The incredible diversity oflife on this planet, most of which is microbial, can only beunderstood in an evolutionary framework
Interpretation
Life's diversity is rooted in evolution, particularly at the microbial level.
This quote by Carl Woese emphasizes the importance of understanding the vast diversity of life on Earth through the lens of evolution. Specifically, it highlights the prevalence of microorganisms, which are essential to the ecosystem yet often overlooked, underscoring that a comprehensive understanding of biology must include the evolutionary processes that shape life forms.
In practice
In a lecture about ecology, you might use this quote to illustrate the significance of microorganisms.
Our task now is to resynthesize biology; put the organism back into its environment; connect it again to its evolutionary past; and let us feel that complex flow that is organism, evolution, and environment united. The time has come for biology to enter the nonlinear world.
The average ground temperature of the Earth is impossible to measure since most of the Earth is ocean...So this average ground temperature is a fiction.
Whether outwardly or inwardly, whether in space or time, the farther we penetrate the unknown, the vaster and more marvelous it becomes.
People often ask me why I persisted in doing research on a subject that was so controversial. I frequently respond by telling them that only a few scientists are granted the great fortune to pursue topics that are so new and different that only a small number of people can grasp the meaning of such discoveries initially.
Out Milky Way is the dwelling; the nebulae are the city.
Mathematics allows for no hypocrisy and no vagueness.
Statistics is the grammar of science.
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