Famous quotes
Quotes by famous people, credited to who said them. Your own quotes must not match any of these. More are added all the time. 1,158,808 quotes Who coined it · How we decide
EnglishItalianoPolskiעבריתFrançaisPortuguêsفارسیEspañol中文РусскийDeutschالعربيةहिन्दी日本語ΕλληνικάLatina
Science
LoveFriendshipHappinessHopeFearCourageDeathLifeTimeWarPeaceFreedomTruthWisdomKnowledgeScienceArtMusicNatureMoneyWorkPowerGodBeautyLaughterFamilySuccess and failureChangeDreamsBooks and reading
“Among the various forms of science which are reaching and affecting the new popular tradition, we have reckoned Anthropology. Pleasantly enough, Anthropology has herself but recently emerged from that limbo of the unrecognised in which Psychical Research is pining.”
Andrew Lang (1844–1912) first seen 1900 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Andrew Lang (1900) "[ Anthropology and Religion]", In: The Making of Religion, (Chapter II), Longmans, Green, and C°, London, New York and Bombay, 1900, pp. 39–64.
“Of science and logic he chatters, As fine and as fast as he can; Though I am no judge of such matters, I’m sure he’s a talented man.”
Winthrop Mackworth Praed (1802–1839) said by 1839 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The greatest achievement of humanity is not its works of art, science, or technology, but the recognition of its own dysfunction, its own madness.”
Eckhart Tolle (born 1948) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In merest prudence men should teach […] That science ranks as monstrous things Two pairs of upper limbs; so wings— E'en angels' wings!—are fictions.”
Henry Austin Dobson (1840–1921) said by 1921 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It is in the nature of science that once a position becomes orthodox it should be subjected to criticism.... It does not follow that, because a position is orthodox, it is wrong.”
John Maynard Smith (1920–2004) first seen 1976 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: (1976) Group Selection. Quarterly Review of Biology 51, 277-283.
“Considering the part played by the sciences in the story of our Western civilization, it is hardly possible to doubt the importance which the history of science will sooner or later acquire both in its own right and as the bridge which has been so long needed in between the Arts and the Sciences.”
Herbert Butterfield (1900–1979) first seen 1957 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Origins of Modern Science (1957) Introduction
“Science fiction … means what we point to when we say it.”
Damon Knight (1922–2002) said by 2002 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In God's body shop, each of us was customized. But science came along to substitute statistical inference for free will. We are now a tribe of likelihoods.”
John Leonard (critic) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“You can't invent yourself as you maunder on. Your fabrications aren't going to impress the blood test, the urinalysis or the chest X-ray. Science is not amused.”
John Leonard (critic) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“These things shall be! A loftier race Than e'er the world hath known, shall rise With flame of freedom in their souls, And light of science in their eyes.”
John Addington Symonds (1840–1893) first seen 1880 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: A Vista", st. 4. New and Old (1880) p. 226
“Psychohistory, as a science, will always be problem-centered, while history will always remain period-centered. They are simply two different tasks.”
Lloyd deMause (1931–2020) said by 2020 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Science packages theory, places it on a throne, and honors and protects it much like a queen. Engineers make the queen come down from the throne and scrub the floor. And if she doesn’t work, we fire her.”
Robert J. Marks II (born 1950) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Saying the Bible is not a book about science is like saying a cookbook is not a book about chemistry.”
Robert J. Marks II (born 1950) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Al Gore could really pollute a bathroom … Just look at the guy. If someone doesn't take away his pork 'n' beans, he's bound to get another one of those 'gut feelings' and mistake his own greenhouse gas production for science!”
Rachel Marsden (born 1974) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“To demand literal belief in the supernatural and impossible religious myths of antiquity is to remain dismally ignorant of the truths of science and nature. Religious mythologies have a purpose, sometimes good, sometimes bad, but only the credulous and simple-minded take them literally. The credulous will never conquer the cunning minions of ZOG.”
David Lane (white nationalist) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Science, if it is to be redintegrated should primarily not be limited, and thus be fearless. Any conditional limitation will be an evidence of mediocrity, and thus will become an unconquerable obstacle on the path of achievement. Ch. 1 Fearlessness”
Nicholas Roerich (1874–1947) said by 1947 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“To understand a science it is necessary to know its history.”
Auguste Comte (1798–1857) first seen 1832 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: A Course of Positive Philosophy (1832 - 1842) [Six volumes]
“Science does not stand still, and neither does philosophy, although the latter has a tendency to walk in circles.”
Peter Singer (born 1946) first seen 2011 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Afterword To The 2011 Edition, p. 187
“Government is, unquestionably, a science of compromises, but only of policies and interests, not of essential rights; and if of them, then the sacrifice must fall equally on all.”
George William Curtis (1824–1892) said by 1892 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Science is paramount, but presents no challenge to a creed that rests on faith-based belief.”
Joseph Silk (born 1942) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“While politicians wrangled on the front pages of our newspapers, quiet revolutions looked within. Only occasionally did the news I thought most notable make the front page. All of it hinged on the steady building of connections which marks modern science.”
Gregory Benford (born 1941) first seen 1997 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: A Scientist’s Notebook: Life on Mars?” in Fantasy & Science Fiction, February 1997, p. 111
“Science is about continuity of ideas, a web of connections.”
Gregory Benford (born 1941) first seen 1997 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: A Scientist’s Notebook: Life on Mars?” in Fantasy & Science Fiction, February 1997, p. 119
“It was getting the results that made science worth doing; the accolades were a thin, secondary pleasure.”
Gregory Benford (born 1941) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Science is like literature, a continuing dialog among diverse and conflicting voices, no one ever wholly right or wholly wrong, but a steady conversation forever provisional and personal and living.”
Gregory Benford (born 1941) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Only senators and simpletons thought science took place in neatly drawn boxes.”
Gregory Benford (born 1941) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“There were the usual anxieties, starkly revealing the uneasiness that ordinary intellectuals had with science.”
Gregory Benford (born 1941) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Boy, do I hate these holier-than-thou types.” “Clerics.” “Anybody who tries to hem science in, tell it what it can and cannot do. Boundaries are best defined by pushing against them. Expanding our horizons, our sense of wonder.” She smiled. “There’s nothing holier than wow!?”
Gregory Benford (born 1941) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Science’s success did not need a God to explain it; the world was enough.”
Gregory Benford (born 1941) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Science was a systematic way to avoid fooling yourself, after all.”
Gregory Benford (born 1941) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Puzzled frowns in the audience. Science reporters they might be, but high school chemistry was going a bit too deep for most.”
Gregory Benford (born 1941) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Metaphysics is the science of the Absolute or the true nature of things.”
Frithjof Schuon (1907–1998) said by 1998 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The lights of science couldn't hold a candle to Mary risen—at one miraculous stroke, angel-wing'd, gorgeous as a jungle bird!”
Robert Lowell (1917–1977) said by 1977 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“A science in its infancy is the least satisfactory, and, at the same time, the most profitable theme for a general description.”
Herbert Dingle (1890–1978) said by 1978 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Science raises itself above all Ages and all Times, embracing and apprehending the ONE UNCHANGING TIME as the higher source of all Ages and Epochs, and grasping that vast idea in its free, unbounded comprehension.”
Johann Gottlieb Fichte (1762–1814) said by 1814 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Those who delight in bad movies and enjoy producing their own unfilmed versions of Mystery Science Theater 3000 may gain a measure of semi-masochistic enjoyment out of Van Helsing. There are quite a few unintentionally funny moments, although the overall experience was too intensely painful for me to be able to advocate it as being "so bad, it's good.”
James Berardinelli (born 1967) first seen 2004 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Review of Van Helsing (2004).
“Blade Runner is a rare science fiction movie so full of material that pages can be written about it without scratching the surface. A review like this can provide little more than an overview. A detailed exploration of the movie, its style, and its mysteries requires dedication that only someone immersed in Blade Runner lore can provide.”
James Berardinelli (born 1967) first seen 1982 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Review of Blade Runner (1982).
“Although The Terminator is arguably the more visionary of the first two films, [Terminator 2] is the more visually and viscerally satisfying. It's an exhausting experience and, even 18 years after its release (as I write this review), few films have matched it within the science fiction genre for sheer white-knuckle exhilaration.”
James Berardinelli (born 1967) first seen 1991 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Review of Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991).
“Since 1977, there have been many science fiction movies, but none has managed to equal [A New Hope's] blend of adventure, likable characters, and epic storytelling.”
James Berardinelli (born 1967) first seen 1977 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Review of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977).
“The tender word and Christian encouragement of an invalid, pitiful patience with his fears and the removal of them, are better than hecatombs of gushing theories, stereotyped borrowed speeches, and the doling of arguments, which are but so many parodies on legitimate Christian Science, aflame with divine Love.”
Mary Baker Eddy (1821–1910) said by 1910 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The following is a brief exposition of the important points, or religious tenets, of Christian Science: —”
Mary Baker Eddy (1821–1910) said by 1910 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“How would you define Christian Science?”
Mary Baker Eddy (1821–1910) said by 1910 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“What is science? yard-measure and scale to philosophy, expert-accountant, bank clerk. What is poetry? miserable, ill-fed, underpaid, unionized labourer, pleased to oblige, grateful for work, flattering himself that poverty makes him an aristocrat.”
Laura Riding (1901–1991) first seen 1928 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: This Philosophy" from Anarchism Is Not Enough (London: Jonathan Cape, 1928)
“The Raelian Movement is an atheistic religion that perfectly merges science and spirituality, and it includes many female priests. Men and women must rise above their previous cultural conditioning and look to the future with a new awareness encompassing beauty and femininity.”
Raël (born 1946) first seen 2008 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Spanish Raelian Movement supports Zapatero's female majority cabinet, Raelianews.org (May 14, 2008).
“Witchery is merely a word for what we are all capable of — heightened nightsight, an empathy shared with the beasts, a utilization of the more obscure abilities of our minds. Nothing that science can't explain away. Wizardry is spells and enchantments. Fairy tales.”
Charles de Lint (born 1951) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We are trying to persuade people that no human has yet grasped 1% of what can be known about spiritual realities. So we are encouraging people to start using the same methods of science that have been so productive in other areas, in order to discover spiritual realities.”
John Templeton (1912–2008) first seen 2005 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Devout Donor" by Jessi Hempel in Business Week (28 November 2005)
“I'm really convinced that our descendants a century or two from now will look back at us with the same pity that we have toward the people in the field of science two centuries ago.”
John Templeton (1912–2008) said by 2008 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“[C]opyright assures authors the right to their original expression, but encourages others to build freely upon the ideas and information conveyed by a work. [...] This result is neither unfair nor unfortunate. It is the means by which copyright advances the progress of science and art.”
Sandra Day O'Connor (1930–2023) first seen 1991 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Feist Publications, Inc. v. Rural Telephone Service Co., 499 U.S. 340 (1991)
“The desire to economize time and mental effort in arithmetical computations, and to eliminate human liability to error is probably as old as the science of arithmetic itself.”
Howard H. Aiken (1900–1973) first seen 1937 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Proposed Automatic Calculating Machine" (1937)
“We have successfully built up our national strength and prestige, accepting and adding to our civilization the art and science of the West. Now, I believe, the time has come for us to carry our art and culture to other countries.”
Kōki Hirota (1878–1948) first seen 1936 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: To the Japanese Parliament on January 21, 1936. Quoted in "The Virginia quarterly review: A National Journal of Literature and Discussion" - Page 164 - by University of Virginia - 1936.
“The Science you don't know looks like magic.”
Christopher Moore (author) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source