Talk to people... everything good I've done has come from conversations with people. Science is a very social phenomenon.
John C. MatherRead
My interest in science started quite early. My earliest school recollection, from age 6, is actually of mathematics, realizing that one could fill an entire page with digits and never come to the largest possible number, so I saw what was meant by infinity.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects the author's early fascination with mathematics and the concept of infinity.
John C. Mather explains how his interest in science began at a young age, particularly through his understanding of mathematics. He recalls a profound realization about the endless possibilities inherent in numbers, which opened his eyes to the concept of infinity. This early encounter with mathematics not only sparked his curiosity but also laid the foundation for his later scientific pursuits.
Themes
ScienceMathematicsInfinityCuriosityChildhood
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a speech about the importance of early education in STEM fields.
More from John C. Mather
All quotes →Many of the problems facing the nation and the world today may only be solved if their technical elements are understood - climate change, energy supply, health care, and infrastructure, to name just a few.
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Even your chin is made up of exploded stars.
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There's no such thing as saying that we'll ever find the ultimate cause of stuff. We can only work to push our understanding one step further.
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Astronomers can look back in time. We can look at things as they used to be. We have an idea there was a Big Bang explosion 13.7 billion years ago. We have a story of how galaxies and stars were made. It's an amazing story.
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We are discovering what the universe is really like, and it is totally magnificent, and one can only be inspired and awestruck by what we find.
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