The facts will eventually test all our theories, and they form, after all, the only impartial jury to which we can appeal.
Louis AgassizRead
I have devoted my whole life to the study of Nature, and yet a single sentence may express all that I have done. I have shown that there is a correspondence between the succession of Fishes in geological times and the different stages of their growth in the egg,-this is all. It chanced to be a result that was found to apply to other groups and has led to other conclusions of a like nature.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Agassiz emphasizes that a lifetime of study can be distilled into a single significant observation about nature.
In this quote, Louis Agassiz reflects on his extensive research and the profound realization that an entire lifetime of scientific inquiry can be encapsulated in a singular, impactful discovery. He highlights the connection between the evolutionary progression of fish and their developmental stages, portraying the essence of scientific pursuit as the exploration of fundamental truths that can often lead to broader implications across different domains in nature. This underscores the value of both meticulous study and the insights that can emerge from seemingly simple observations.
Themes
NatureScienceStudyDiscoveryGrowthEvolution
In practice
Example use cases
In a presentation about the importance of scientific research, you can use this quote to emphasize how every small discovery contributes to larger knowledge.
More from Louis Agassiz
All quotes →The time has come when scientific truth must cease to be the property of the few, when it must be woven into the common life of the world.
Louis AgassizRead
Select such subjects that your pupils cannot walk out without seeing them. Train your pupils to be observers, and have them provided with the specimens about which you speak. If you can find nothing better, take a house-fly or a cricket, and let each one hold a specimen and examine it as you talk.
Louis AgassizRead
The eye of the trilobite tells us that the sun shone on the old beach where he lived; for there is nothing in nature without a purpose, and when so complicated an organ was made to receive the light, there must have been light to enter it.
Louis AgassizRead
The surface of the earth is not simply a stage on which the thousands of present and past inhabitants played their parts in turn. There are much more intimate relations between the earth and the living organisms which populated it, and it may even be demonstrated that the earth was developed because of them.
Louis AgassizRead
The study of Nature is intercourse with the highest mind. You should never trifle with Nature. At her lowest her works are the works of the highest powers, the highest something in the universe, in whichever way we look at it... This is the charm of Study from Nature itself; she brings us back to absolute truth wherever we wander.
Louis AgassizRead
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