Hubble touches people. When you're looking that far out, you're giving people their place in the universe, it touches people. Science is often visual, so it doesn't need translation. It's like poetry, it touches you.
Interpretation
The Hubble Space Telescope connects individuals to their significance in the vast universe through its stunning images, which can evoke deep emotions without the need for words.
In this quote, Story Musgrave reflects on the profound impact that the Hubble Space Telescope has on humanity. By capturing breathtaking images of distant galaxies and celestial phenomena, the telescope not only expands our understanding of the universe but also connects us to something greater than ourselves. The visual nature of science, much like poetry, has the power to evoke emotions and provoke thought, reminding us of our place in the cosmos and the beauty that exists beyond our immediate experience.
In practice
During a science presentation on the Hubble Space Telescope, one might quote this to emphasize its emotional impact.
It is humanity's destiny to explore the universe. When we start thinking and working on that cosmic level, we will transcend our parochial differences and tribal natures and become global creatures, solar system creatures. Then we will figure out where we fit in.
I came from an extraordinarily dysfunctional family, full of abuse and alcoholism. And eventually everyone within the family had committed suicide.
The solar system should be viewed as our backyard, not as some sequence of destinations that we do one at a time.
Almost everywhere, climate change denial now looks as stupid and as unacceptable as Holocaust denial.
As was predicted at the beginning of the Human Genome Project, getting the sequence will be the easy part as only technical issues are involved. The hard part will be finding out what it means, because this poses intellectual problems of how to understand the participation of the genes in the functions of living cells.
'Science in itself' is nothing, for it exists only in the human beings who are its bearers. 'Science for its own sake' usually means nothing more than science for the sake of the people who happen to be pursuing it.
Fudging the data in any way whatsoever is quite literally a sin against the holy ghost of science. I'm not religious, but I put it that way because I feel so strongly. It's the one thing you do not ever do. You've got to have standards.
Nnothing tends more to the corruption of science than to suffer it to stagnate. These waters must be troubled, before they can exert their virtues.
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