Everything in nature is the result of fixed laws.
Charles DarwinRead
One day, on tearing off some old bark, I saw two rare beetles, and seized one in each hand. Then I saw a third and new kind, which I could not bear to lose, so I popped the one which I held in my right hand into my mouth. Alas! it ejected some intensely acrid fluid, which burnt my tongue so that I was forced to spit the beetle out, which was lost, as was the third one.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote illustrates the consequences of greed and the pursuit of more, leading to the loss of what one already has.
In this quote, Charles Darwin reflects on a moment of curiosity that led to an impulsive decision. By attempting to seize a new and rare beetle while holding onto two others, he experiences the unfortunate outcome of losing both the new beetle and one already in his possession. This serves as a metaphor for human behavior, highlighting how the desire for more can lead to loss and regret.
Themes
GreedLossCuriosityImpulsivityConsequences
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech about focusing on what we have rather than what we lack.
More from Charles Darwin
All quotes →The highest possible stage in moral culture is when we recognize that we ought to control our thoughts.
Charles DarwinRead
I am quite conscious that my speculations run beyond the bounds of true science....It is a mere rag of an hypothesis with as many flaw[s] & holes as sound parts.
Charles DarwinRead
We cannot fathom the marvelous complexity of an organic being; but on the hypothesis here advanced this complexity is much increased. Each living creature must be looked at as a microcosm--a little universe, formed of a host of self-propagating organisms, inconceivably minute and as numerous as the stars in heaven.
Charles DarwinRead
I have called this principle, by which each slight variation, if useful, is preserved, by the term of Natural Selection.
Charles DarwinRead
we are always slow in admitting any great change of which we do not see the intermediate steps
Charles DarwinRead
Similar quotes
A theory which is not refutable by any conceivable event is non-scientific. Irrefutability is not a virtue of a theory (as people often think) but a vice.
Karl PopperRead
The scientific observer of Nature is a kind of mystic seeker in the act of prayer.
Muhammad IqbalRead
There's something really beautiful about science, that human beings can ask these questions and can answer them. You can make models of nature and understand how it works.
Margaret GellerRead
The physicist is like someone who's watching people playing chess and, after watching a few games, he may have worked out what the moves in the game are. But understanding the rules is just a trivial preliminary on the long route from being a novice to being a grand master. So even if we understand all the laws of physics, then exploring their consequences in the everyday world where complex structures can exist is a far more daunting task, and that's an inexhaustible one I'm sure.
Martin ReesRead
The Europeans and the Americans are not throwing $10 billion down this gigantic tube for nothing. We're exploring the very forefront of physics and cosmology with the Large Hadron Collider because we want to have a window on creation, we want to recreate a tiny piece of Genesis to unlock some of the greatest secrets of the universe.
Michio KakuRead
Science has a culture that is inherently cautious and that is normally not a bad thing. You could even say conservative, because of the peer review process and because the scientific method prizes uncertainty and penalises anyone who goes out on any sort of a limb that is not held in place by abundant and well-documented evidence.
Al GoreRead