There are three stages in scientific discovery. First, people deny that it is true, then they deny that it is important; finally they credit the wrong person.
Bill BrysonRead
Human beings would split the atom and invent television, nylon, and instant coffee before they could figure out the age of their own planet.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Human ingenuity often leads to incredible inventions while we overlook fundamental questions about our own existence.
This quote by Bill Bryson highlights the irony of human innovation, suggesting that we are capable of creating complex technologies and advancements, yet we struggle to comprehend the basic aspects of our own world, such as the Earth's age. It reflects on the priorities of humanity, emphasizing our tendency to focus on technological progress rather than fundamental understanding.
Themes
KnowledgeScienceInnovationExistenceTechnology
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be used in a scientific discussion about the balance between technology and basic research.
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All quotes βFor most of us the rules of English grammar are at best a dimly remembered thing. But even for those who make the rules, grammatical correctitude sometimes proves easier to urge than to achieve. Among the errors cited in this book are a number committed by some of the leading authorities of this century. If men such as Fowler and Bernstein and Quirk and Howard cannot always get their English right, is it reasonable to expect the rest of us to?
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I became quietly seized with that nostalgia that overcomes you when you have reached the middle of your life and your father has recently died and it dawns on you that when he went he took some of you with him.
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Open your refrigerator door, and you summon forth more light than the total amount enjoyed by most households in the 18th century. The world at night, for much of history, was a very dark place indeed.
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The universe is not only queerer than we suppose; it is queerer than we can suppose
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Those who sniff decay in every shift of sense or alteration of usage do the language no service. Too often for such people the notion of good English has less to do with expressing ideas clearly than with making words conform to some arbitrary pattern.
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