Better understanding of the natural world not only enhances all of us as human beings, but can also be harnessed for the better good, leading to improved health and quality of life.
Paul NurseRead
Scientific understanding is often beautiful, a profoundly aesthetic experience which gives pleasure not unlike the reading of a great poem.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Scientific understanding can evoke feelings of beauty and pleasure similar to poetry.
In this quote, Paul Nurse emphasizes the aesthetic experience of engaging with scientific knowledge, suggesting that the beauty found in unraveling the mysteries of the universe can be as pleasurable and profound as enjoying a beautifully written poem. This perspective invites us to appreciate science not just as a method of gaining knowledge, but as an art form that enriches our emotional and intellectual lives.
Themes
ScienceBeautyAestheticsKnowledgePoetry
In practice
Example use cases
In a TED Talk about the intersection of art and science.
More from Paul Nurse
All quotes βIt has been a privilege to pursue knowledge for its own sake and to see how it might help mankind in more practical ways.
Paul NurseRead
Similar quotes
As Darwin himself was at pains to point out, natural selection is all about differential survival within species, not between them.
Richard DawkinsRead
There's no tradition of scientists knocking down the Sunday school door, telling the preacher, That might not necessarily be true. That's never happened. There're no scientists picketing outside of churches.
Neil Degrasse TysonRead
What I have done is to show that it is possible for the way the universe began to be determined by the laws of science. In that case, it would not be necessary to appeal to God to decide how the universe began. This doesn't prove that there is no God, only that God is not necessary.
Stephen HawkingRead
The first possibility of rural cleanliness lies in water supply.
Florence NightingaleRead
This new power, which has proved itself to be such a terrifying weapon of destruction, is harnessed for the first time for the common good of our community.
Queen Elizabeth IiRead
It's the poorer people in tropical zones who will get really hit by climate change - as well as some ecosystems, which nobody wants to see disappear.
Bill GatesRead