A discovery is said to be an accident meeting a prepared mind.
Science has helped us to understand and master ourselves, creating an elevated new form of human life, the wealth and beauty of which cannot be pictured today by the keenest imagination.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes how science has transformed our understanding of ourselves and our potential as humans.
The quote by Albert Szent-Gyorgyi reflects on the profound impact of science in enhancing our self-awareness and capabilities as human beings. It suggests that through scientific advancement, we have achieved a higher state of existence, one that is so rich and intricate that it surpasses what we can currently envision. The elevation of human life brought forth by science invites us to appreciate the potential for even greater developments in the future.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
During a science fair, a student quoted Szent-Gyorgyi to highlight the importance of scientific inquiry in understanding ourselves better.
More from Albert Szent-Gyorgyi
All quotes →I called it ignose, not knowing which carbohydrate it was. This name was turned down by my editor. 'God-nose' was not more successful, so in the end 'hexuronic acid' was agreed upon. To-day the substance is called 'ascorbic acid' and I will use this name.
It is impossible to encircle the hips of a girl with my right arm and hold her smile in my left hand, then proceed to study the two items separately. Similarly, we can not separate life from living matter, in order to study only living matter and its reactions. Inevitably, studying living matter and its reactions, we study life itself
Water is life's matter and matrix, mother and medium. There is no life without water.
The real scientist is ready to bear privation and, if need be, starvation rather than let anyone dictate to him which direction his work must take.
Research is to see what everybody else has seen, and to think what nobody else has thought.
Similar quotes
The goal of scientific physicians in their own science ... is to reduce the indeterminate. Statistics therefore apply only to cases in which the cause of the facts observed is still indeterminate.
No machines will ever truly fully figure the brain out, because the brain's performance is constantly altered or else constrained by this inanimate, rogue artifact you can't control, namely, speech.
As well might it be said that, because we are ignorant of the laws by which metals are produced and trees developed, we cannot know anything of the origin of steamships and railways
My study is NOT as a climatologist, but from a completely different perspective in_x000D_ which I am an expert … For decades, as a professional experimental test engineer, I have analyzed experimental data and watched others massage and present data. I became a cynic; My conclusion - 'if someone is aggressively selling a technical product who's merits are dependent on complex experimental data, he is likely lying'. That is true whether the product is an airplane or a Carbon Credit.
The nuclear industry has this amazing record, even equipment from generations one and two. But nuclear mishaps tend to come in these big events - Chernobyl, Three Mile Island, and now Fukushima - so it's more visible.
Facts are the air of scientists. Without them you can never fly.