Quotes by Scientist | Beyond Motive 57/113

top of page

Quotes by Scientist

"In the fields of observation chance favors only the prepared mind."

"In the fields of observation chance favors only the prepared mind."

Louis Pasteur, French Scientist

Chance, Favors, Mind, Observation

38

"They don't actually see the real world, where 95% of the people with HIV are not treated and are dying. And even though we have some blue sky now in our country, the sky could become cloudy again very soon."

"They don't actually see the real world, where 95% of the people with HIV are not treated and are dying. And even though we have some blue sky now in our country, the sky could become cloudy again very soon."

Luc Montagnier, French Scientist

People, Country, Dying, Now

38

"Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East."

"Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East."

Jack Schwartz, American Scientist

Democracy, Israel

38

"God, that dumping ground of our dreams."

"God, that dumping ground of our dreams."

Jean Rostand, French Scientist

Dream, Dreams, God

38

"Marxists have some way of analyzing the development of affairs which enables them to judge far in advance of scientific thinkers what the trend of social and economic development is to be."

"Marxists have some way of analyzing the development of affairs which enables them to judge far in advance of scientific thinkers what the trend of social and economic development is to be."

John Desmond Bernal, Irish Scientist

38

"Always try to avoid repeating the same mistakes, the price that you haveto pay is often too high."

"Always try to avoid repeating the same mistakes, the price that you haveto pay is often too high."

Eraldo Banovac, Croatian Scientist

Mistakes, Mistake, Learning, Experience, Cost

38

"You should carefully study the Art of Reasoning, as it is what most people are very deficient in, and I know few things more disagreeable than to argue, or even converse with a man who has no idea of inductive and deductive philosophy."

"You should carefully study the Art of Reasoning, as it is what most people are very deficient in, and I know few things more disagreeable than to argue, or even converse with a man who has no idea of inductive and deductive philosophy."

William John Wills, English Scientist

Art, People, Idea, Man

38

"Many parts of the granite statues were found, the most important of which had features close to Ramses II. The statue needs some restoration and weighs between four and five tons."

"Many parts of the granite statues were found, the most important of which had features close to Ramses II. The statue needs some restoration and weighs between four and five tons."

Zahi Hawass, Egyptian Scientist

38

"If the poor overweight jogger only knew how far he had to run to work off the calories in a crust of bread he might find it better in terms of pound per mile to go to a massage parlor."

"If the poor overweight jogger only knew how far he had to run to work off the calories in a crust of bread he might find it better in terms of pound per mile to go to a massage parlor."

Christiaan Barnard, South African Scientist

38

"Why is it not just as likely that there were as many small general nearly at first as now, and as great a disproportion in the number of their species?"

"Why is it not just as likely that there were as many small general nearly at first as now, and as great a disproportion in the number of their species?"

Asa Gray, American Scientist

38

"The thought that we're in competition with Russians or with Chinese is all a mistake, and trivial. We are one species, with a world to win."

"The thought that we're in competition with Russians or with Chinese is all a mistake, and trivial. We are one species, with a world to win."

George Wald, American Scientist

Thought, Mistake, Competition, World

38

"On some peculiar pigmented cells found in two mosquitoes fed on malarial."

"On some peculiar pigmented cells found in two mosquitoes fed on malarial."

Ronald Ross, Scottish Scientist

38

"A specialist is a man who knows more and more about less and less."

"A specialist is a man who knows more and more about less and less."

William J. Mayo, American Scientist

38

"Since then I have held many jobs at museums in Colorado and Wyoming. I have also taught summer courses at the University of Colorado."

"Since then I have held many jobs at museums in Colorado and Wyoming. I have also taught summer courses at the University of Colorado."

Robert T. Bakker, American Scientist

Job, Jobs, Museums, Summer, University

38

"The world is full of people who never quite get into the first team and who just miss the prizes at the flower show."

"The world is full of people who never quite get into the first team and who just miss the prizes at the flower show."

Jacob Bronowski, English Scientist

People, First, Prizes, World

38

"Beauty and brains, pleasure and usability - they should go hand in hand."

"Beauty and brains, pleasure and usability - they should go hand in hand."

Donald Norman, American Scientist

Beauty, Pleasure

38

"This was the most important discovery I had ever made in my life. It was a discovery which has irrevocably changed my whole life's direction. It immediately elevated me to the status of one of the world's leading anthropologists."

"This was the most important discovery I had ever made in my life. It was a discovery which has irrevocably changed my whole life's direction. It immediately elevated me to the status of one of the world's leading anthropologists."

Donald Johanson, American Scientist

Life, Direction, Discovery, Leading

38

"Normally, we are happy to find a fragment of jaw, a few isolated teeth, a bit of an arm, a bit of a skull. But to find associated body parts is extremely rare."

"Normally, we are happy to find a fragment of jaw, a few isolated teeth, a bit of an arm, a bit of a skull. But to find associated body parts is extremely rare."

Donald Johanson, American Scientist

38

"Sometimes, as is the case of peach and plum trees, which are often dwarfed, the plants are thrown into a flowering states, and then, as they flower freely year after year, they have little inclination to make vigorous growth."

"Sometimes, as is the case of peach and plum trees, which are often dwarfed, the plants are thrown into a flowering states, and then, as they flower freely year after year, they have little inclination to make vigorous growth."

Robert Fortune, Scottish Scientist

Growth, Plants, states, Trees

38

"Anything that reduces war-related destruction should not be considered altogether immoral."

"Anything that reduces war-related destruction should not be considered altogether immoral."

Herman Kahn, American Scientist

War, Destruction

38

"The land of a god corresponds with the land of his worshipers."

"The land of a god corresponds with the land of his worshipers."

William Robertson Smith, Scottish Scientist

38

"I would also point out that many governments that chose not to support this war - certainly, the French president, Jacques Chirac, as I recall in April of last year, referred to Iraq's possession of WMD."

"I would also point out that many governments that chose not to support this war - certainly, the French president, Jacques Chirac, as I recall in April of last year, referred to Iraq's possession of WMD."

David Kay, American Scientist

War, April, Iraq, Possession

38

"When employers tell me they prefer married men, and encourage their men to have homes of their own, because it makes them so much steadier, I wonder if they have any idea of all that that implies."

"When employers tell me they prefer married men, and encourage their men to have homes of their own, because it makes them so much steadier, I wonder if they have any idea of all that that implies."

Alice Hamilton, American Scientist

Men, Idea, Wonder

38

"There is no great invention, from fire to flying, which has not been hailed as an insult to some god."

"There is no great invention, from fire to flying, which has not been hailed as an insult to some god."

John B. S. Haldane, British Scientist

God, Fire, Flying, Insult

38

"The hand is the cutting edge of the mind."

"The hand is the cutting edge of the mind."

Jacob Bronowski, English Scientist

38

"Do your work for six years; but in the seventh, go into solitude or among strangers, so that the memory of your friends does not hinder you from being what you have become."

"Do your work for six years; but in the seventh, go into solitude or among strangers, so that the memory of your friends does not hinder you from being what you have become."

Leo Szilard, American Scientist

Work, Being, Friends, Memory

38

"When people learn no tools of judgment and merely follow their hopes, the seeds of political manipulation are sown."

"When people learn no tools of judgment and merely follow their hopes, the seeds of political manipulation are sown."

Stephen Jay Gould, American Scientist

People, Judgment, Manipulation, Tools

38

"Of moral purpose I see no trace in Nature. That is an article of exclusively human manufacture and very much to our credit."

"Of moral purpose I see no trace in Nature. That is an article of exclusively human manufacture and very much to our credit."

Thomas Huxley, English Scientist

Nature, Purpose, Credit

38

"We are working with a biotech company, Calypte, which has designed a urine test for the HIV antibody."

"We are working with a biotech company, Calypte, which has designed a urine test for the HIV antibody."

Luc Montagnier, French Scientist

38

"Antimatter is not a source of energy for us, it's a method of storing energy, compact but inefficient."

"Antimatter is not a source of energy for us, it's a method of storing energy, compact but inefficient."

Barney Oliver, American Scientist

38

"The attitude of independence toward a constructed language which all national speakers must adopt is really a great advantage, because it tends to make man see himself as the master of language instead of its obedient servant."

"The attitude of independence toward a constructed language which all national speakers must adopt is really a great advantage, because it tends to make man see himself as the master of language instead of its obedient servant."

Edward Sapir, American Scientist

Attitude, Independence, Language, Man

38

"The sun and its retinue of planets drift as a group through the vast gulfs of space that separate the stars."

"The sun and its retinue of planets drift as a group through the vast gulfs of space that separate the stars."

Barney Oliver, American Scientist

Space, Stars, Sun

38

"I have had many opportunities to visit universities all over the world in the past 50 years."

"I have had many opportunities to visit universities all over the world in the past 50 years."

John Pople, English Scientist

Past, Visit, World, Years

38

"My parents were neither wealthy nor academic, but we lived comfortably and they were always extremely supportive of my academic efforts and aspirations, both at school and university."

"My parents were neither wealthy nor academic, but we lived comfortably and they were always extremely supportive of my academic efforts and aspirations, both at school and university."

Paul Nurse, British Scientist

Aspiration, Aspirations, Parents, School, University

38

"Yeah, I'm a thrill seeker, but crikey, education's the most important thing."

"Yeah, I'm a thrill seeker, but crikey, education's the most important thing."

Steve Irwin, Australian Scientist

38

"If we gave up eating beef we would have roughly 20 to 30 times more land for food than we have now."

"If we gave up eating beef we would have roughly 20 to 30 times more land for food than we have now."

James Lovelock, English Scientist

Food, Eating, Land, Now

38

"It is from the progeny of this parent cell that we all take our looks; we still share genes around, and the resemblance of the enzymes of grasses to those of whales is in fact a family resemblance."

"It is from the progeny of this parent cell that we all take our looks; we still share genes around, and the resemblance of the enzymes of grasses to those of whales is in fact a family resemblance."

Lewis Thomas, English Scientist

38

"Even the highest forms of sacrificial worship present much that is repulsive to modern ideas, and in particular it requires an effort to reconcile our imagination to the bloody ritual which is prominent in almost every religion which has a strong sense of sin."

"Even the highest forms of sacrificial worship present much that is repulsive to modern ideas, and in particular it requires an effort to reconcile our imagination to the bloody ritual which is prominent in almost every religion which has a strong sense of sin."

William Robertson Smith, Scottish Scientist

Imagination, Religion, Ideas, Effort

38

"Every step in the progress of this study has tended to obliterate the technical barriers by which logicians have sought to separate the inquiries relating to the several parts of man's nature."

"Every step in the progress of this study has tended to obliterate the technical barriers by which logicians have sought to separate the inquiries relating to the several parts of man's nature."

Richard Owen, English Scientist

Nature, Progress, Man, Study

38

"Often the difference between a successful man and a failure is not one's better abilities or ideas, but the courage that one has to bet on his ideas, to take a calculated risk, and to act."

"Often the difference between a successful man and a failure is not one's better abilities or ideas, but the courage that one has to bet on his ideas, to take a calculated risk, and to act."

Maxwell Maltz, American Scientist

Success, Successful, Ideas, Courage, Failure

38

"No important national language, at least in the Occidental world, has complete regularity of grammatical structure, nor is there a single logical category which is adequately and consistently handled in terms of linguistic symbolism."

"No important national language, at least in the Occidental world, has complete regularity of grammatical structure, nor is there a single logical category which is adequately and consistently handled in terms of linguistic symbolism."

Edward Sapir, American Scientist

Language, World

38

"The essence of humanity's spiritual dilemma is that we evolved genetically to accept one truth and discovered another. Is there a way to erase the dilemma, to resolve the contradictions between the transcendentalist and the empiricist world views?"

"The essence of humanity's spiritual dilemma is that we evolved genetically to accept one truth and discovered another. Is there a way to erase the dilemma, to resolve the contradictions between the transcendentalist and the empiricist world views?"

E. O. Wilson, American Scientist

Truth, Humanity, Spiritual, World

38

"Mathematicians deal with large numbers sometimes, but never in their income."

"Mathematicians deal with large numbers sometimes, but never in their income."

Isaac Asimov, American Scientist

Humor, Mathematics, Numbers, Income

38

"The routers get involved in this and they know that on the path between this router and that router a certain percentage of the bandwidth is reserved to these things and a certain percentage of it is allowed on a first come first served basis."

"The routers get involved in this and they know that on the path between this router and that router a certain percentage of the bandwidth is reserved to these things and a certain percentage of it is allowed on a first come first served basis."

Jon Postel, American Scientist

38

"The final outcome cannot be known, either to the originator of a new theory, or to his colleagues and critics, who are bent on falsifying it. Thus, the scientific innovator may feel all the more lonely and uncertain."

"The final outcome cannot be known, either to the originator of a new theory, or to his colleagues and critics, who are bent on falsifying it. Thus, the scientific innovator may feel all the more lonely and uncertain."

Peter D. Mitchell, British Scientist

Loneliness, Lonely, May, Theory

38

"My life as a working theorist began three months after this preliminary study and background reading, when Oscar gently nudged me toward working on a particular problem."

"My life as a working theorist began three months after this preliminary study and background reading, when Oscar gently nudged me toward working on a particular problem."

Rudolph A. Marcus, Canadian Scientist

Life, Months, Reading, Study

38

"If you want to succeed in the world, you don't have to be much cleverer than other people. You just have to be one day earlier."

"If you want to succeed in the world, you don't have to be much cleverer than other people. You just have to be one day earlier."

Leo Szilard, American Scientist

People, Day, Succeed, Want

38

"States are far less violent than traditional bands and tribes. Modern Western countries, even in their most war-torn centuries, suffered no more than around a quarter of the average death rate of nonstate societies, and less than a tenth of that for the most violent one."

"States are far less violent than traditional bands and tribes. Modern Western countries, even in their most war-torn centuries, suffered no more than around a quarter of the average death rate of nonstate societies, and less than a tenth of that for the most violent one."

Steven Pinker, Canadian Scientist

History, Violence, State, Society

38

"Thus, we see that one of the obvious origins of human disagreement lies in the use of noises for words."

"Thus, we see that one of the obvious origins of human disagreement lies in the use of noises for words."

Alfred Korzybski, Polish Scientist

Lie, Lies, Obvious, Words

38

"We ought, therefore, to lessen the price of food to our manufacturers, and place them more on a level with the manufacturers who have cheaper food, and also much lighter taxation."

"We ought, therefore, to lessen the price of food to our manufacturers, and place them more on a level with the manufacturers who have cheaper food, and also much lighter taxation."

Joseph Hume, Scottish Scientist

38

bottom of page