Half of what we know is wrong, the purpose of science is to determine which half.
Arthur KornbergRead
No matter how counter-intuitive it may seem, basic research has proven over and over to be the lifeline of practical advances in medicine.
Interpretation
Basic research is essential for making significant medical advancements.
Arthur Kornberg emphasizes the importance of fundamental research in medicine, asserting that practical breakthroughs and improvements in medical practices often stem from basic scientific inquiries. This highlights the necessity of investing in foundational studies, as they provide the groundwork for innovative solutions and medical advancements.
In practice
A scientist could use this quote in a presentation to advocate for funding basic research.
Half of what we know is wrong, the purpose of science is to determine which half.
As in biomedical science, pioneering industrial inventions have not been mothered by necessity. Rather, inventions for which there was no commercial use only later became the commercial airplanes, xerography and lasers on which modern society depends.
Nothing great in science has ever been done by men, whatever their powers, in whom the divine afflatus of the truth-seeker was wanting.
The energy produced by the breaking down of the atom is a very poor kind of thing. Anyone who expects a source of power from the transformation of these atoms is talking moonshine.
A physicist is just an atom's way of looking at itself.
During the century after Newton, it was still possible for a man of unusual attainments to master all fields of scientific knowledge. But by 1800, this had become entirely impracticable.
The theory of evolution by cumulative natural selection is the only theory we know of that is in principle capable of explaining the existence of organized complexity.
Contaminated water is not a problem limited to Flint. Think of New Jersey, where school fountains were found to contain unsafe levels of lead. Or the EPA's 33,000 superfund sites, which are highly-polluted areas that require long-term clean-up operations. The problem is so large that it feels insurmountable.
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