There is no scientific reason to think that we, even with space travel, are going to survive as a species for ever, certainly not by biting off the hand that feeds us, which is exactly what we are doing.
Lynn MargulisRead
I was taught over and over again that the accumulation of random mutations led to evolutionary change - led to new species. I believed it until I looked for evidence.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects skepticism about widely accepted scientific theories based on personal research and evidence.
Lynn Margulis expresses a critical perspective on evolutionary theory, emphasizing that belief in the accumulation of random mutations leading to new species must be supported by evidence. Her statement highlights the importance of inquiry and evidence in understanding scientific concepts, suggesting that blind acceptance of theories without investigation can lead to misconceptions.
Themes
EvolutionMutationsEvidenceSkepticismScience
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the validity of evolutionary theories at a science conference.
More from Lynn Margulis
All quotes βDespite our very recent appearance on the planet, humanity combines arrogance with increasing material demands, even as we become more numerous. Our toughness is a delusion. Have we the intelligence and discipline to vigilantly guard against our tendency to grow without limit?
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It is certainly true in the United States that there is an uneasiness about certain aspects of science, particularly evolution, because it conflicts, in some people's minds, with their sense of how we all came to be. But you know, if you are a believer in God, it's hard to imagine that God would somehow put this incontrovertible evidence in front of us about our relationship to other living organisms and expect us to disbelieve it. I mean, that doesn't make sense at all.
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[N]o scientist likes to be criticized. ... But you don't reply to critics: "Wait a minute, wait a minute; this is a really good idea. I'm very fond of it. It's done you no harm. Please don't attack it." That's not the way it goes. The hard but just rule is that if the ideas don't work, you must throw them away. Don't waste any neurons on what doesn't work. Devote those neurons to new ideas that better explain the data. Valid criticism is doing you a favor.
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Sometimes I had to spend a whole day mixing a boiling mass with a heavy iron rod nearly as large as myself. I would be broken with fatigue at the day's end. Other days, on the contrary, the work would be a most minute and delicate fractional crystallization, in the effort to concentrate the radium.
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To my mathematical brain, the numbers alone make thinking about aliens perfectly rational. The real challenge is to work out what aliens might actually be like.
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No one trusts a model except the man who wrote it; everyone trusts an observation, except the man who made it.
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Noam ChomskyRead