I, too, am convinced that our ancestors came from Africa.
Richard LeakeyRead
We are concerned that, in a few years time, this place of discovery, with its wealth of human fossils, the like of which can be found nowhere else in the world, could be completely destroyed.
Interpretation
The quote expresses concern about the preservation of a unique archaeological site rich in human fossils.
Richard Leakey highlights the importance of preserving sites rich in human history and fossils, warning that neglect or destruction could lead to the loss of invaluable discoveries. The quote reflects a broader concern for environmental conservation and the safeguarding of our heritage for future generations.
In practice
Use this quote during a speech at a conservation fundraiser.
I, too, am convinced that our ancestors came from Africa.
For three million years we were hunter-gatherers, and it was through the evolutionary pressures of that way of life that a brain so adaptable and so creative eventually emerged. Today we stand with the brains of hunter-gatherers in our heads, looking out on a modern world made comfortable for some by the fruits of human inventiveness, and made miserable for others by the scandal of deprivation in the midst of plenty.
To have arrived on this earth as a product of a biological accident, only to depart through human arrogance, would be the ultimate irony.
Earlier, 100,000 elephants lived in Kenya and we didn't have any noteworthy problem with it. The problem that we have is not that there are now more elephants.
Yes, I am the last man to have walked on the moon, and that's a very dubious and disappointing honor. It's been far too long.
More than any other product of human scientific culture scientific knowledge is the collective property of all mankind.
It is essential to understand our brains in some detail if we are to assess correctly our place in this vast and complicated universe we see all around us.
What is it that keeps you so interested in the telomere? It's so intricate and complicated, and you want to know how it works.
'Conservation' (the conservation law) means this ... that there is a number, which you can calculate, at one moment-and as nature undergoes its multitude of changes, this number doesn't change. That is, if you calculate again, this quantity, it'll be the same as it was before. An example is the conservation of energy: there's a quantity that you can calculate according to a certain rule, and it comes out the same answer after, no matter what happens, happens.
No doubt science cannot admit of compromises, and can only bring out the complete truth. Hence there must be controversy, and the strife may be, and sometimes must be, sharp. But must it even then be personal? Does it help science to attack the man as well as the statement? On the contrary, has not science the noble privilege of carrying on its controversies without personal quarrels?
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