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Half of what we know is wrong, the purpose of science is to determine which half.
Arthur Kornberg
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Science helps us discern truth from misconception.

This quote emphasizes the idea that our current understanding of the world is often flawed and incomplete. Science serves as a tool to sift through this knowledge, highlighting what is accurate and what is not, encouraging a continuous quest for truth and understanding in a world full of uncertainties.

Themes

ScienceKnowledgeTruthUnderstandingMisconception

In practice

Example use cases

In a scientific conference to emphasize the importance of questioning our assumptions.

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No matter how counter-intuitive it may seem, basic research has proven over and over to be the lifeline of practical advances in medicine.
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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.
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