No matter how counter-intuitive it may seem, basic research has proven over and over to be the lifeline of practical advances in medicine.
Arthur KornbergRead
Half of what we know is wrong, the purpose of science is to determine which half.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Science helps us discern truth from misconception.
This quote emphasizes the idea that our current understanding of the world is often flawed and incomplete. Science serves as a tool to sift through this knowledge, highlighting what is accurate and what is not, encouraging a continuous quest for truth and understanding in a world full of uncertainties.
Themes
ScienceKnowledgeTruthUnderstandingMisconception
In practice
Example use cases
In a scientific conference to emphasize the importance of questioning our assumptions.
More from Arthur Kornberg
All quotes βAs in biomedical science, pioneering industrial inventions have not been mothered by necessity. Rather, inventions for which there was no commercial use only later became the commercial airplanes, xerography and lasers on which modern society depends.
Arthur KornbergRead
Similar quotes
There are as many species as the infinite being created diverse forms in the beginning, which, following the laws of generation, produced many others, but always similar to them: therefore there are as many species as we have different structures before us today.
Carl LinnaeusRead
Medicine is not only a science; it is also an art. It does not consist of compounding pills and plasters; it deals with the very processes of life, which must be understood before they may be guided.
ParacelsusRead
Evolution ... is opportunistic, hence unpredictable.
Ernst MayrRead
My work shows how important it is that independent researchers should have access to data so that government statistics can be checked and so that the democratic debate within India can be informed by the different interpretations of different scholars.
Angus DeatonRead
Our great struggle in medicine these days is not just with ignorance and uncertainty. It's also with complexity: how much you have to make sure you have in your head and think about. There are a thousand ways things can go wrong.
Atul GawandeRead
Science should be the most fun job on the planet. You get to ask questions about the world around you and go out and seek the answers. Not to have fun doing that is crazy.
Craig VenterRead