A scientist who is also a human being cannot rest while knowledge which might be used to reduce suffering rests on the shelf.
Interpretation
Scientists have a moral obligation to apply their knowledge for the benefit of humanity.
This quote emphasizes the ethical responsibility that scientists have towards society. Albert Sabin suggests that knowledge should not be hoarded or left unused, especially when it has the potential to alleviate suffering. It underscores the idea that scientific discoveries and advancements should be shared and utilized to help people, reflecting the humanitarian side of scientific inquiry.
In practice
In a speech at a conference about ethics in research, one might quote Sabin to highlight the necessity of applied science for societal benefit.
My own experience of over 60 years in biomedical research amply demonstrated that without the use of animals and of human beings, it would have been impossible to acquire the important knowledge needed to prevent much suffering and premature death not only among humans but also among [other] animals.
Modern agriculture is the use of land to convert petroleum into food.
As those who have seen Jurassic Park will know, this means a tiny disturbance in one place, can cause a major change in another. A butterfly flapping its wings can cause rain in Central Park, New York. The trouble is, it is not repeatable. The next time the butterfly flaps its wings, a host of other things will be different, which will also influence the weather. That is why weather forecasts are so unreliable.
Perhaps in ten thousand years, the starry sky that humankind gazes upon will remain empty and silent. But perhaps tomorrow we'll wake up and find an alien spaceship the size of the Moon parked in orbit.
A fundamental principle of information theory is that you can’t guarantee outcomes… in order for an experiment to yield knowledge, it has to be able to fail. If you have guaranteed experiments, you have zero knowledge
Reply when questioned on the safety of the polio vaccine he developed: It is safe, and you can't get safer than safe.
When the wrong question is being asked, it usually turns out to be because the right question is too difficult. Scientists ask questions they can answer. That is, it is often the case that the operations of a science are not a consequence of the problematic of that science, but that the problematic is induced by the available means.
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