The best that can be said of my life so far is that it has been industrious, and the best that can be said of me is that I have not pretended to what I was not.
Maria MitchellRead
I have just gone over my comet computations again, and it is humiliating to perceive how very little more I know than I did seven years ago when I first did this kind of work.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects the humble realization of the limits of one's knowledge despite years of effort.
Maria Mitchell expresses a sense of humility and frustration regarding her progress in understanding comets over the past seven years. Her observation indicates that despite her hard work and dedication to the study, she recognizes that the vastness of knowledge is such that her personal growth feels minimal in comparison. This sentiment underscores the ongoing journey of learning and the challenge of truly mastering a subject.
Themes
KnowledgeHumilityLearningScienceComets
In practice
Example use cases
In a lecture about the limits of scientific knowledge.
More from Maria Mitchell
All quotes →To read a book, to think it over, and to write out notes is a useful exercise; a book which will not repay some hard thought is not worth publishing.
Maria MitchellRead
There is no cosmetic for beauty like happiness.
Maria MitchellRead
Study as if you were going to live forever; live as if you were going to die tomorrow.
Maria MitchellRead
I am just learning to notice the different colors of the stars, and already begin to have a new enjoyment.
Maria MitchellRead
We travel to learn; and I have never been in any country where they did not do something better than we do it, think some thoughts better than we think, catch some inspiration from heights above our own.
Maria MitchellRead
Similar quotes
Let us thank all those who teach in Catholic schools. Educating is an act of love; it is like giving life.
Pope FrancisRead
The good news is we have the technology and the tools to alleviate poverty on a global scale. All that is standing in our way is education and will.
Natalie PortmanRead
If you have something to offer, someone will learn something from you. It's a beautiful reciprocal arrangement. And it isn't education. It's history. It's poetry.
J. D. SalingerRead
Even in high school, a rule that permits only one point of view to be expressed is less likely to produce correct answers than the open discussion of countervailing views.
John Paul StevensRead
But in the new (math) approach, the important thing is to understand what you're doing, rather than to get the right answer.
Tom LehrerRead
The mind of a child is no less vagrant than his steps; it pursues the gossamer and flies from object to object, lawless and unconfined, and it is equally necessary to the development of his frame that his thoughts and his body should be free from fetters.
William GodwinRead