All practical teachers know that education is a patient process of mastery of details, minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day.
Alfred North WhiteheadRead
To come very near to a true theory, and to grasp its precise application, are two different things, as the history of science teaches us. Everything of importance has been said before by someone who did not discover it.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Understanding a theory is not the same as being able to apply it effectively; knowledge often builds on prior discoveries.
This quote by Alfred North Whitehead highlights the distinction between theoretical knowledge and practical application. It emphasizes that, while many scientific ideas may seem new, they are often the culmination of thoughts and discoveries from those who came before. In essence, it suggests that grasping the essence of a theory is separate from the ability to utilize it in a real-world context, illustrating a deeper understanding of knowledge progression in science.
Themes
TheoryScienceKnowledgeUnderstandingApplication
In practice
Example use cases
In a science class discussing the formulation of theories.
More from Alfred North Whitehead
All quotes →The vitality of thought is in adventure. Idea's won't keep. Something must be done about them. When the idea is new, its custodians have fervour, live for it, and, if need be, die for it. Their inheritors receive the idea, perhaps now strong and successful, but without inheriting the fervour; so the idea settles down to a comfortable middle age, turns senile, and dies.
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The guiding motto in the life of every natural philosopher should be, seek simplicity and distrust it.
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As society is now constituted, a literal adherence to the moral precepts scattered throughout the Gospels would mean sudden death.
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I consider Christianity to be one of the great disasters of the human race... It would be impossible to imagine anything more un - Christianlike than theology.
Alfred North WhiteheadRead
Inventive genius requires pleasurable mental activity as a condition for its vigorous exercise. "Necessity is the mother of invention" is a silly proverb. "Necessity is the mother of futile dodges" is much closer to the truth. The basis of growth of modern invention is science, and science is almost wholly the outgrowth of pleasurable intellectual curiosity.
Alfred North WhiteheadRead
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