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There is no such thing as a special category of science called applied science; there is science and its applications, which are related to one another as the fruit is related to the tree that has borne it.
Louis Pasteur
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Applied science is simply the application of scientific knowledge, not a separate branch of science.

In this quote, Louis Pasteur emphasizes that science and its applications are intrinsically linked, much like the relationship between a fruit and the tree it comes from. He suggests that understanding the fundamentals of science is essential as it naturally leads to its practical applications, highlighting the seamless connection between theoretical knowledge and real-world practice.

Themes

ScienceApplied ScienceKnowledgeApplicationsTheoryPractice

In practice

Example use cases

In a conference on innovation, one might use this quote to illustrate the importance of integrating theory and practice in research.

More from Louis Pasteur

To demonstrate experimentally that a microscopic organism actually is the cause of a disease and the agent of contagion, I know no other way, in the present state of Science, than to subject the microbe (the new and happy term introduced by M. Sédillot) to the method of cultivation out of the body.
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The universe is an asymmetrical entity. I am inclined to believe that life as it is manifested to us must be a function of the asymmetry of the universe or of the consequence of this fact. The universe is asymmetrical; for if one placed the entire set of bodies that compose the solar system, each moving in its own way, before a mirror, the image shown would not be superimposable on the reality.
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These are the living springs of great thoughts and great actions. Everything grows clear in the reflections from the Infinite.
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Without theory, practice is but routine born of habit. Theory alone can bring forth and develop the spirit of invention. ... [Do not] share the opinion of those narrow minds who disdain everything in science which has not an immediate application. ... A theoretical discovery has but the merit of its existence: it awakens hope, and that is all. But let it be cultivated, let it grow, and you will see what it will become.
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These three things-work, will, success-fill human existences. Will opens the door to success, both brilliant and happy. Work passes these doors, and at the end of the journey success comes in to crown one's efforts.
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Chance favors those who are prepared.
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