No individual is alone responsible for a single stepping stone along the path of progress, and where the path is smooth progress is most rapid.
Ernest LawrenceRead
Oh, somewhere in this favoured land the sun is shining bright; The band is playing somewhere; and somewhere hearts are light; And somewhere men are laughing; and little children shout; But there is no joy in Mudville- great Casey has struck out.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote highlights the stark contrast between joy elsewhere and the despair felt in Mudville due to a loss.
The quote paints a vivid picture of a world filled with happiness and celebration, yet it contrasts that imagery with the sorrow felt in Mudville over a specific event—the failure of Casey to hit when it mattered. This captures the essence of how personal disappointment can overshadow joy in the larger context of life.
Themes
JoySorrowContrastLifeLoss
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be used in a speech to highlight resilience in the face of adversity.
More from Ernest Lawrence
All quotes →Certainly, it may bring to light such a deeper knowledge of the structure of matter as to constitute a veritable discontinuity in the progress of science.
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From the beginning of the Radiation Laboratory, I have had the rare good fortune of being in the center of a group of men of high ability, enthusiastic and completely devoted to scientific pursuits.
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In the Radiation Laboratory we count it a privilege to do everything we can to assist our medical colleagues in the application of these new tools to the problems of human suffering.
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We have reached the age, those of us to whom fortune has assigned a post in life's struggle, when beaten and smashed and biffed by the lashing of the dragon's tail, we begin to appreciate that the old man was not such a fool after all. We saw our parents wrestling with the same dragon, and we thought, though we never spoke a thought aloud, 'Why doesn't he hit him on the head?' Alas, comrads, we know now. We have hit the dragon on the head and we have seen the dragon smile.
Ernest LawrenceRead
I am mindful that scientific achievement is rooted in the past, is cultivated to full stature by many contemporaries and flourishes only in favorable environment. No individual is alone responsible for a single stepping stone along the path of progress, and where the path is smooth progress is most rapid. In my own work this has been particularly true.
Ernest LawrenceRead
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