The undevout astronomer must be mad.
William HerschelRead
The phenomena of nature, especially those that fall under the inspection of the astronomer, are to be viewed, not only with the usual attention to facts as they occur, but with the eye of reason and experience.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Nature's phenomena should be observed with both factual attention and the insight gained from reason and experience.
William Herschel emphasizes the importance of observing natural phenomena through a dual lens: the straightforward collection of facts and the deeper understanding that comes from reason and past experiences. This approach encourages a more comprehensive understanding of the universe, suggesting that mere observation is not enough; one must also apply critical thinking and learned insights to truly grasp the underlying principles of nature.
Themes
NatureObservationScienceReasonExperience
In practice
Example use cases
In a lecture about scientific methodologies, one could quote Herschel to emphasize the importance of critical thinking.
More from William Herschel
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The true scientific understanding of the nature of existence is so utterly fascinating; how could you not want people to share it? Carl Sagan, I think, said 'when you're in love, you want to tell the world.' And who, on understanding a scientific view of reality, would not, as it were, fall in love and want to tell the world.
Richard DawkinsRead
I took biology in high school and didn't like it at all. It was focused on memorization. ... I didn't appreciate that biology also had principles and logic ... [rather than dealing with a] messy thing called life. It just wasn't organized, and I wanted to stick with the nice pristine sciences of chemistry and physics, where everything made sense. I wish I had learned sooner that biology could be fun as well.
Francis CollinsRead
[A]ll knowledge is one. When a light brightens and illuminates a corner of a room, it adds to the general illumination of the entire room. Over and over again, scientific discoveries have provided answers to problems that had no apparent connection with the phenomena that gave rise to the discovery.
Isaac AsimovRead
According to inflation, the more than 100 billion galaxies, sparkling throughout space like heavenly diamonds, are nothing but quantum mechanics writ large across the sky. To me, this realization is one of the greatest wonders of the modern scientific age.
Brian GreeneRead