A discovery is said to be an accident meeting a prepared mind.
Albert Szent-GyorgyiRead
I called it ignose, not knowing which carbohydrate it was. This name was turned down by my editor. 'God-nose' was not more successful, so in the end 'hexuronic acid' was agreed upon. To-day the substance is called 'ascorbic acid' and I will use this name.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote highlights the evolution of scientific terminology and the challenges in naming new discoveries.
Albert Szent-Gyorgyi's quote reflects the complex process of assigning names to scientific discoveries, illustrating how various names are proposed, rejected, and eventually settled upon. It underscores the collaboration between scientists and editors in the world of academic publishing, as well as the importance of clarity in scientific communication, as seen in the eventual acceptance of 'ascorbic acid' for what we commonly know as Vitamin C.
Themes
ScienceDiscoveryNamingCollaborationAscorbic Acid
In practice
Example use cases
During a scientific conference on vitamin research, this quote could be used to illustrate the history of naming compounds.
More from Albert Szent-Gyorgyi
All quotes →Science has helped us to understand and master ourselves, creating an elevated new form of human life, the wealth and beauty of which cannot be pictured today by the keenest imagination.
Albert Szent-GyorgyiRead
It is impossible to encircle the hips of a girl with my right arm and hold her smile in my left hand, then proceed to study the two items separately. Similarly, we can not separate life from living matter, in order to study only living matter and its reactions. Inevitably, studying living matter and its reactions, we study life itself
Albert Szent-GyorgyiRead
Water is life's matter and matrix, mother and medium. There is no life without water.
Albert Szent-GyorgyiRead
The real scientist is ready to bear privation and, if need be, starvation rather than let anyone dictate to him which direction his work must take.
Albert Szent-GyorgyiRead
Research is to see what everybody else has seen, and to think what nobody else has thought.
Albert Szent-GyorgyiRead
Similar quotes
What is mathematics? It is only a systematic effort of solving puzzles posed by nature.
Shakuntala DeviRead
By the way, were we to find life-forms on Venus, we would probably call them Venutians, just as people from Mars would be Martians. But according to rules of Latin genitives, to be “of Venus” ought to make you a Venereal. Unfortunately, medical doctors reached that word before astronomers did. Can’t blame them, I suppose. Venereal disease long predates astronomy, which itself stands as only the second oldest profession.
Neil Degrasse TysonRead
Any objective look at what science has to say about climate change ought to be sufficient to persuade reasonable people that the climate is changing and that humans are responsible for a substantial part of that - and that these changes are doing harm and will continue to do more harm unless we start to reduce our emissions.
John HoldrenRead
Here we were, the only seven humans in space, repairing a telescope whose only purpose is to enrich the minds of people on planet Earth and increase our understanding of the workings of the universe. I can think of no better peaceful use of space for all humankind.
John M. GrunsfeldRead
My whole interest is, how do you use evolution as an innovation engine? How does evolution solve new problems that life faces? And to have a system that can create a whole new chemical bond that biology hasn't done before, to me, demonstrates the power of nature to innovate.
Frances ArnoldRead
Of course it is possible that UFO's really do contain aliens as many people believe, and the government is hushing it up
Stephen HawkingRead