And if we must educate our poets and artists in science, we must educate our masters, labour and capital, in art.
John B. S. HaldaneRead
There is no great invention, from fire to flying, which has not been hailed as an insult to some god.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote highlights how significant inventions are often met with resistance and opposition from those who fear change.
John B. S. Haldane's quote emphasizes the idea that throughout history, groundbreaking inventions—ranging from the discovery of fire to the development of flight—have faced skepticism and criticism. This resistance often arises from fear of change and challenges to the established order, suggesting that innovation requires courage and perseverance in the face of adversity.
Themes
InventionChangeResistanceInnovationHistory
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a speech about the importance of innovation in technology.
More from John B. S. Haldane
All quotes →An attempt to study the evolution of living organisms without reference to cytology would be as futile as an account of stellar evolution which ignored spectroscopy.
John B. S. HaldaneRead
Until politics are a branch of science, we shall do well to regard political and social reforms as experiments rather than short-cuts to the millennium.
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A time will however come (as I believe) when physiology will invade and destroy mathematical physics, as the latter has destroyed geometry.
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My final word, before I'm done, Is "Cancer can be rather fun"- Provided one confronts the tumour with a sufficient sense of humour. I know that cancer often kills, But so do cars and sleeping pills; And it can hurt till one sweats, So can bad teeth and unpaid debts. A spot of laughter, I am sure, Often accelerates one's cure; So let us patients do our bit To help the surgeons make us fit.
John B. S. HaldaneRead
My practise as a scientist is atheistic. That is to say, when I set up an experiment I assume that no god, angel, or devil is going to interfere with its course; and this assumption has been justified by such success as I have achieved in my professional career. I should therefore be intellectually dishonest if I were not also atheistic in the affairs of the world. And I should be a coward if I did not state my theoretical views in public.
John B. S. HaldaneRead
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