25 Powerful Quotes From Scientists That Are Truly Thought-Provoking

Our planet has been home to countless billions of people throughout time. However, few have managed to leave their mark or contribute to the role and place of humanity more than scientists with their discoveries, inventions, and revolutionary thinking. Much of these people’s impact can be noted in their brilliant and powerful quotes. Our quest as a species has been and continues to ultimately be twofold: to find out who we are as individuals (self-discovery) and what our station is in the grand scheme of the natural world and the cosmic. For some, this may include a search for a higher power. On the other hand, others seek to understand the intricacies of nature and the cosmos.

Some of the people who have “changed the world” have been so inspirational and influential on human thought and humankind’s progress that many actively seek their nuggets of wisdom via powerful quotes. In fact, their quotations alone have been enough to inspire others to change their lives for the better. From Socrates and Aristotle to Albert Einstein and Carl Sagan, these are 25 Powerful Quotes From Scientists That Are Truly Thought-Provoking.

25

"Progress is made by trial and failure; the failures are generally a hundred times more numerous than the successes; yet they are usually left unchronicled." —William Ramsay

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24

"Although Nature needs thousands or millions of years to create a new species, man needs only a few dozen years to destroy one." —Victor Scheffer

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23

"Science is simply common sense at its best, that is, rigidly accurate in observation, and merciless to fallacy in logic." – Thomas Huxley

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22

"Actually, everything that can be known has a number; for it is impossible to grasp anything with the mind or to recognize it without this." —Philolaus

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21

"The good thing about science is that it’s true whether or not you believe in it." ―Neil deGrasse Tyson

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20

"Scientific discovery and scientific knowledge have been achieved only by those who have gone in pursuit of it without any practical purpose whatsoever in view." —Max Planck

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19

"Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less." ―Marie Curie

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18

"What's dangerous is not to evolve." – Jeff Bezos

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17

"Science is the acceptance of what works and the rejection of what does not. That needs more courage than we might think." —Jacob Bronowski

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16

"Imagination is more important than knowledge." —Albert Einstein

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15

"Nothing exists except atoms and empty space; everything else is opinion." —Democritus, stated 2,500 years ago, when scientifically pretty much everything was just a hypothesis.

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14

"If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe." ―Carl Sagan

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13

"Valid criticism does you a favor." —Carl Sagan

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12

"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." ―Albert Einstein

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11

"By 'life,' we mean a thing that can nourish itself and grow and decay." —Aristotle

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10

"True courage is knowing what not to fear." —Plato

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9

"Our virtues and our failings are inseparable, like force and matter. When they separate, man is no more." —Νikola Tesla

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8

"The greatest deception men suffer is from their own opinions." —Leonardo da Vinci

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7

"A man who dares to waste one hour of time has not discovered the value of life." ―Charles Darwin

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6

"Science is not only a disciple of reason but also one of romance and passion." – Stephen Hawking

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5

"No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river, and he’s not the same man." —Heraclitus

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4

"Science is the great antidote to the poison of enthusiasm and superstition." —Adam Smith

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3

"You cannot teach a man anything; you can only help him discover it in himself." —Galileo

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2

"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I’m not sure about the former." —Albert Einstein

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1

"True knowledge exists in knowing that you know nothing." —Socrates

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