May I not seem to have lived in vain.
Tycho BraheRead
When I had satisfied myself that no star of that kind had ever shone before, I was led into such perplexity by the unbelievability of the thing that I began to doubt the faith of my own eyes.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Tycho Brahe expresses the confusion and doubt that can arise in the face of extraordinary discoveries.
In this quote, Tycho Brahe reflects on the moment he realized he had witnessed a celestial event unlike any before. The overwhelming nature of this discovery led him to question the reliability of his observations, highlighting the tension between empirical evidence and belief. This suggests that even the most astute observers can experience doubt when confronted with the unknown or extraordinary phenomena in nature.
Themes
StarPerplexityDoubtDiscoveryObservation
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the challenges of scientific discovery, you might quote Brahe to illustrate how remarkable findings can lead to skepticism.
More from Tycho Brahe
All quotes →Similar quotes
It is hard to overstate how valuable it is to have all the incredible tools that are used for human disease to study plants.
Bill GatesRead
Einstein, stop telling God what to do!
Niels BohrRead
Human societies vary in lots of independent factors affecting their openness to innovation.
Jared DiamondRead
Testing shows the presence, not the absence of bugs.
Edsger DijkstraRead
In summoning even the wisest of physicians to our aid, it is probably that he is relying upon a scientific "truth", the error of which will become obvious in just a few years' time.
Marcel ProustRead
The Earth is round, and is inhabited on all sides, is insignificantly small, and is borne through the stars.
Johannes KeplerRead