Stephen Jay Gould Quotes About Newton
-
I would trade all the advantages of humanity to be a fly on the wall when Franklin and Jefferson discussed liberty, Lenin and Trotsky revolution, Newton and Halley the shape of the universe, or when Darwin entertained Huxley and Lyell at Down.
→ -
Einstein's theory of gravitation replaced Newton's, but apples did not suspend themselves in mid-air, pending the outcome. And humans evolved from apelike ancestors whether they did so by Darwin's proposed mechanism or by some other yet to be discovered.
→ -
Facts and theories are different things, not rungs in a hierarchy of increasing certainty. Facts are the world's data. Theories are structures of ideas that explain and interpret facts. Facts do not go away while scientists debate rival theories for explaining them. Einstein's theory of gravitation replaced Newton's, but apples did not suspend themselves in mid-air pending the outcome.
→
Related Authors
-
Simon Conway Morris University Professor -
Richard Lewontin Evolutionary Biologist -
Ernst Mayr Biologist -
Jean-Baptiste Lamarck Science writer -
Richard Dawkins Ethologist -
Lynn Margulis Biologist -
Theodosius Dobzhansky Geneticist -
Alfred Russel Wallace Naturalist -
Michael Shermer Writer -
Charles Darwin Naturalist -
Carl Linnaeus Botanist -
E. O. Wilson Biologist -
Daniel Dennett Philosopher -
Ernst Haeckel Philosopher -
Carl Sagan Astronomer -
Oliver Sacks Neurologist -
Thomas Huxley Biologist -
Steven Pinker Psychologist -
Herbert Spencer Philosopher -
