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Science

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“The conscience of the world is so guilty that it always assumes that people who investigate heresies must be heretics; just as if a doctor who studies leprosy must be a leper. Indeed, it is only recently that science has been allowed to study anything without reproach.”
Aleister Crowley (1875–1947) said by 1947 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“As soon as you put men together, they somehow sink, corporatively, below the level of the worst of the individuals composing it. Collect scholars on a club committee, or men of science on a jury; all their virtues vanish, and their vices pop out, reinforced by the self-confidence which the power of numbers is bound to bestow.”
Aleister Crowley (1875–1947) said by 1947 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“To be independent of public opinion is the first formal condition of achieving anything great or rational whether in life or in science. Great achievement is assured, however, of subsequent recognition and grateful acceptance by public opinion, which in due course will make it one of its own prejudices”
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770–1831) said by 1831 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Sect. 318, as translated by T. M. Knox, (1952)
“The Arabs are one of the least developed cultures. They are typically nomads. Their culture is primitive, and they resent Israel because it's the sole beachhead of modern science and civilization on their continent. When you have civilized men fighting savages, you support the civilized men, no matter who they are.”
Ayn Rand (1905–1982) first seen 1974 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Ayn Rand Ford Hall Forum lecture (1974) text published on the website of The Ayn Rand Institute
“Our science arrived at maturity the day that Western man began to see that he would never understand himself as long as there was a single race or people on the surface of the earth that he treated as an object. Only then could anthropology declare itself in its true colours: as an enterprise reviewing and atoning for the Renaissance, in order to spread humanism to all humanity.”
Claude Lévi-Strauss (1908–2009) first seen 1960 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Scope of Anthropology (1960)
“In the same way that the Soviets' Sputnik satellite woke up the country to the need for math and science education, the outsourcing conversation cries out for a constructive, long-term solution that ensures Americans have world-class education, a world-class workforce and the ability to remain a competitive global leader." (2004)”
Ken Kay first seen 2004 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: High Tech, Strangled By the Beltway", The Washington Post, 13 March 2004
“Leadership is the art of accomplishing more than the science of management says is possible.”
Colin Powell (1937–2021) said by 2021 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Art is a concrete and personal and rather childish thing after all — no matter what people do to graft it into science and make it sociological and psychological; it is no good at all unless it is let alone to be itself — a game of make-believe, or re-production, very exciting and delightful to people who have an ear for it or an eye for it.”
Willa Cather (1873–1947) said by 1947 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“This is a massive and violent schism and rupture in the internal organs of today's global culture and this is exactly why many social analysts believe that if some sort of reconciliation between science and religion is not forthcoming, the future of humanity is, at best, precarious.”
Ken Wilber (born 1949) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Mr. Galton ...in his English Men of Science, has given ...cases showing individual variations in the type of memory... Some have it verbal. Others... for facts and figures, others for form. Most say... [it] must first be rationally conceived and assimilated.”
William James (1842–1910) said by 1910 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I wished, by treating Psychology like a natural science, to help her to become one.”
William James (1842–1910) first seen 1892 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: A Plea for Psychology as a Natural Science (1892)
“As a science of the unconscious it is a therapeutic method, in the grand style, a method overarching the individual case. Call this, if you choose, a poet's utopia.”
Thomas Mann (1875–1955) said by 1955 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The gesture that divides madness is the constitutive one, not the science that grows up in the calm that returns after the division has been made.”
Michel Foucault (1926–1984) first seen 1961 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Preface to 1961 edition
“In vain would science scan and trace Firmly her aspect. All the while, There gleams upon her far-off face A vague unfathomable smile.”
Alfred Austin (1835–1913) said by 1913 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Now, I know there are still a few who insist that climate change is one big hoax, even a political conspiracy. My friends, these people are so out of touch with science that they believe rising sea levels don’t matter, because, in their view, the extra water is just going to spill out over the sides of a flat Earth.” –”
John Kerry (born 1943) first seen 2015 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: December 9, 2015, Paris. Source: http://www.democracynow.org/2015/12/9/it_is_not_enough_despite_promise
“Go ahead and believe in God, if you like, but don't imagine that you have been given any grounds for such a belief by science.”
Daniel Dennett (1942–2024) first seen 2009 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: New York Times, letter to the editor (26 August 2009)
“It is not "scientism" to concede the objectivity and precision of good science, any more than it is history worship to concede that Napoleon did once rule in France and the Holocaust actually happened. Those who fear the facts will forever try to discredit the fact-finders.”
Daniel Dennett (1942–2024) said by 2024 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Those things which are sacred, are to be imparted only to sacred persons; and it is not lawful to impart them to the profane until they have been initiated in the mysteries of the science.”
Hippocrates (460–370 BC) said by 370 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In science you need to understand the world; in business you need others to misunderstand it.”
Nassim Nicholas Taleb (born 1960) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Asking science to explain life and vital matters is equivalent to asking a grammarian to explain poetry.”
Nassim Nicholas Taleb (born 1960) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Hard science gives sensational results with a horribly boring process; philosophy gives boring results with a sensational process; literature gives sensational results with a sensational process; and economics gives boring results with a boring process.”
Nassim Nicholas Taleb (born 1960) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Social science means inventing a certain brand of human we can understand.”
Nassim Nicholas Taleb (born 1960) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Survival comes first, truth, understanding, and science later.”
Nassim Nicholas Taleb (born 1960) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I don't know how many of you have ever met Dijkstra, but you probably know that arrogance in computer science is measured in nano-Dijkstras.”
Alan Kay (born 1940) first seen 1997 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Computer Revolution hasn't happened yet — 1997 OOPSLA Keynote
“Most creativity is a transition from one context into another where things are more surprising. There's an element of surprise, and especially in science, there is often laughter that goes along with the “Aha.” Art also has this element. Our job is to remind us that there are more contexts than the one that we're in — the one that we think is reality.”
Alan Kay (born 1940) first seen 2004 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: ACM Queue A Conversation with Alan Kay Vol. 2, No. 9 - Dec/Jan 2004-2005
“Science is a differential equation. Religion is a boundary condition.”
Alan Turing (1912–1954) first seen 1954 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Epigram to Robin Gandy (1954); reprinted in Andrew Hodges, Alan Turing: the Enigma (Vintage edition 1992), p. 513.
“Science fiction is like other writing. It is just novels and short stories with machines.”
Kurt Vonnegut (1922–2007) said by 2007 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The riot, then, was an exercise in science and theology—a seeking after clues by the living as to what life was all about.”
Kurt Vonnegut (1922–2007) said by 2007 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I have been a soreheaded occupant of a file drawer labeled "Science Fiction" … and I would like out, particularly since so many serious critics regularly mistake the drawer for a urinal.”
Kurt Vonnegut (1922–2007) first seen 1965 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Science Fiction"; originally published in The New York Times Book Review, 5 September 1965
“Science is now in the process of destroying religious dogma. The dogma of the divine creation is recognized as absurd.”
Benito Mussolini (1883–1945) first seen 1904 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted by Mussolini in 2000 Years of Disbelief: Famous People with the Courage to Doubt by James A. Haught (1966) p. 256. Originally came from Mussolini’s essay l'Homme et la Divinité, 1904.
“God does not exist—religion in science is an absurdity, in practice an immorality and in men a disease.”
Benito Mussolini (1883–1945) first seen 1924 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Religion: Benito a Christian?” Time magazine (August 25, 1924)
“I don't think science knows, actually.”
Donald Trump (born 1946) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Science has only one commandment: contribution.”
Bertolt Brecht (1898–1956) said by 1956 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As translated by Howard Brenton (1980)
“The aim of science is not to open the door to infinite wisdom, but to set some limit on infinite error.”
Bertolt Brecht (1898–1956) said by 1956 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Art and science coincide insofar as both aim to improve the lives of men and women. The latter normally concerns itself with profit, the former with pleasure. In the coming age, art will fashion our entertainment out of new means of productivity in ways that will simultaneously enhance our profit and maximize our pleasure.”
Bertolt Brecht (1898–1956) said by 1956 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Science is the knowledge of Consequences, and dependence of one fact upon another: by which, out of that we can presently do, we know how to do something else when we will, or the like, another time:”
Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679) said by 1679 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“But yet they that have no Science, are in better, and nobler condition with their naturall Prudence; than men, that by their mis-reasoning, or by trusting them that reason wrong, fall upon false and absurd generall rules.”
Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679) said by 1679 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Science fiction, outside of poetry, is the only literary field which has no limits, no parameters whatsoever. You can go not only into the future, but into that wonderful place called "other", which is simply another universe, another planet, another species.”
Theodore Sturgeon (1918–1985) said by 1985 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The Seven Subjects of Sensational Journalism: crime, scandal, speculative science, insanity, superstitions such as numerology, monsters, and millionaires.”
Fritz Leiber (1910–1992) said by 1992 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“What is superstition, but misguided, unobjective science? And when it comes down to that, is it to be wondered if people grasp at superstition in this rotten, hate-filled, half-doomed world of today? Lord knows, I'd welcome the blackest of black magic, if it could do anything to stave off the atom bomb.”
Fritz Leiber (1910–1992) said by 1992 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Thoughts are dangerous, he told himself, and thoughts against all science, all sanity, all civilized intelligence, are the most dangerous of all.”
Fritz Leiber (1910–1992) said by 1992 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Science has only increased the area of the unknown. And if there is a God, her name is Mystery.”
Fritz Leiber (1910–1992) said by 1992 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In life you must often choose between getting a job done or getting credit for it. In science, the most important thing is not the ideas you have but the decision which ones you choose to pursue. If you have an idea and are not doing anything with it, why spoil someone else's fun by publishing it?”
Leó Szilárd (1898–1964) first seen 1961 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in "Some Szilardisms on War, Fame, Peace", LIFE‎ magazine, Vol. 51, no. 9 (1 September 1961), p. 79
“Science is progressing at such a rapid rate that when you make a prediction and think you are ahead of your time by 100 years you may be ahead of your time by 10 at most.”
Leó Szilárd (1898–1964) first seen 1961 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in "Some Szilardisms on War, Fame, Peace", LIFE‎ magazine, Vol. 51, no. 9 (1 September 1961), p. 79
“If the study of human interactions could become a science, I suspect that an inviolate axiom might be discovered to this effect: Every social disposition creates a disparity of advantages. Further: Every innovation designed to correct the disparities, no matter how altruistic in concept, works only to create a new and different set of disparities.”
Jack Vance (1916–2013) said by 2013 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Science-fiction balances you on the cliff. Fantasy shoves you off.”
Ray Bradbury (1920–2012) first seen 1956 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Circus of Dr. Lao Introduction (1956)
“I am not a science fiction writer. I am a fantasy writer. But the label got put on me and stuck.”
Ray Bradbury (1920–2012) first seen 2005 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Ray Bradbury interview March 23, 2005
“I’m a magician who writes about ideas. I’m not a science-fiction writer. People who call me that are wrong. Most of what I write is fantasy or magic realism or plays about my Mexican-American background.”
Ray Bradbury (1920–2012) said by 2012 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In science fiction, we dream. In order to colonize in space, to rebuild our cities, which are so far out of whack, to tackle any number of problems, we must imagine the future, including the new technologies that are required.”
Ray Bradbury (1920–2012) said by 2012 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“You should read in your own field only when you're young. When I was 8, 10, 12, 16, 25, I read science fiction. But then I went on to Alexander Pope and John Donne and Moliere to mix it up.”
Ray Bradbury (1920–2012) said by 2012 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source