We have genuflected before the god of science only to find that it has given us the atomic bomb, producing fears and anxieties that science can never mitigate.
Interpretation
This quote reflects the duality of scientific progress, highlighting both its achievements and the fears it induces.
Martin Luther King Jr. addresses the paradox of scientific advancements, particularly exemplified by the creation of the atomic bomb. While science has led to monumental breakthroughs, it has also birthed profound anxieties and existential threats that remain unresolved, posing a challenge to our reliance on science for solace and understanding.
In practice
In a debate about the implications of scientific research, I referenced King's quote to emphasize the ethical dilemmas posed by technological advancements.
This business of burning human beings with napalm, of filling our nation's homes with orphans and widows, of injecting poisonous drugs of hate into veins of peoples normally humane, of sending men home from dark and bloody battlefields physically handicapped and psychologically deranged, cannot be reconciled with wisdom, justice and love.
Music is the best consolation for a despaired man
We must meet the forces of hate with the power of love.
We may have all come on different ships, but we're in the same boat now.
Israel... is one of the great outpost of democracy in the world
One of the greatest casualties of the war in Vietnam is the Great Society... shot down on the battlefield of Vietnam.
If the Earth gets hit by an asteroid, it's game over. It's control-alt-delete for civilization.
People have always asked whether evolution is constantly driving onwards and upwards. Is there always going to be improvement? The answer is no: evolution is a progression of form and function, but it is not purposeful.
Science is the highest personification of the nation because that nation will remain the first which carries the furthest the works of thought and intelligence.
One can think of any given axiom system as being like a computer with a certain limited amount of memory or processing power. One could switch to a computer with even more storage, but no matter how large an amount of storage space the computer has, there will still exist some tasks that are beyond its ability.
Economists (and others) who are satisfied with nature-free equations develop a dangerous hubris about the potency of our species
The fairest thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true science. He who knows it not, and can no longer wonder, no longer feel amazement, is as good as dead. We all had this priceless talent when we were young. But as time goes by, many of us lose it. The true scientist never loses the faculty of amazement. It is the essence of his being.
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