I give infinite thanks to God, who has been pleased to make me the first observer of marvelous things.
Interpretation
Galileo expresses gratitude for being the first to observe extraordinary phenomena.
In this quote, Galileo Galilei highlights his appreciation for the divine inspiration and opportunity to witness the wonders of the natural world. It reflects his humility and recognition of the greater forces at play in the pursuit of knowledge, emphasizing the joy of discovery and the profound impact it has on human understanding.
In practice
During a science presentation about Galileo's discoveries.
It has always seemed to me extreme presumptuousness on the part of those who want to make human ability the measure of what nature can and knows how to do, since, when one comes down to it, there is not one effect in nature, no matter how small, that even the most speculative minds can fully understand.
We must say that there are as many squares as there are numbers.
Science proceeds more by what it has learned to ignore than what it takes into account.
The sun, with all those planets revolving around it and dependent on it, can still ripen a bunch of grapes as if it had nothing else in the universe to do.
Philosophy is written in this grand book, the universe, which stands continually open to our gaze. But the book cannot be understood unless one first learns to comprehend the language and read the letters in which it is composed.
That sculpture is more admirable than painting for the reason that it contains relief and painting does not is completely false. ... Rather, how much more admirable the painting must be considered, if having no relief at all, it appears to have as much as sculpture!
We should begin at the very root from which we spring, we should effect a radical reform in the character of the food.
It is certain that there may be extraordinary mental activity with an extremely small absolute mass of nervous matter: thus the wonderfully diversified instincts, mental powers, and affections of ants are notorious, yet their cerebral ganglia are not so large as the quarter of a small pin's head. Under this point of view, the brain of an ant is one of the most marvelous atoms of matter in the world, perhaps more so than the brain of a man.
Science is history arranged according to the superstition and taste of the moment. The vocabulary of scholars has no wit, no salt. These heavy tomes have no soul, they are filled with distress.
If two scientists are giving their papers at a symposium, and one of them is just naturally better at talking to the public or talking to a group of people, that scientist is liable to get more attention - in fact, I'm told that they do get more attention - than the one who's a little more stiff about it. Well, that's not good for science.
There are many who would much prefer that the word 'climate' never be mentioned and that the issue be eliminated from our national conversation.
Civilization as it is known today could not have evolved, nor can it survive, without an adequate food supply.
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