Famous quotes by Scientists

Scientists

Scientists ask sharp questions, test bold ideas, and revise their understanding as evidence grows. Their reflections capture the curiosity, rigor, and humility at the heart of discovery, spanning fields from physics and biology to climate science and computing. These quotes invite readers of all backgrounds to consider how observation, doubt, and creativity shape progress and deepen our sense of wonder about the universe. Encounter voices that challenge assumptions, celebrate collaboration, and remind us why the pursuit of knowledge matters in daily life and for the future.

"Grove giveth and Gates taketh away"

Bob Metcalfe, Scientist

"Hope is nature's veil for hiding truth's nakedness"

Alfred Nobel, Scientist

Small: Alfred Nobel

"By virtue of being born to humanity, every human being has a right to the development and fulfillment of his potentialities as a human being"

Ashley Montagu, Scientist

Small: Ashley Montagu

"The city is not a concrete jungle, it is a human zoo"

Desmond Morris, Scientist

"Heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible"

Lord Kelvin, Scientist

"It's necessary to be slightly underemployed if you are to do something significant"

James D. Watson, Scientist

Small: James D. Watson

"Destroying rainforest for economic gain is like burning a Renaissance painting to cook a meal"

E. O. Wilson, Scientist

"To err is human, but to really foul things up you need a computer"

Paul R. Ehrlich, Scientist

"Story in a game is like a story in a porn movie. It's expected to be there, but it's not that important"

John Carmack, Scientist

Small: John Carmack

"Man cannot remake himself without suffering, for he is both the marble and the sculptor"

Alexis Carrel, Scientist

Small: Alexis Carrel

"The bond with a true dog is as lasting as the ties of this earth will ever be"

Konrad Lorenz, Scientist

"Economy does not lie in sparing money, but in spending it wisely"

Thomas Huxley, Scientist

Small: Thomas Huxley

"The idea is to die young as late as possible"

Ashley Montagu, Scientist

Small: Ashley Montagu

"The use of COBOL cripples the mind; its teaching should, therefore, be regarded as a criminal offense"

Edsger Dijkstra, Scientist

"The question of whether a computer can think is no more interesting than the question of whether a submarine can swim"

Edsger Dijkstra, Scientist

"Program testing can be used to show the presence of bugs, but never to show their absence!"

Edsger Dijkstra, Scientist

"Simplicity is prerequisite for reliability"

Edsger Dijkstra, Scientist

"Clearly, then, the city is not a concrete jungle, it is a human zoo"

Desmond Morris, Scientist

"I cannot persuade myself that a beneficent and omnipotent God would have designedly created parasitic wasps with the express intention of their feeding within the living bodies of Caterpillars"

Charles Darwin, Scientist

Small: Charles Darwin

"I was married to Margaret Joan Howe in 1940. Although not a scientist herself she has contributed more to my work than anyone else by providing a peaceful and happy home"

Frederick Sanger, Scientist

Small: Frederick Sanger

"Far better an approximate answer to the right question, which is often vague, than the exact answer to the wrong question, which can always be made precise"

John Tukey, Scientist

Small: John Tukey

"Tired minds don't plan well. Sleep first, plan later"

Walter Reisch, Scientist

"Observe which side resorts to the most vociferous name-calling and you are likely to have identified the side with the weaker argument and they know it"

Charles R. Anderson, Scientist

"Life leaps like a geyser for those who drill through the rock of inertia"

Alexis Carrel, Scientist

Small: Alexis Carrel

"Where observation is concerned, chance favors only the prepared mind"

Louis Pasteur, Scientist

"Food is the moral right of all who are born into this world"

Norman Borlaug, Scientist

"Johnny Carson started the jokes about me and Marlin in his monologues"

Jim Fowler, Scientist

"The chess-board is the world, the pieces are the phenomena of the universe, the rules of the game are what we call the laws of Nature. The player on the other side is hidden from us"

Thomas Huxley, Scientist

Small: Thomas Huxley

"We won't have a society if we destroy the environment"

Margaret Mead, Scientist

Small: Margaret Mead

"Who are we? We find that we live on an insignificant planet of a humdrum star lost in a galaxy tucked away in some forgotten corner of a universe in which there are far more galaxies than people"

Carl Sagan, Scientist

Small: Carl Sagan

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