Science is a way to not fool ourselves.
Carl SaganRead
For all our failings, despite our limitations and fallibilities, we humans are capable of greatness.
Interpretation
Humans can achieve remarkable things despite their flaws and limitations.
Carl Sagan emphasizes that regardless of our imperfections and the challenges we face, there exists within humanity the potential for extraordinary accomplishments. This quote serves as a reminder of our innate ability to strive for greatness and overcome our shortcomings.
In practice
During a graduation speech to inspire students to chase their dreams.
Science is a way to not fool ourselves.
In more than one respect, the exploring of the Solar System and homesteading other worlds constitutes the beginning, much more than the end, of history.
How smart does a chimpanzee have to be before killing him constitutes murder?
The hole in the ozone layer is a kind of skywriting. At first it seemed to spell out our continuing complacency before a witch's brew of deadly perils. But perhaps it really tells of a newfound talent to work together to protect the global environment.
There is a reward structure in science that is very interesting: Our highest honors go to those who disprove the findings of the most revered among us. So Einstein is revered not just because he made so many fundamental contributions to science, but because he found an imperfection in the fundamental contribution of Isaac Newton.
The simplest thought, like the concept of the number one, has an elaborate logical underpinning.
From my earliest youth, I have known that while one is obliged to plan with care the stages of one's journey, one is entitled to dream, and keep dreaming, of its destination. A man may feel as old as his years yet as young as his dreams.
As long as I can remember I feel I have had this great creative and spiritual force within me that is greater than faith, greater than ambition, greater than confidence, greater than determination, greater than vision. It is all these combined. My brain becomes magnetized with this dominating force which I hold in my hand.
There are lives to brighten. There are hearts to touch. There are souls to save.
I believe that if you have revolutionary potential, you must make the world a better place and use it.
Make a difference today for someone who's fighting for their tomorrow.
When I came to California, it was the mecca of the world. Every young person on the planet wanted to be here.
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