The scientists who attack mainstream religion, rather than striving for peaceful coexistence with it, damage science, and also weaken the fight against fundamentalism.
Martin ReesRead
In future, children won't perceive the stars as mere twinkling points of light: they'll learn that each is a 'Sun', orbited by planets fully as interesting as those in our Solar system.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Children will come to understand that stars are not just lights in the sky but complex systems with their own planets.
This quote by Martin Rees highlights the anticipated shift in children's understanding of the universe. Rather than viewing stars simply as distant, twinkling points of light, future generations will gain a deeper knowledge of astronomy, recognizing that each star is a sun surrounded by fascinating planetary systems. This reflects a growing engagement with scientific education and the exploration of our cosmos, encouraging curiosity about the universe beyond our own Solar System.
Themes
StarsChildrenEducationScienceUniverse
In practice
Example use cases
This quote would be perfect for a school presentation on astronomy to inspire young minds.
More from Martin Rees
All quotes βLet me say that I don't see any conflict between science and religion. I go to church as many other scientists do. I share with most religious people a sense of mystery and wonder at the universe and I want to participate in religious ritual and practices because they're something that all humans can share.
Martin ReesRead
It's becoming clear that in a sense the cosmos provides the only laboratory where sufficiently extreme conditions are ever achieved to test new ideas on particle physics. The energies in the Big Bang were far higher than we can ever achieve on Earth. So by looking at evidence for the Big Bang, and by studying things like neutron stars, we are in effect learning something about fundamental physics.
Martin ReesRead
In the beginning there were only probabilities. The universe could only come into existence if someone observed it. It does not matter that the observers turned up several billion years later. The universe exists because we are aware of it.
Martin ReesRead
Collective human actions are transforming, even ravaging, the biosphere - perhaps irreversibly - through global warming and loss of biodiversity.
Martin ReesRead
It is astonishing that human brains, which evolved to cope with the everyday world, have been able to grasp the counterintuitive mysteries of the cosmos and the quantum.
Martin ReesRead
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