Half of what we know is wrong, the purpose of science is to determine which half.
Arthur KornbergRead
As in biomedical science, pioneering industrial inventions have not been mothered by necessity. Rather, inventions for which there was no commercial use only later became the commercial airplanes, xerography and lasers on which modern society depends.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Innovation often arises without immediate necessity, leading to breakthroughs that become essential in society.
Arthur Kornberg emphasizes that significant industrial inventions frequently emerge from creativity rather than pressing needs. Technologies like commercial airplanes, xerography, and lasers initially did not serve a clear purpose but eventually became crucial components of modern society, showcasing how visionary ideas can transform into indispensable tools over time.
Themes
InnovationInventionScienceTechnologyNecessity
In practice
Example use cases
During a science conference, this quote can be used to inspire inventors and entrepreneurs about the importance of creativity.
More from Arthur Kornberg
All quotes →No matter how counter-intuitive it may seem, basic research has proven over and over to be the lifeline of practical advances in medicine.
Arthur KornbergRead
Similar quotes
Science is only ‘one’ of the many instruments people invented to cope with their surroundings. It is not the only one, it is not infallible and it has become too powerful, too pushy and too dangerous to be left on its own.
Paul FeyerabendRead
Exxon, one of the companies that has spent tens of millions of dollars denying climate change, denying any responsibility to deal with, taking government subsidies on a massive scale, now their ads are all about, 'Oh, we want a clean future. We're looking at clean energy and all that stuff.'
David SuzukiRead
New knowledge has led to the recognition in the theory of evolution of more than a hypothesis. It is indeed remarkable that this theory has been progressively accepted by researchers, following a series of discoveries in various fields of knowledge. The convergence, neither sought nor fabricated, of the results of work that was conducted independently is in itself a significant argument in favor of this theory.
Pope John Paul IiRead
When asked about which scientist he'd like to meet, Neil deGrasse Tyson said, "Isaac Newton. No question about it. The smartest person ever to walk the face of this earth. The man was connected to the universe in spooky ways. He discovered the laws of motion, the laws of gravity, the laws of optics. Then he turned 26.
Neil Degrasse TysonRead
Mathematical science shows what is. It is the language of unseen relations between things. But to use and apply that language, we must be able fully to appreciate, to feel, to seize the unseen, the unconscious.
Ada LovelaceRead
In the past, geneticists have looked at so-called disease genes, but a lot of people have changes in their genes and don't get these diseases. There have to be other parts of physiology and genetics that compensate.
Craig VenterRead