Quotes by famous people, credited to who said them. Your own quotes must not match any of these. More are added all the time. 1,161,747 quotes Who coined it · How we decide
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Science
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“The bullying powers use different excuses to prevent transfer of science and technology and progress of the nations of our region.”
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (born 1956) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Challenging the conventional wisdom is the way to make waves in science.”
James Lovelock (1919–2022) said by 2022 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Fudging the data in any way whatsoever is quite literally a sin against the holy ghost of science. … I'm not religious, but I put it that way because I feel so strongly. It's the one thing you do not ever do. You've got to have standards.”
James Lovelock (1919–2022) said by 2022 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It is true that M. Fourier had the opinion that the principal end of mathematics was the public utility and the explanation of natural phenomena; but such a philosopher as he is should have known that the unique end of science is the honor of the human mind, and that from this point of view a question of number is as important as a question of the system of the world.”
Carl Gustav Jacob Jacobi (1804–1851) first seen 1830 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to Legendre (July 2, 1830) in response to Fourier's report to the Paris Academy Science that mathematics should be applied to the natural sciences, as quoted in Science (March 10, 1911) Vol. 33, p.359, with addit…
“That science is incapable of solving in its own way those fundamental questions is no sufficient reason for slighting them”
José Ortega y Gasset (1883–1955) said by 1955 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“For a moment, in that dark Dorset night, reason and science dissolved; life was a dark machine, a sinister astrology, a verdict at birth and without appeal, a zero over all.”
John Fowles (1926–2005) said by 2005 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I'm of the opinion that science fiction writers suck at predicting the future. We mostly go around describing the present in futuristic clothes - (such as) Mary Shelley, Bill Gibson, and many others.”
Cory Doctorow (born 1971) first seen 2007 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Where is my flying car?", 3rd Degree (September 2007)
“Art is something absolute, something positive, which gives power just as food gives power. While creative science is a mental food, art is the satisfaction of the soul.”
Hans Hofmann (1880–1966) said by 1966 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Chess is a game by its form, an art by its content and a science by the difficulty of gaining mastery in it. Chess can convey as much happiness as a good book or work of music can.”
Tigran Petrosian (1929–1984) said by 1984 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The Reens, the flying saucer people, were used by the hippies as an explanation for everything they couldn't understand. In rejecting Science, they had substituted only a banal myth.”
Michael Moorcock (born 1939) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“How paltry is the thing they call science. We have something far superior! We have Faith. We have a Force greater than Reason! We have a wisdom beyond mere knowledge. We have the Holy Grail itself. The Chalice of Limitless Power!”
Michael Moorcock (born 1939) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“How will the doctor fare?” Corum called. “The one who took me in.” “He will die unless he is clever and denounces you,” Jhary told him. “But he was a man of great intelligence and humanity. A man of science, too—of learning.” “All the more reason for killing him, if their priesthood has its way. Superstition, not learning, is respected here.”
Michael Moorcock (born 1939) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The family provides the army and navy with the best men and boys that it possesses. And, as we have seen, education and science too are becoming means to the ends sought by the military.”
C. Wright Mills (1916–1962) said by 1962 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If Vice President Al Gore advocated killing rabbits to see if women are pregnant and called it a step forward for science, we'd all think he'd gone 'round the bend. We don't need to do that sort of thing anymore, we'd say. We have better, kinder ways.”
Ingrid Newkirk (born 1949) first seen 1999 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Washington Times, 1999 August 29
“The toxic mix of religion and tribalism has become so dangerous as to justify taking seriously the alternative view, that humanism based on science is the effective antidote, the light and the way at last placed before us.”
E. O. Wilson (1929–2021) said by 2021 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If history and science have taught us anything, it is that passion and desire are not the same as truth.”
E. O. Wilson (1929–2021) said by 2021 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“To search for unasked questions, plus questions to put to already acquired but unsought answers, it is vital to give full play to the imagination. That is the way to create truly original science.”
E. O. Wilson (1929–2021) said by 2021 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We got a lot of letters all the time, and I was told quite frequently by girls who were going into the medical world or the science world or the FBI world or other worlds that I reigned, that they were pursuing those pursuits because of the character of Scully. And I said, 'Yay!'”
Gillian Anderson (born 1968) first seen 2013 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Anderson tells that she has long been aware of "The Scully Effect" and the influence her character had on young women — reported in Jennifer Vineyard Vulture.com "Nearly Everything The X-Files’ David Duchovny and Gillia…
“Some blood transfusion from the East to the West is a must to save Western science from spiritual anaemia.”
Erwin Schrödinger (1887–1961) said by 1961 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: source: Long Walk to Enlightenment, Dr Thillayvel Naidoo. Quoted from Gewali, Salil (2013). Great Minds on India. New Delhi: Penguin Random House.
“I consider it extremely doubtful whether the happiness of the human race has been enhanced by the technical and industrial developments that followed in the wake of rapidly progressing natural science.”
Erwin Schrödinger (1887–1961) said by 1961 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Science cannot tell us a word about why music delights us, of why and how an old song can move us to tears.”
Erwin Schrödinger (1887–1961) said by 1961 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“A typical triumph of modern science to find the only part of Randolph that was not malignant and remove it.”
Evelyn Waugh (1903–1966) first seen 1964 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Diary entry (March 1964), after hearing that doctors had removed a benign tumor from Randolph Churchill, quoted in The Diaries of Evelyn Waugh, ed. Michael Davie (1976), p. 792
“Fortunately science, like that nature to which it belongs, is neither limited by time nor by space. It belongs to the world, and is of no country and of no age. The more we know, the more we feel our ignorance; the more we feel how much remains unknown; and in philosophy, the sentiment of the Macedonian hero can never apply, — there are always new worlds to conquer.”
Humphry Davy (1778–1829) first seen 1825 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Discourse Delivered at the Royal Society (30 November 1825), published in Six Discourses delivered before the Royal Society, at their Anniversary Meetings, on the Award of the Royal and Copley Medals, preceded by an Add…
“Just when people think they have me or dad brought to the ground in a box, we click into the realm of the great beast. This isn’t science fiction, fantasy, or insanity. Ask the thousands of people I’ve personally known and who have dealt with us personally. We are mindfuckers. Real mindfuckers in the real world.”
Ronald DeWolf (1934–1991) said by 1991 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Whenever the essential nature of things is analysed by the intellect, it must seem absurd or paradoxical. This has always been recognized by the mystics, but has become a problem in science only very recently.”
Fritjof Capra (born 1939) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Tektology was the first attempt in the history of science to arrive at a systematic formulation of the principles of organization operating in living and nonliving systems.”
Fritjof Capra (born 1939) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“This [origins debate] isn't really, and never has been, a debate about science, it's about religion and philosophy.”
Phillip E. Johnson (1940–2019) first seen 1996 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: World Magazine, 30 November 1996
“We're not trying to prove the character of God through science. That's a bad idea. What I'm trying to do is clear away the misunderstandings, the debris that prevent people from accepting that God who wants to accept them.”
Phillip E. Johnson (1940–2019) first seen 2001 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Hank Hanegraaf's "Bible Answer Man" radio program (19 December 2001)
“Even many Christians who have been raised and indoctrinated in a secular mindset … will say, 'Look, we're just going to have to accept the science of the day and try to make our peace with it theologically.' … And there is no peace theologically … ultimately with this view [Darwinian evolution]. But they accept it. And so, this idea of intelligent design becomes very threatening.”
William A. Dembski (born 1960) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“[ Darwin's] triumph has won for us a common height from which we see the whole world of living beings as well as all inorganic nature; phenomena of every order we now regard as expressions of natural causes. The supernatural has no longer a standing is science; it has vanished like a dream, and the halls consecrated to its thraldom of the intellect are becoming radiant with a more cheerful faith.”
Charles Otis Whitman (1842–1910) first seen 1909 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: lecture at Clark University, "A study in evolution, based on color-characters in pigeons, and bearing on moot questions" (1909), quoted in Eight Little Piggies (W.W. Norton, 1993) by Stephen Jay Gould, page 366
“This is not rocket science. When a kid who has never killed anyone in his life goes on a rampage and looks like the Terminator, he's a video gamer.”
Jack Thompson (attorney) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The seers of ancient India had, in their experiments and efforts at spiritual training and the conquest of the body, perfected a discovery which in its importance to the future of human knowledge dwarfs the divinations of Newton and Galileo, even the discovery of the inductive and experimental method in Science was not more momentous...”
Sri Aurobindo (1872–1950) said by 1950 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Upanishads–II : Kena and Other Upanishads (2001), p. 355
“When I first set my sights on becoming a writer at age eleven or so, I wanted to be a fantasy and science fiction writer. That was my preferred reading material and that's what I thought I was going to write. That's always been there. You can even see little hints of it in Mysteries of Pittsburgh and Wonderboys.”
Michael Chabon (born 1963) first seen 2002 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Interview with Metro Weekly, March 12, 2002
“Science fiction is no more written for scientists than ghost stories are written for ghosts.”
Brian Aldiss (1925–2017) first seen 1961 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Penguin Science Fiction (1961) Introduction
“All of which makes one feel that the centuries of science upon which our western culture is based have travelled unmarked through the popular mind. A surprising number of people are willing to junk the entire accumulation of knowledge since Ancient Greece after watching Uri Geller perform for five minutes on their twenty-three inch screen.”
Brian Aldiss (1925–2017) first seen 1976 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Science Fiction on the Titanic, in Brian Aldiss and Harry Harrison (eds.) The Year's Best SF 9 (1976), , p. 203
“I was hardly fit for human society. Thus destiny shaped me to be a science fiction writer.”
Brian Aldiss (1925–2017) first seen 1998 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Twinkling of an Eye: My Life as an Englishman (1998) Unsourced variant: "Why had I become a writer in the first place? Because I wasn't fit for society; I didn't fit into the system.
“Poor little warrior, science will never invent anything to assist the titanic death you want in the contra-terrene caverns of your fee-fi-fo-fumblingly fearful id!”
Brian Aldiss (1925–2017) said by 2017 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“One of the great achievements of science has been, if not to make it impossible for intelligent people to be religious, then at least to make it possible for them not to be religious. We should not retreat from this accomplishment.”
Steven Weinberg (1933–2021) first seen 1999 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Address at the Conference on Cosmic Design, American Association for the Advancement of Science, Washington, D.C. (April 1999)
“Wave after wave Will flow with the tide And bury the world as it does Tide after tide Will flow and recede Leaving life to go on As it was... -- Natural Science (1980)”
Neil Peart (1952–2020) said by 2020 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“All the busy little creatures chasing out their destinies. Living in their pools they soon forget about the sea... -- Natural Science (1980)”
Neil Peart (1952–2020) said by 2020 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I don't feel "possessed" or "invaded during sessions. I don't feel that some superspirit has "taken over" my body. Instead I feel as if I am practicing some precise psychological art, one that is ancient and poorly understood in our culture; or as if I'm learning a psychological science that helps me map the contours of consciousness itself.”
Jane Roberts (1929–1984) said by 1984 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It's never pleasant to have your integrity questioned, of course, no matter who you are. But when it's questioned by someone who doesn't even know you, someone who doesn't even have the facts straight, yet whose name carries the authority of science -- well, that's not exactly guaranteed to make your day.”
Jane Roberts (1929–1984) said by 1984 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The fact is that science itself must change, as it discovers that its net of evidence is equipped only to catch certain kinds of fish, and that it is constructed of webs of assumptions that can only hold certain varieties of reality, while others escape its bet entirely.”
Jane Roberts (1929–1984) said by 1984 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I am not advising my readers to refuse to have their children vaccinated, since you now have to take vaccination into consideration because of the prominence of it in society. It is very possible, however, that science itself will in time discover the unfortunate side effects of many such procedures and begin to reevaluate the entire subject.”
Jane Roberts (1929–1984) said by 1984 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I see myself as a novelist, period. I mean, the material I work with is what is classified as science fiction and fantasy, and I really don't think about these things when I'm writing. I'm just thinking about telling a story and developing my characters.”
Roger Zelazny (1937–1995) first seen 1978 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: A Conversation With Roger Zelazny" (8 April 1978), talking with Terry Dowling and Keith Curtis in Science Fiction Vol. 1, #2 (June 1978)
“Freedom of expression must also bow to the necessity for clear communication, as many of science fiction’s failed experiments of the sixties demonstrate.”
Roger Zelazny (1937–1995) said by 1995 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Of the three basic elements of any fiction—plot, character, and setting—it is the setting that requires extra attention in science fiction and fantasy.”
Roger Zelazny (1937–1995) said by 1995 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“All the genres of philosophy, science, high art, athletics and politics were invented by men. But by the Promethean law of conflict and capture, woman has a right to seize what she will and vie with man on her own terms.”
Camille Paglia (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Contemporary feminists, who are generally poor or narrowly trained scholars, insist on viewing history as a weepy scenario of male oppression and female victimization. But it is more accurate to see men, driven by sexual anxiety away from their mothers, forming group alliances by male bonding to create complex structures of society, art, science and technology.”
Camille Paglia (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The junk-bond era has also spawned something that calls itself New Historicism. This seems to be a refuge for English majors without critical talent or broad learning in history or political science. [...] To practice it, you must apparently lack all historical sense.”
Camille Paglia (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source