QuoteProject
I try to do my science in a moral way, and, I believe that, ideally, science should be looked upon as something that helps us understand our role in the universe.
Vera Rubin
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

Science should be conducted ethically and seen as a tool for understanding our place in the universe.

Vera Rubin emphasizes the moral responsibility that comes with scientific inquiry, highlighting that science should not only seek to unveil the mysteries of the universe but should also guide us in understanding our ethical and existential positions within it. By elevating science beyond mere experimentation and observation, Rubin advocates for a perspective where scientific knowledge enriches our comprehension of life and our responsibilities as stewards of knowledge.

Themes

ScienceMoralityUniverseUnderstandingEthics

In practice

Example use cases

In a discussion about the ethical implications of scientific research during a science conference.

More from Vera Rubin

In a spiral galaxy, the ratio of dark-to-light matter is about a factor of ten. That's probably a good number for the ratio of our ignorance-to-knowledge. We're out of kindergarten, but only in about third grade.
Vera RubinRead
We need senators who have studied physics and representatives who understand ecology.
Vera RubinRead
Nobody ever told us all matter radiated. We just assumed it did.
Vera RubinRead
There was just nothing as interesting in my life as watching the stars every night.
Vera RubinRead
I had the usual friends who pointed out constellations of stars. But it really was watching the stars. It was getting some sense of the motion of the earth. I found it a remarkable thing.
Vera RubinRead
I think the question is, are there women and have there been women who want to do science and could be doing great science, but they never really got the opportunity?
Vera RubinRead

Similar quotes

Human societies vary in lots of independent factors affecting their openness to innovation.
Jared DiamondRead
Now, radical forward thinking is offering hope for the future: Replacement body parts to order. A team of scientists in California believe that if you can design them on a computer, you should be able to print them out.
Stephen HawkingRead
Forty years as an astronomer have not quelled my enthusiasm for lying outside after dark, staring up at the stars. It isn't only the beauty of the night sky that thrills me. It's the sense I have that some of those points of light are the home stars of beings not so different from us, daily cares and all, who look across space with wonder, just as we do.
Frank DrakeRead
We live on a minute island of known things. Our undiminished wonder at the mystery which surrounds us is what makes us human. In science fiction we can approach that mystery, not in small, everyday symbols, but in bigger ones of space and time.
Damon KnightRead
It's hard to imagine anything more interesting than learning how we're woven into the enormous tapestry of existence. Where did our universe come from? How special is our world, and how special are we? We allocate tens of billions of dollars annually to NASA, NSF and academia in search of the answers.
Seth ShostakRead
Almost all the greatest discoveries in astronomy have resulted from what we have elsewhere termed Residual Phenomena, of a qualitative or numerical kind, of such portions of the numerical or quantitative results of observation as remain outstanding and unaccounted for, after subducting and allowing for all that would result from the strict application of known principles.
John HerschelRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.