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Quotes about science

558 quotes from 241 people

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The sun comes up just about as often as it goes down, in the long run, but this doesn’t make its motion random.
Donald Knuthborn 1938The Art of Computer Programming (1968–2011), Vol. II, Seminumerical Algorithms, Section 3.3.2 part B, first paragraph (1969)
Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts.
Rachel Carson1907–1964The Sense of Wonder (1965)
- Beauty
- Nature
The romantic view of the natural world as a blissful Eden is only held by people who have no actual experience of nature.
Michael Crichton1942–2008Environmentalism as a Religion (2003)
- Experience
- Nature
Given ships or sails adapted to the breezes of heaven, there will be those who will not shrink from even that vast expanse.
Johannes Kepler1571–1630Translated by Edward Rosen, Kepler’s Conversation with Galileo’s Sidereal Messenger (1965), p. 39.
- Courage
How odd it is that anyone should not see that all observation must be for or against some view if it is to be of any service!
Charles Darwin1809–1882Letter to Henry Fawcett (18 September 1861), in Life of Henry Fawcett (1885) by Leslie Stephen, pp. 100-101
For astronomy is not only pleasant, but also very useful to be known: it cannot be denied that this art unfolds the admirable wisdom of God.
John Calvin1509–1564Commentary on the Book of Genesis. Chapter I.
- God
I can’t be as confident about computer science as I can about biology. Biology easily has 500 years of exciting problems to work on. It’s at that level.
Donald Knuthborn 1938Interview, Computer Literacy Bookshops (1993)
- Computers
Ecology is a dirty seven-letter word to many people. They are like heavy sleepers refusing to be aroused. “Leave me alone! It’s not time to get up yet!”
Frank Herbert1920–1986“Introduction” to New World or No World (1970)
- Nature
Those who cavalierly reject the Theory of Evolution, as not adequately supported by facts, seem quite to forget that their own theory is supported by no facts at all.
Herbert Spencer1820–1903The Development Hypothesis (1852)
- Facts
To cause at will the birth and death of matter would be man’s grandest deed, which would give him the mastery of physical creation, make him fulfill his ultimate destiny.
Nikola Tesla1856–1943Man’s Greatest Achievement (1908; 1930)
Given time-time not in years but in millennia-life adjusts, and a balance has been reached. For time is the essential ingredient; but in the modern world there is no time.
Rachel Carson1907–1964Silent Spring (1962)
- Nature
- Time
One of the most disconcerting issues of our time lies in the fact that modern science, along with miracle drugs and communications satellites, has also produced nuclear bombs.
Wernher von Braun1912–1977Responsible Scientific Investigation and Application (1976)
- War & Peace
For my part, I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream in the same simple way as I dream about the black dots representing towns and villages on a map.
Vincent van Gogh1853–1890Letter to Theo, Monday, 9 or Tuesday, 10 July 1888, as quoted in Windows of the Soul: Experiencing God in New Ways‎ (1996) by Ken Gire, p. 91.
- Nature
There are one hundred and ninety-three living species of monkeys and apes. One hundred and ninety-two of them are covered with hair. The exception is a naked ape self-named Homo sapiens.
Desmond Morris1928–2026The Naked Ape (1967), Introduction, p. 9
- Animals
Can anyone believe it is possible to lay down such a barrage of poisons on the surface of the earth without making it unfit for all life? They should not be called “insecticides,” but “biocides.”
Rachel Carson1907–1964Silent Spring (1962)
- Nature