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.

The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not 'Eureka!' (I found it!) read more

The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not 'Eureka!' (I found it!) but 'That's funny....'

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.

Science is the topography of ignorance.

Science is the topography of ignorance.

I am among those who think that science has great beauty. A scientist in his laboratory is not only a read more

I am among those who think that science has great beauty. A scientist in his laboratory is not only a technician: he is also a child placed before natural phenomena which impress him like a fairy tale.

Science may have found a cure for most evils, but it has found no remedy for the worst of them read more

Science may have found a cure for most evils, but it has found no remedy for the worst of them all--the apathy of human beings.

Science is a wonderful thing if one does not have to earn one's living at it.

Science is a wonderful thing if one does not have to earn one's living at it.

Science is not about control. It is about cultivating a perpetual condition of wonder in the face of something that read more

Science is not about control. It is about cultivating a perpetual condition of wonder in the face of something that forever grows one step richer and subtler than our latest theory about it. It is about reverence, not mastery.

In science one tries to tell people, in such a way as to be
understood by everyone, something that read more

In science one tries to tell people, in such a way as to be
understood by everyone, something that no one ever knew before.
But in poetry, it's the exact opposite.