And if we must educate our poets and artists in science, we must educate our masters, labour and capital, in art.
John B. S. HaldaneRead
An attempt to study the evolution of living organisms without reference to cytology would be as futile as an account of stellar evolution which ignored spectroscopy.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Studying life without understanding the cellular basis is ineffective, much like studying stars without knowing about their light properties.
In this quote, Haldane emphasizes the importance of understanding the fundamental building blocks of life, such as cells, in order to comprehend the broader concepts of biological evolution. He draws a parallel to astronomy, suggesting that studying stellar evolution without the insights gained from spectroscopy—the study of light—would also prove to be an inadequate approach. This highlights the interconnectedness of different scientific disciplines and the necessity of using all available tools and knowledge to gain deeper insights into complex subjects.
Themes
EvolutionCytologySpectroscopyScienceBiologyCellsKnowledge
In practice
Example use cases
In a science class discussing evolution, this quote can be used to illustrate the importance of foundational knowledge.
More from John B. S. Haldane
All quotes →Until politics are a branch of science, we shall do well to regard political and social reforms as experiments rather than short-cuts to the millennium.
John B. S. HaldaneRead
A time will however come (as I believe) when physiology will invade and destroy mathematical physics, as the latter has destroyed geometry.
John B. S. HaldaneRead
My final word, before I'm done, Is "Cancer can be rather fun"- Provided one confronts the tumour with a sufficient sense of humour. I know that cancer often kills, But so do cars and sleeping pills; And it can hurt till one sweats, So can bad teeth and unpaid debts. A spot of laughter, I am sure, Often accelerates one's cure; So let us patients do our bit To help the surgeons make us fit.
John B. S. HaldaneRead
My practise as a scientist is atheistic. That is to say, when I set up an experiment I assume that no god, angel, or devil is going to interfere with its course; and this assumption has been justified by such success as I have achieved in my professional career. I should therefore be intellectually dishonest if I were not also atheistic in the affairs of the world. And I should be a coward if I did not state my theoretical views in public.
John B. S. HaldaneRead
It wasn't until I had performed by first autopsy that I realized that even the drabest human exteriors could contain the most beautiful viscera. After that, I would console myself for the plainness of my fellow bus-riders by dissecting them in my imagination.
John B. S. HaldaneRead
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Every great advance in natural knowledge has involved the absolute rejection of authority.
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To my mathematical brain, the numbers alone make thinking about aliens perfectly rational.
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