Science is a way to not fool ourselves.
Carl SaganRead
Science cuts two ways, of course; its products can be used for both good and evil. But there's no turning back from science. The early warnings about technological dangers also come from science.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Science has the potential for both beneficial and harmful outcomes, and its progress is unavoidable.
In this quote, Carl Sagan highlights the dual nature of scientific advancements, emphasizing that while science can lead to miraculous benefits, it also carries the potential for significant harm. He points out that the very tools that warn us about technological dangers stem from the same scientific progress, reminding us that we cannot retract the advancement of science and must navigate its implications responsibly.
Themes
ScienceTechnologyGoodEvilProgressResponsibility
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the ethical implications of artificial intelligence.
More from Carl Sagan
All quotes →In more than one respect, the exploring of the Solar System and homesteading other worlds constitutes the beginning, much more than the end, of history.
Carl SaganRead
How smart does a chimpanzee have to be before killing him constitutes murder?
Carl SaganRead
The hole in the ozone layer is a kind of skywriting. At first it seemed to spell out our continuing complacency before a witch's brew of deadly perils. But perhaps it really tells of a newfound talent to work together to protect the global environment.
Carl SaganRead
There is a reward structure in science that is very interesting: Our highest honors go to those who disprove the findings of the most revered among us. So Einstein is revered not just because he made so many fundamental contributions to science, but because he found an imperfection in the fundamental contribution of Isaac Newton.
Carl SaganRead
The simplest thought, like the concept of the number one, has an elaborate logical underpinning.
Carl SaganRead
Similar quotes
My laboratory uses evolution to design new enzymes. No one really knows how to design them - they are tremendously complicated. But we are learning how to use evolution to make new ones, just as nature does.
Frances ArnoldRead
What really matters for me is ... the more active role of the observer in quantum physics ... According to quantum physics the observer has indeed a new relation to the physical events around him in comparison with the classical observer, who is merely a spectator.
Wolfgang PauliRead
The march of science and technology does not imply growing intellectual complexity in the lives of most people. It often means the opposite.
Thomas SowellRead
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.
Isaac AsimovRead
You're never going to get the amount of CO2 emitted to go down unless you deal with the one magic metric, which is CO2 per kilowatt-hour.
Bill GatesRead
Necessity is the mother of all invention.
Albert EinsteinRead