mind, and still to stop short at the last cause or first cause of all? There must be a first cause; there is no escape from this.”
Francis Silas Marean Chatard (1834–1918) first seen 1881 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Christian Truths (1881)
“I remember reading The Matrix — it’s techno-babble, it’s scientific, I don’t even understand what I’m reading.”
Lela Rochon (born 1964) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In Spain, where this system has been used and is still in use on a larger scale than in any other country, there does not exist any treatise, or a single work, on the theory of this construction, or a single scientific explanation of this manner of building; not even an empirical explanation...”
Rafael Guastavino (1842–1908) said by 1908 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Could the professors and scientific men of these countries have seriously taken into consideration... cohesive strength.., though they knew of the existence of some cements.”
Rafael Guastavino (1842–1908) said by 1908 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“As documented by numerous historians, sociologists, and STS scholars, “merchants of doubt” (Oreskes and Conway 2010) in the pay of profitable industries disputed knowledge about the disastrous effects of leaded gasoline, tobacco smoke, ozone-depleting chemicals, acid rain, and climate change long past unequivocal scientific confirmation.”
Paul N. Edwards (born 2000) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“A new moral outlook is called for in which submission to the powers of nature is replaced by respect for what is best in man. It is where this respect is lacking that scientific technique is dangerous.”
Bertrand Russell (disputed) first seen 1931 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Attributed to Russell at the end of Isaac Asimov's short story Franchise from Russell's essay Science and Values, Scientific Outlook (1931).
“An alleged scientific discovery has no merit unless it can be explained to a barmaid.”
Ernest Rutherford (attributed) first seen 1973 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in Einstein: The Man and His Achievement (1973) by G. J. Whitrow, p. 42
“Without a doubt, we will succeed in moving forward, only if we have the capacity to reap the benefit of positive, scientific and social accomplishments of Western civilization.”
Mohammad Khatami (attributed) first seen 1997 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: (Islamic summit 1997)
“Enlightened humanity has sought in rational definiteness its liberating refuge from the dominating influence of the merely authoritative. At the present time, however, this has for a large part been lost to consciousness, and to many people scientific validity that has to be acknowledged appears as an oppressing authority.”
Paul Bernays (1888–1977) first seen 1959 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Bernays, Paul. "Comments on Ludwig Wittgenstein's Remarks on the foundations of mathematics." Ratio 2.1 (1959): 1-22.
“The power of Gould's analysis lies in his focus on particulars. Rather than attempt a grand critique of all “scientific” efforts aimed at justifying social inequalities, Gould performs a well-reasoned assessment of the errors underlying a specific set of theories and empirical claims.”
Stephen Jay Gould (1941–2002) said by 2002 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Richard York and Brett Clark, "Debunking as Positive Science: Reflections in Honor of the 25th Anniversary of Stephen Jay Gould’s The Mismeasure of Man", Monthly Review 57:9, February, 2006
“Boscovich's ideas exerted a deep influence on the work on the next following generation of physicist ... Our esteem for the purposefulness of Boscovich's great scientific work, and the inspiration behind it, increases the more as we realize the extent to which it served to pave the way for the later developments.”
Roger Joseph Boscovich (1711–1787) said by 1787 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Niels Bohr, as quoted in Roger Boscovich The Founder of Modern Science by Roger Anderton and Dragoslav Stoiljkovich (2014).
“Power is dispersed through many different families, churches, schools, universities, corporations, partnerships, business associations, scientific societies, unions, clubs, and myriad other associations. There’s plenty of competition, and people have overlapping interests. The social order isn’t controlled by anybody—it evolves spontaneously.”
Rudolph Rummel (1932–2014) said by 2014 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“There are two ways in which a science develops; in response to problems which is itself creates, and in response to problems that are forced on it from the outside.”
Ian Hacking (1936–2023) said by 2023 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The enormity of the universe revealed by science cannot readily be grasped by the human brain, but the music of The Planets enables the mind to acquire some comprehension of the vastness of space where rational understanding fails.”
Gustav Holst (1874–1934) first seen 1874 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quoted in Michael Short, Gustav Holst 1874-1934: A Centenary Documentation
“In the domain of political economy the abstract doctrines of science leave me perfectly cold, my only standard of judgment being experience.”
Otto von Bismarck (1815–1898) first seen 1870 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in W. H. Dawson, Bismarck and State Socialism: An Exposition of the Social and Economic Legislation of Germany since 1870 (1891), p. 54
“The more the Jew is a Jew, the more universalist will his views and aspirations be, the less aloof will he be from anything that is noble and good, true and upright, in art or science, in culture or education; the more joyfully will he applaud whenever he sees truth and justice and peace and the ennoblement of man prevail and become dominant in human society.”
Samson Raphael Hirsch (1808–1888) said by 1888 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“By the glare of false science betray’d, That leads to bewilder, and dazzles to blind.”
James Beattie (1735–1803) said by 1803 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Let us admit that no matter how small the chance it could happen, one molecule could be created by such astronomical odds of chance. However, one molecule is of no use. Hundreds of millions of identical ones are necessary. Thus we either admit the miracle or doubt the absolute truth of science.”
Pierre Lecomte du Noüy (1883–1947) first seen 1947 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Human Destiny, 1947, p. 33
“I like to think of music as an emotional science.”
George Gershwin (1898–1937) said by 1937 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Science is a line, art a superficies, and life, or the knowledge of God, a solid.”
Coventry Patmore (1823–1896) said by 1896 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The law is a sort of hocus-pocus science, that smiles in yer face while it picks yer pocket; and the glorious uncertainty of it is of mair use to the professors than the justice of it.”
Charles Macklin (1699–1797) first seen 1759 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Love à la Mode (1759), Act ii. Sc. 1.
“Stand not a beggar before the door of science seeking power that kills more than heals.”
Swami Sivananda (1887–1963) said by 1963 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Yoga is the science that teaches you the method of uniting the individual will with the Cosmic Will. Yoga transmutes the unregenerate nature and increases energy, vitality, vigour, and bestows longevity and a high standard of health. Try to increase the power of concentration. Japa will help you to have a one-pointed mind. (What Is Actual Yoga)”
Swami Sivananda (1887–1963) said by 1963 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Et musique est une science Qui veut qu'on rie et chante et dance. Cure n'a de merencolie, Ne d'homme qui merencolie A chose qui ne puet valoir, Eins met tels gens en nonchaloir. Partout ou elle est joie y porte; Les desconfortez reconforte, Et nes seulement de l'oir Fait elle les gens resjoir.”
Guillaume de Machaut (1300–1377) said by 1377 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Le Prologue", line 85; translation from Ross W. Duffin (ed.) A Performer's Guide to Medieval Music (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2000) p. 190.
“Imagine a person, tall, lean and feline, high-shouldered, with a brow like Shakespeare and a face like Satan, ... one giant intellect, with all the resources of science past and present ... Imagine that awful being, and you have a mental picture of Dr. Fu-Manchu, the yellow peril incarnate in one man.”
Sax Rohmer (1883–1959) said by 1959 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I believe there is no philosophical high-road in science, with epistemological signposts. No, we are in a jungle and find our way by trial and error, building our road behind us as we proceed. We do not find signposts at crossroads, but our own scouts erect them, to help the rest.”
Max Born (1882–1970) first seen 1943 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Experiment and Theory in Physics (1943), p. 44
“The continuity of our science has not been affected by all these turbulent happenings, as the older theories have always been included as limiting cases in the new ones.”
Max Born (1882–1970) said by 1970 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in Beyond Positivism and Relativism : Theory, Method, and Evidence (1996) by Larry Laudan, p. 259
“This very real difference between GM plants and their conventional counterparts is one of the basic truths that biotech proponents have endeavoured to obscure. As part of the process, they portrayed the various concerns as merely the ignorant opinions of misinformed individuals – and derided them as not only unscientific, but anti-science.”
Jane Goodall (1934–2025) said by 2025 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“He closed the door carefully, as though his whole life had been spent in the exact science of closing doors.”
John Fante (1909–1983) said by 1983 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source