Human beings would split the atom and invent television, nylon, and instant coffee before they could figure out the age of their own planet.
Bill BrysonRead
I have made hundreds of dives in submersibles, with each dive holding the promise of seeing an organism or a behavior that no one has ever seen before. But I have always wondered about the animals and behaviors that we're not seeing because our bright lights and loud thrusters scare them away.
Interpretation
The quote reflects the curiosity and concerns of exploring the unknown and the impact of human presence on marine life.
Edith Widder's quote encapsulates the excitement of scientific exploration in the depths of the ocean, illustrating the dual nature of discovery. While every dive brings the potential for new observations of unique organisms and behaviors, it also raises poignant questions about what is missed due to human interference, highlighting the delicate balance between exploration and the preservation of natural habitats.
In practice
This quote can be used during a marine biology seminar to emphasize the importance of understanding oceanic ecosystems.
Human beings would split the atom and invent television, nylon, and instant coffee before they could figure out the age of their own planet.
That's not right. That's not even wrong.
The experimenter who does not know what he is looking for will not understand what he finds.
Sometimes the probabilities are very close to certainties, but they're never really certainties
The bedrock nature of space and time and the unification of cosmos and quantum are surely among science's great 'open frontiers.' These are parts of the intellectual map where we're still groping for the truth - where, in the fashion of ancient cartographers, we must still inscribe 'here be dragons.'
We put water down into the earth to push up gas, then we say, 'Ooh, we're having a water crisis.' This is foolishness, and this kind of foolishness, where we try to excuse human behavior, is dangerous.
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