The imposing edifice of science provides a challenging view of what can be achieved by the accumulation of many small efforts in a steady objective and dedicated search for truth.
Charles H. TownesRead
I don't think that science is complete at all. We don't understand everything, and one can see, within science itself, there are many inconsistencies. We just have to accept that we don't understand.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Science is an ever-evolving field with many unanswered questions and inconsistencies.
In this quote, Charles H. Townes emphasizes the incomplete nature of scientific understanding. He suggests that rather than feeling discouraged by the gaps in knowledge and the inconsistencies that arise within scientific theories, we should embrace the idea that not all questions are answered and that ongoing inquiry is vital to the advancement of science.
Themes
ScienceUnderstandingInconsistenciesKnowledgeCuriosity
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a scientific conference to emphasize the importance of inquiry.
More from Charles H. Townes
All quotes →One of the things my family taught me - I think very important in religion and science - is that you must be ready to stand up for what you think. Decide what you really think is best, and stick with it.
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I knew I wanted to be a scientist. Which kind of scientist was the question.
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The development of science is basically a social phenomenon, dependent on hard work and mutual support of many scientists and on the societies in which they live.
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Science has faith. We make postulates. We can't prove those postulates, but we have faith in them.
Charles H. TownesRead
It was strange, in a way, because there were no ideas involved in the laser that weren't already known by somebody 25 years before lasers were discovered. The ideas were all there; just, nobody put it together.
Charles H. TownesRead
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