Science is a way to not fool ourselves.
Carl SaganRead
Human beings grew up in forests; we have a natural affinity for them. How lovely a tree is, straining toward the sky.
Interpretation
Humans have an inherent connection to nature, particularly forests, which symbolizes beauty and aspiration.
In this quote, Carl Sagan emphasizes the deep-rooted relationship humans have with nature, particularly forests. He highlights the beauty and elegance of trees as they reach for the sky, suggesting that our growth and aspirations are mirrored in the natural world around us. This connection to nature is not only profound but essential to our identity and well-being.
In practice
This quote is perfect for a presentation on environmental conservation.
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.
Compared with me, a tree is immortal.
There can be no very black melancholy to him who lives in the midst of Nature and has his senses still.
If I had to choose, I would rather have birds than airplanes.
The gardener cultivates wildness, but he does so carefully and respectfully, in full recognition of its mystery.
Gardeners may create order briefly out of chaos, but nature always gets the last word, and what it says is usually untidy by human standards. But I find all states of nature beautiful, and because I want to delight in my garden, not rule it, I just accept my yen to tame the chaos on one day and let the Japanese beetles run riot on the next.
Wild roses are fairest, and nature a better gardener than art.
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