Many people and governments share the mistaken belief that science, with new, ingenious devices and techniques, can rescue us from the troubles we face without our having to mend our ways and change our patterns of activity. This is not so.
Interpretation
Science cannot solve our problems without significant changes in human behavior and actions.
Henry W. Kendall emphasizes that relying solely on scientific advancements to solve societal issues is misguided. He argues that meaningful progress requires individuals and governments to reflect on and alter their behaviors and practices, rather than expecting technology alone to provide solutions to the challenges we face.
In practice
This quote could be used in a speech about the ethical responsibilities of scientists in society.
Humanity has nearly suffocated the globe with carbon dioxide, yet nuclear power plants that produce no such emissions are so mired in objections and obstruction that, despite renewed interest on every continent, it is unlikely another will be built in the United States.
Research under a paradigm must be a particularly effective way of inducing paradigm change.
Vegetation is really controlling what happens...whereas the emphasis in the climate models has always been on the atmosphere.
The difference between screwing around and science is writing it down.
Coal is responsible for as much atmospheric carbon dioxide as other fossil fuels combined and it still has far greater reserves. We must stop using it.
Dr. Kertesz mentioned to me a case known to him of a farmer who had developed prosopagnosia and in consequence could no longer distinguish (the faces of) his cows, and of another such patient, an attendant in a Natural History Museum, who mistook his own reflection for the diorama of an ape
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.