Whether outwardly or inwardly, whether in space or time, the farther we penetrate the unknown, the vaster and more marvelous it becomes.
Interpretation
The more we explore the unknown, the more extraordinary it reveals itself to be.
Charles Lindbergh's quote emphasizes the boundless nature of discovery, suggesting that as we delve deeper into the realms of the unknown, whether in the physical universe or within our own consciousness, we uncover vast and extraordinary wonders. This exploration, whether through space, time, or introspection, expands our understanding and appreciation of existence, reminding us that there is always more to learn and marvel at.
In practice
In a speech about scientific research, a speaker could use this quote to inspire young scientists.
How long can men thrive between walls of brick, walking on asphalt pavements, breathing the fumes of coal and of oil, growing, working, dying, with hardly a thought of wind, and sky, and fields of grain, seeing only machine-made beauty, the mineral-like quality of life?
In wilderness I sense the miracle of life.
Science, freedom, beauty, adventure: what more could you ask of life?
In honoring the Wright Brothers, it is customary and proper to recognize their contribution to scientific progress. But I believe it is equally important to emphasize the qualities in their pioneering life and the character in man that such a life produced. The Wright Brothers balanced sucess with modesty, science with simplicity. At Kitty Hawk their intellects and senses worked in mutual support. They represented man in balance, and from that balance came wings to lift a world.
We are in the grip of a scientific materialism, caught in a vicious cycle where our security today seems to depend on regimentation and weapons which will ruin us tomorrow.
We are in grave danger of losing forever not just millions of years of evolution on earth, but the eons of change that have produced man and his natural environment.
We have to understand the ubiquity of energy in everything we do. Energy is core to our economy and it brings with it environmental challenges, and it's core to our security challenges.
I have had my results for a long time: but I do not yet know how I am to arrive at them.
As our own species is in the process of proving, one cannot have superior science and inferior morals. The combination is unstable and self-destroying.
What sense would it make or what would it benfit a physician if he discovered the origin of the diseases but could not cure or alleviate them?
We animals are the most complicated things in the known universe.
Clearly, unless thinking beings inevitably wipe themselves out soon after developing technology, extraterrestrial intelligence could often be millions or billions of years in advance of us. We're the galaxy's noodling newbies.
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