Science Quote by George Wald

A scientist telling students to chase the “unattainable” sounds like sabotage until you hear the lab logic beneath it. Wald isn’t endorsing delusion; he’s prescribing a method for a life in research, where the most productive questions are, by design, too large to “finish.” “Try early in life” reads like career advice and character formation: set your compass before the world narrows your ambitions into grant cycles, job titles, and incremental milestones. Start with the moon so your steps still matter when you’re forced to walk.

The phrase “unattainable objective” is a neat rhetorical bait-and-switch. In everyday life, unattainable equals pointless. In science, unattainable can mean asymptotic: you never reach the endpoint, but you generate knowledge by getting closer. Think of “understanding life,” “curing cancer,” or “explaining consciousness” - quests that refuse closure, yet organize entire fields. Wald’s subtext is that attainable goals invite optimization; unattainable ones demand invention. They protect you from complacency because they can’t be checked off, only pursued.

Context matters: Wald lived through the era when science became both heroic and bureaucratic - big-war funding, big labs, big expectations. He won a Nobel Prize, so the advice carries the authority of someone who benefited from audacious targets. It’s also quietly anti-utilitarian: a reminder that the best scientific training isn’t just technique, it’s appetite. Aim at what cannot be owned, and you’re less likely to confuse progress with possession.