...for a long time I wanted to become a theologian... now, however, behold how through my efforts God is being debated in astronomy.
Interpretation
Johannes Kepler reflects on his initial desire to study theology, only to find that his work in astronomy has led to discussions about God.
In this quote, Johannes Kepler expresses a shift in his intellectual pursuits. Initially aspiring to be a theologian, Kepler reveals that through his astronomical efforts, he has become part of a broader discourse on the nature of God. This illustrates the intersection of faith and science, suggesting that exploring the universe can lead to greater understanding of the divine.
In practice
A lecturer discussing the relationship between science and spirituality might use this quote to illustrate how they are not mutually exclusive.
...Those laws are within the grasp of the human mind. God wanted us to recognize them by creating us after his own image so that we could share in his own thoughts... and if piety allow us to say so, our understanding is in this respect of the same kind as the divine, at least as far as we are able to grasp something of it in our mortal life.
A most unfailing experience... of the excitement of sublunary (that is, human) natures by the conjunctions and aspects of the planets has instructed and compelled my unwilling belief.
We find, therefore, under this orderly arrangement, a wonderful symmetry in the universe, and a definite relation of harmony in the motion and magnitude of the orbs, of a kind that is not possible to obtain in any other way.
I am stealing the golden vessels of the Egyptians to build a tabernacle to my God from them, far far away from the boundaries of Egypt. If you forgive me, I shall rejoice; if you are enraged with me, I shall bear it. See, I cast the die, and I write the book. Whether it is to be read by the people of the present or of the future makes no difference: let it await its reader for a hundred years, if God himself has stood ready for six thousand years for one to study him.
Eyesight should learn from reason.
I measured the skies, now the shadows I measure, Sky-bound was the mind, earth-bound the body rests. [Kepler's epitaph]
A strong feeling of adventure is animating those who are working on bacterial viruses, a feeling that they have a small part in the great drive towards a fundamental problem in biology.
No one undertakes research in physics with the intention of winning a prize. It is the joy of discovering something no one knew before.
The problem with data is that it says a lot, but it also says nothing. 'Big data' is terrific, but it's usually thin. To understand why something is happening, we have to engage in both forensics and guess work.
The word 'universe' is obviously not intended to have a plural, but science has evolved in such a way that we need a plural noun for something similar to what we ordinarily call our universe.
The whole language of nature informs us, that in animated beings there is something above our powers of investigation; something which employs, combines, and arranges the gross elements of matter - a spark of celestial fire, by which life is kindled and preserved, and which, if even the instruments it employs are indestructible in their essence, must itself, of necessity, be immortal.
I think the question is, are there women and have there been women who want to do science and could be doing great science, but they never really got the opportunity?
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.