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Science

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“We have learned from encounters with such ventures as ‘creation science,’ which purportedly refutes the theory of evolution, that we must be sceptical when nonscientist advocates offer purported analyses of scientific data to reinforce conclusions that they have already reached on nonscientific grounds.”
Chris Mooney (born 1977) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The emergence of the religious right onto the political stage in the 1970s—motivated in part by its adherents’ resentment of the nation’s intellectual and scientific elites—was also a major factor in curtailing the role of science in public policy.”
Chris Mooney (born 1977) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The leader of any country should be aware that in scientific matters there is no authority above the sovereignty of science.”
Ricardo Galvão (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We are privileged to be operating in a space where we can draw on strong science and identify downstream the best tools to deploy scientific findings that can support policy.”
Fatima Denton (born 1966) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“This is what separates science from other disciplines—a scientific hypothesis must make specific testable predictions. ...[Y]ou have to look hard for consequences that you can check for, and especially... that you can prove wrong.”
Helen Czerski (born 1978) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If we do not consider tradition in light of scientific facts, it is useless; nothing can be learned from it. By the same token, if science does not incorporate tradition into its facts, it too is useless.”
Luc Jouret (1947–1994) first seen 1987 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: L'Eternel Présent, 1987, 3rd episode, quoted in Mayer 1993
“I was always interested in science from age five up. I had an uncle who was a dentist. He motivated me tremendously toward the scientific field. He used to take me to his office, and even though I was never keen on pulling teeth, I was interested in his patient’s reactions and fascinated by the camaraderie between him and his patients.”
Ethel D. Allen (1929–1981) said by 1981 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Myth, religion and now science-fiction with their tales of benevolent and malevolent extraterrestrial beings are commentaries on the human condition. I believe even responsible scientific speculation and expensive technology of space exploration in search for other life are the peculiarly modern equivalent of angeology and Utopia or of demonology and apocalypse.”
Lewis White Beck (1913–1997) first seen 1985 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Lewis White Beck, "Extraterrestrial Intelligent Life" in Extraterrestrials Science and Alien Intelligence ( Regis Jr., Edward. Ed., 1985), Part V, p. 13
“At the same time, there is a strong need for greater investment in science-policy interfaces, to better anticipate droughts and other environmental disasters by applying the best available scientific tools and adaptation measures.”
Rose Mwebaza wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It is from the history of science that I was led to deepen my knowledge of religions, particularly Islam. I was not a priori versed in theological questions. What interests me is our relationship to modernity and the question of secularization. I immersed myself in the writings of modern thinkers from Islamic countries, who look at Islam from a scientific perspective without any essentialism.”
Faouzia Charfi (born 1941) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Having women in positions of responsibility in scientific institutions is useful to show the younger generation that a brilliant career in science is possible for women.”
Farida Fassi wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The first thing about science is asking questions; the next—and this includes the bulk of what is called scientific work—is measuring the knowledge and finding new standards of measurement; and the final thing is putting all this knowledge together.”
Naomi Mitchison (1897–1999) said by 1999 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I came to realize that many people choose scientific beliefs the same way they choose to be Methodists, or Democrats, or Chicago Cubs fans. They judge science by how well it agrees with the way they want the world to be.”
Robert L. Park (1931–2020) said by 2020 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The integrity of science is anchored in the willingness of scientists to test their ideas and results in direct confrontation with their scientific peers.”
Robert L. Park (1931–2020) said by 2020 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It is not so much knowledge of science that the public needs as a scientific worldview—an understanding that we live in an orderly universe, governed by physical laws that cannot be circumvented.”
Robert L. Park (1931–2020) said by 2020 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Producing research findings takes perseverance, consistency, and investment. Unfortunately, much of my work is supported by external donor funding. The Government of Ghana needs to invest more in research—not just in climate science but in all areas of scientific study—to drive national development.”
Nana Klutse (born 1981) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Introduce students to the rigor and the thrill of scientific research, discovery, and innovation, and provide opportunities for students to connect with science in a way that enriches their day-to-day lives and contributes to making them fully informed citizens.”
Pascale Guiton wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The challenges are very high. Women in science should manage to cope with the difficulties inside the scientific communities which range between fighting for equal opportunities, funds and positions. Sometimes this is very hard to be achieved, and they have to keep struggling for better conditions and to be equal or even comparable to their male peers.”
Amal Amin Ibrahim Shendi Nada wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Philosophy is inevitably heading towards its own decline, that is, towards science, which is nevertheless the way philosophy exists today. [...] Everyone can see that philosophy, on a global scale, is declining in scientific knowledge.”
Emanuele Severino (1929–2020) said by 2020 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The Christian faith is a friend of reason, and a God without Logos cannot be the Christian God. The world responds to a creative plan, and this plan is in a certain way glimpsed by the man of science, who is capable of perceiving this Logos because his intelligence is the image of God. Theology must take an interest in scientific knowledge in order to be a better theology.”
Giuseppe Tanzella-Nitti (born 1955) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In scientific matters there was a common language and one standard of values; in moral and political problems there were many....Furthermore, in science there is a court of last resort, experiment, which is unavailable in human affairs.”
Emilio Segrè (1905–1989) said by 1989 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Skepticism, however, cannot be removed from the scientific process. Science does not function without it.”
Gary Taubes (born 1956) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In the past, history has been devoted chiefly to the exploits of heroes and the story of wars; but history is now being speedily reorganized and rewritten upon a scientific basis, to exhibit the growth of culture in all its grand departments. History itself is now a science, and is no longer an art in which men exploit in rhetorical paragraphs.”
John Wesley Powell (1834–1902) said by 1902 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It was impossible not to like Jimmy Carter. He was a deeply committed Christian and a man of obvious sincerity. He was also a man of marked intellectual ability with a grasp, rare among politicians, of science and the scientific method.”
Jimmy Carter (1924–2024) first seen 1993 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Margaret Thatcher, The Downing Street Years (1993), p. 68
“Willie and Joe are my creatures. Or am I their creature? They are not social reformers. They're much more reactive. They're not social scientists and I'm not a social scientist. We're moral people who do not belong to the moral majority. One of my principles is, Thou shall not bully. The only answer is to muscle the bully. I'm very combative that way.”
Bill Mauldin (1921–2003) first seen 1985 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in The Good War (1985) by Studs Terkel
“But if the same tests, the same foods are examined by an independent scientist, then it turns out that in almost every case there are quite serious harms done to the rats, the mice or the other poor unfortunate animals, particularly internal organs like liver and kidneys and things of that sort.”
Jane Goodall (1934–2025) said by 2025 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I have been told that my position won't win the creationist court cases. Do you think I care? I didn't become a scientist because I want to impress lawyers. The word for people who are neutral about truth is "liars".”
PZ Myers (born 1957) first seen 2010 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: at Council for Secular Humanism, October 9, 2010.
“What these thinkers despise in the man of study is precisely the man who … does not predicate the capture of its environment by the species, or who, if he does predicate it, as the scientist does by his discoveries, retains for himself only the joy of knowledge and abandons the practical exploitation of his discoveries to others.”
Julien Benda (1867–1956) said by 1956 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The aim of the scientist is to express, in as simple a statement as possible, the principles underlying the order and arrangement of phenomena.”
Herbert Dingle (1890–1978) said by 1978 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“He's as much a scientist as I am”
Sarah Palin (born 1964) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If we deal with our problem not knowing, or pretending not to know the general theory encompassing the concrete case before us, if we tackle the problem "with bare hands", we have a better chance to understand the scientist's attitude in general, and especially the task of the applied mathematician.”
George Pólya (1887–1985) said by 1985 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It doesn't take a rocket scientist to look at this amazing creation and see the genius of the Creator. A child can know that. Your stumbling block isn't intellectual as you maintain... it's moral.”
Ray Comfort (born 1949) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Paul was a great theologian as well as a great saint and a heroic missionary, but we are not bound to imprison our minds in his theories. Newton was a great scientist, but it is no disparagement of Newton to realize that even schoolboys today know more than he did about atoms. Thought moves on in every field of inquiry.”
Leslie Weatherhead (1893–1976) said by 1976 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“No scientist ever believes that he has the final answer or the ultimate truth on anything.”
Carroll Quigley (1910–1977) said by 1977 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If I have learned anything as a scientist it is that one should not make things complicated when a simple explanation will do.”
Ivar Giaever (1929–2025) said by 2025 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We don't know the why of anything. On that matter we are no further advanced than was the cavedweller. The scientist is contented if he can contribute something toward the knowledge of what is and how it is.”
Charles Proteus Steinmetz (1865–1923) said by 1923 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“To be in contact with scientists, to become in a small way a scientist myself if possible, perhaps to cast new light on physical phenomena, to be able to uncover what is real and definitive, was my life's great dream.”
Ernest Solvay (1838–1922) said by 1922 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Understanding the methods of calculus is vital to the creative use of mathematics... Without this mastery the average scientist or engineer, or any other user of mathematics, will be perpetually stunted in development, and will at best be able to follow only what the textbooks say; with mastery, new things can be done, even in old, well-established fields.”
Richard Hamming (1915–1998) said by 1998 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“When the poet said that for him poetry was not a purpose, but a passion, he was also expressing the feelings of the true scientist to his own field.”
Varadaraja V. Raman (born 1932) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“As much as I loved the ideas, I excelled at experimental failure, I found new ways to make experiments not work. I would mess up PCRs, add the wrong buffers, northerns, westerns, southerns. I would make them not work in quite ingenious ways, and I realized slowly, over the course of those years, that the secret to being a great scientist is to love the manual labor of it.”
Jonah Lehrer (born 1981) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“He was, after all, the scientist-outcast, the disreputable thinker who walked out of a lucrative teaching post to engage in experiments too outrageous and brilliant for the tiny minds who ran the university. What did he care for convention? He would sleep with whomever and whatever he liked, surely!”
China Miéville (born 1972) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“A scientist, an artist, a citizen is not like a child who needs papa methodology and mama rationality to give him security and direction, he can take care of himself, for he is the inventor not only of laws, theories, pictures, plays, forms of music, ways of dealing with his fellow man, institutions, but also entire world view, he is the inventor of entire forms of like.”
Paul Karl Feyerabend (1924–1994) said by 1994 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“About Archimedes one remembers that he did strange things: he ran around naked shouting Heureka!, plunged crowns into water, drew geometric figures as he was about to be killed, and so on. … One ends up forgetting he was a scientist of whom we still have many writings.”
Lucio Russo (1944–2025) said by 2025 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Emily had not been trained as a scientist, so she tended to draw conclusions based on emotional need rather than on evidence.”
Jack McDevitt (born 1935) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“That we shall probably never know the whole "truth" about the universe does not really matter very much; the fun comes in trying to find out. The natural pattern of current astronomy … is provided by the cryptic unity of nature itself (belief in which is the chief act of faith of the scientist) and by questions astronomers ask today, as their predecessors have done for centuries:”
Nigel Calder (1931–2014) said by 2014 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“A scientist earns the only mortality worth having. Of the good scholar we say: Rex numquam moritur.”
Paul Samuelson (1915–2009) first seen 1993 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Foreword to H. Herberg and N. Van Long (eds.) Trade, Welfare, and Economic Policies, Essays in Honor of Murray C. Kemp (1993)
“People flock around the sorcerer, the priest, the scientist, the commissar, the psychiatrist, the drug pusher, each generation of the faithful pitying the victims of past fallacies, and this repetitive vanity keeps us stupider than we need to be.”
Stephen Vizinczey (1933–2021) first seen 1969 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Rules of Chaos (1969), p. 106
“A scientist who writes for a grant has to write subpar papers - so that the grant giver will understand what the paper is about.”
Janusz Korwin-Mikke (born 1942) first seen 2007 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: source: blog, 8 February 2007
“It is a good morning exercise for a research scientist to discard a pet hypothesis every day before breakfast. It keeps him young.”
Konrad Lorenz (1903–1989) first seen 1966 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Trans. M. Latzke (1966), p. 8
“... the anatomy of a sound bite is—it's gotta be interesting. And it's gotta be tasty. It should also be a little bit fun to hear ... so that you smile. And it's gotta have enough of all that to want to tell someone else that you just learned something. ... I have a master class on thinking like a scientist and how to communicate what you know in your expertise to others.”
Neil deGrasse Tyson (born 1958) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source