Curated Quotations

Stephen Jay Gould

Quotations

  • “I love the wry motto of the Paleontological Society, meant both literally and figuratively, for hammers are the main tool of our trade: Frango ut patefaciam – I break in order to reveal.” -Stephen Jay Gould

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  • “Science is not a heartless pursuit of objective information. It is a creative human activity, its geniuses acting more as artists than as information processors.” -Stephen Jay Gould

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  • “If I don’t make it, I’ll be very sad that there are things I didn’t do, but I’m happy that I’ve done what I have.” -Stephen Jay Gould

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  • “Contrary to current cynicism about past golden ages, the abstraction known as ‘the intelligent layperson’ does exist – in the form of millions of folks with a passionate commitment to continuous learning.” -Stephen Jay Gould

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  • “Few tragedies can be more extensive than the stunting of life, few injustices deeper than the denial of an opportunity to strive or even to hope, by a limit imposed from without, but falsely identified as lying within.” -Stephen Jay Gould

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  • “With copious evidence ranging from Plato’s haughtiness to Beethoven’s tirades, we may conclude that the most brilliant people of history tend to be a prickly lot.” -Stephen Jay Gould

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