It stands to the everlasting credit of science that by acting on
the human mind it has overcome man's read more

It stands to the everlasting credit of science that by acting on
the human mind it has overcome man's insecurity before himself
and before nature.

Science progresses best when observations force us to alter our preconceptions

Science progresses best when observations force us to alter our preconceptions

A theory is something nobody believes, except the person who made it. An experiment is something everybody believes, except the read more

A theory is something nobody believes, except the person who made it. An experiment is something everybody believes, except the person who made it.

When Kepler found his long-cherished belief did not agree with the most precise observation, he accepted the uncomfortable fact. He read more

When Kepler found his long-cherished belief did not agree with the most precise observation, he accepted the uncomfortable fact. He preferred the hard truth to his dearest illusions; that is the heart of science.

One thing I have learned in a long life: that all our science, measured against reality, is primitive and childlike read more

One thing I have learned in a long life: that all our science, measured against reality, is primitive and childlike - and yet it is the most precious thing we have

It would be possible to describe everything scientifically, but it would make no sense; it would be without meaning, as read more

It would be possible to describe everything scientifically, but it would make no sense; it would be without meaning, as if you described a Beethoven symphony as a variation of wave pressure.

We live in a society exquisitely dependent on science and technology, in which hardly anyone knows anything about science and read more

We live in a society exquisitely dependent on science and technology, in which hardly anyone knows anything about science and technology

If a scientist were to cut his ear off, no one would take it as
evidence of a heightened read more

If a scientist were to cut his ear off, no one would take it as
evidence of a heightened sensibility.

To raise new questions, new possibilities, to regard old problems from a new angle, requires creative imagination and marks real read more

To raise new questions, new possibilities, to regard old problems from a new angle, requires creative imagination and marks real advance in science.