All my life I have placed great store in civility and good manners, practices I find scarce among the often hard-edged, badly socialized scientists with whom I associate. Tone of voice means a great deal to me in the course of debate. I despise the arrogance and doting self-regard so frequently found among the very bright.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the importance of civility and good manners in interactions, particularly within the scientific community, where arrogance can overshadow genuine debate.
E. O. Wilson reflects on his lifelong belief in the value of civility and good manners, particularly when engaging in discussions and debates. He expresses concern over the prevalence of rudeness and arrogance among some highly intelligent individuals, suggesting that constructive dialogue is often undermined by a lack of respect and humility, which he finds fundamental to meaningful exchanges of ideas.
In practice
This quote could be used in a workshop on effective communication skills.
Consider the nematode roundworm, the most abundant of all animals. Four out of five animals on Earth are nematode worms β if all solid materials except nematode worms were to be eliminated, you could still see the ghostly outline of most of it in nematode worms.
Nature holds the key to our aesthetic, intellectual, cognitive and even spiritual satisfaction.
The worst thing that will probably happen-in fact is already well underway-is not energy depletion, economic collapse, conventional war, or the expansion of totalitarian governments. As terrible as these catastrophes would be for us, they can be repaired in a few generations. The one process now going on that will take millions of years to correct is loss of genetic and species diversity by the destruction of natural habitats. This is the folly our descendants are least likely to forgive us.
Humanity today is like a waking dreamer, caught between the fantasies of sleep and the chaos of the real world. The mind seeks but cannot find the precise place and hour. We have created a Star Wars civilization, with Stone Age emotions, medieval institutions, and godlike technology. We thrash about. We are terribly confused by the mere fact of our existence, and a danger to ourselves and to the rest of life.
Destroying rainforest for economic gain is like burning a Renaissance painting to cook a meal.
An Armageddon is approaching at the beginning of the third millennium. But it is not the cosmic war and fiery collapse of mankind foretold in sacred scripture. It is the wreckage of the planet by an exuberantly plentiful and ingenious humanity.
I'm too old to recover, too narrow to forgive myself.
Only a person who has passed through the gate of humility can ascend to the heights of the spirit.
After that [father's death] I never cried with any real conviction, nor expected much of anyone's God except indifference, nor loved deeply without fear that it would cost me dearly in pain. At the age of five I had become a skeptic and began to sense that any happiness that came my way might be the prelude to some grim cosmic joke.
The attitude of unconditional self-acceptance is probably the most important variable in their long-term recovery.
You are not Atlas carrying the world on your shoulder. It is good to remember that the planet is carrying you.
The smallest deed is better than the greatest intention.
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