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Robert Winston

Robert Winston Quotes

Professor

Robert Winston is a renowned British reproductive medicine expert, scientist, television presenter, and politician. Born on July 15, 1940, in London, he made pioneering contributions to assisted reproductive technology, particularly in infertility treatment and embryo research. As a professor at Imperial College London, he gained international fame for his work on IVF and endometrium. He also hosted popular BBC science documentaries like 'The Human Body' and 'Superhuman.' Knighted in 1995, he serves in the House of Lords. Winston is dedicated to making science accessible to the public and advocating for scientific ethics and education.

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Famous Robert Winston Quotes

“I don't believe in regretting - one should try to move on. My mum was good at that. She was deeply in love with my father, and he died when I was nine. She remarried, and her second husband died, too. I saw the grieving process she went through. My mother had this way of moving on. It was a fine trait.”

Way Should Trying Believe Moving Mother Father Process Saws Regret Fine Husband Died Don't Believe Nine Grieving Traits Mum Deeply In Love Grieving Process

Author:Robert Winston

“I don't think we will find a cure for all cancers in the next 50 years let alone 20. I think it's foolishness to say that.”

Thinking Years Next Cancer Cures Foolishness

Author:Robert Winston

“Whether you're religious or not, there is a real need for other people's religious positions to be treated with the upmost respect.”

People Needs Real Religious Position Treated

Author:Robert Winston

“To build and strengthen new connections, the brain needs the challenge of fresh and unusual stimuli. .... There's a lot of evidence to suggest that repetition is bad for brain health, and novelty is good.”

Needs Challenges Brain Evidence Connections Unusual Repetition Novelty Stimulus

Author:Robert Winston

“I think it's important for scientists to be a bit less arrogant, a bit more humble, recognising we are capable of making mistakes and being fallacious - which is increasingly serious in a society where our work may have unpredictable consequences.”

Thinking May Important Bits Mistake Serious Capable Consequence Scientist Humble Making Mistakes Arrogant Unpredictable

Author:Robert Winston

“I went to school with butterflies of fear every day for years - from primary school onwards - not just worried about being bullied by classmates, but by teachers.”

Years School Teacher Primaries Worried Butterfly Bullied Classmates Being Bullied Primary School

Author:Robert Winston

“I think that good parenting should allow children to be children. That naivety and slightly open way of looking at the world is very valuable.”

Thinking World Way Should Children Valuable Naivety Good Parenting

Author:Robert Winston

“Having a child is arguably the most important thing you do in life.”

Children Important Important Things

Author:Robert Winston

“My own field, the prevention of genetic disorders in babies, has been possible only because of humane work on animals.”

Has Beens My Own Animal Fields Baby Disorder Humane Prevention

Author:Robert Winston

“Man is a competitive creature, and the seeds of conflict are built deep into our genes. We fought each other on the savannah and only survived against great odds by organising ourselves into groups which would have had a common purpose, giving morale and fortitude.”

Men Giving Purpose Common Groups Conflict Creatures Built Seeds Genes Odds Survived Fortitude Morale Savannah Common Purpose

Author:Robert Winston

“A young woman in her teens has about 300,000 eggs in her ovaries. By the time she is menopausal, none are left.”

Young Left Eggs Teens Young Women Ovaries

Author:Robert Winston

“By discovering how our minds work, we can improve our learning power and unlock our true potential.”

Mind Discovering True Potential

Author:Robert Winston

“Ethics is not routinely taught to science students except in medicine, and I think it should be.”

Thinking Should Students Taught Ethics Medicine

Author:Robert Winston

“However pragmatic you are, it is very demanding being a new parent.”

Parent Pragmatic New Parents

Author:Robert Winston

“I don't believe the fertilised egg can be equated with the sort of human life that you and I represent, or our children represent.”

Believe Humans Children Our Children Don't Believe Human Life Eggs

Author:Robert Winston

“I don't know whether it is important to study science at a young age, though current thinking emphasises the need.”

Thinking Knows Needs Important Age Young Study Currents Young Age

Author:Robert Winston

“I like travelling on my own. It means I'm completely free to think about what's around me.”

Thinking Mean My Own

Author:Robert Winston

“I love the French detective series 'Spiral.' It's quite brutal to watch, but I'm already hooked.”

Watches Series Brutal Detectives Hooked Spirals

Author:Robert Winston

“It is important that legislation keeps pace with scientific progress.”

Important Progress Pace Legislation Scientific Progress

Author:Robert Winston

“My father died when I was nine, but I came from a stable family environment, which I think does contribute to being well-behaved.”

Thinking Wells Doe Father Environment Died Nine Stable Father Died My Father Died

Author:Robert Winston

“My first vote was for a communist in east London when I was a medical student. But I've voted Tory, Labour and Lib Dem in my time.”

Firsts Students Vote East London Medical My Time Labour Communist East London

Author:Robert Winston

“Our aggression is a deep instinct which survives in all kinds of manifestations in modern man.”

Men Kind Modern Instinct All Kinds Manifestation Aggression Modern Man

Author:Robert Winston

“Parents should talk to their children, even when they are babies and can't talk back.”

Should Children Parent Baby

Author:Robert Winston

“Robots may cut down on infection and mean a consultant can see more patients, but wouldn't you rather meet the doctor than a machine?”

May Mean Cutting Doctors Machines Patient Robots Infection Consultants

Author:Robert Winston

“Surgeons always underestimate the pain and disability involved in what they do to people.”

People Pain Involved Disability Underestimate Surgeons

Author:Robert Winston

“There were never any doctors in my family. But my grandparents and my mother had a strong social conscience that was formative.”

Mother Strong Social Conscience My Family Doctors Grandparent

Author:Robert Winston

“You can now modify the genes of large animals, and the largest animal we are concerned with is the human.”

Humans Animal Concerned Genes

Author:Robert Winston

“Childhood depression tends to be more common in inner cities, being most frequently related to serious social deprivation, bullying, domestic violence, wartime experience and famine. It is, for example, a serious problem among children who are traumatised refugees.”

Children Problem Social Common Cities Violence Childhood Example Serious Related Bullying Refugee Domestic Violence Famine Deprivation Wartime Inner City

Author:Robert Winston

“I don't much like being a public figure, because so often how people appear is not how they really are, and I think one of the issues about our society is that we make judgments about people on the basis of very flimsy evidence.”

People Thinking Issues Figures Judgment Evidence Bases Our Society Public Figures

Author:Robert Winston

“I remember eating in school in the years after the Second World War. Most of my friends had miserable portions of Spam with an inedible, glutinous pudding served in containers we called 'coffins.' As a vegetarian, I had a lump of loathsome cheese and some bread.”

World Years War School Remember Eating My Friends Bread Miserable War Of The Worlds Vegetarian Portions Cheese Second World War Coffins Lumps Containers Pudding Spam Bread Pudding

Author:Robert Winston

“It's extraordinary to think that if you walked into a room and said you had never heard of Hamlet, you would be regarded as a Philistine. But you could walk into the same room and say, 'I don't know what a proton is,' and people would just laugh and say, 'Why should you know?'”

People Ifs Thinking Knows Should Said Would Be Walks Rooms Laughing Heard Extraordinary Philistines Proton

Author:Robert Winston

“The disturbed individual who believes himself to be Christ, or to receive messages from God, is something of a cliche in our society. Ever since Sigmund Freud, many people have associated religiosity with neurosis and mental illness.”

People Believe Individual Christ Messages Illness Mental Illness Our Society Cliche Disturbed Neurosis

Author:Robert Winston

“When I look in the mirror, I am slightly reminded of self-portraits by Durer and by Rembrandt, because they both show a degree of introspection. I see some element of disappointment; I see a sense of humour, but also something that is faintly ridiculous; and I see somebody who is frightened of being found out and thought lightweight.”

Looks Self Shows Found Humour Degrees Elements Mirrors Disappointment Ridiculous Frightened Portraits Introspection Self Portrait

Author:Robert Winston

“Although religion might be useful in developing a solid moral framework - and enforcing it - we can quite easily develop moral intuitions without relying on religion.”

Might Moral Intuition Developing Framework

Author:Robert Winston

“Animal rights activists talk about cruelty and torture, some backing their assertions by publishing out-of-date photographs of "experiments" banned long ago. This is a misrepresentation. The work we do is performed with compassion, care, humanity and humility. I have never seen an animal suffer pain.”

“Both in Britain and America, huge publicity has been given to stem cells, particularly embryonic stem cells, and the potential they offer. Of course, the study of stem cells is one of the most exciting areas in biology, but I think it is unlikely that embryonic stem cells are likely to be useful in healthcare for a long time.”

“Carbon dioxide is unusual because it doesn't go through the usual three phases of matter, from solid to liquid to gas, but it goes straight from solid to gas. The volume of the gas is much greater than the volume of the solid. When a solid turns into a gas, we say it sublimes. The process is sublimation.”

Matter Turns Three Process Greater Gas Unusual Usual Phases Volume Carbon Liquid Carbon Dioxide

Author:Robert Winston

“Childhood is not dead. Children were worse off when we were hunter-gatherers; they were threatened in medieval times and exploited during the Industrial Revolution. Was it any better in the time of Charles Kingsley or Charles Dickens?”

Children Childhood Revolution Threatened Hunters Medieval Dickens Industrial Revolution Hunter Gatherers Medieval Times

Author:Robert Winston

“Following 25 children for the TV series 'Child of Our Time' has been extraordinary. The BBC's original plan was to commemorate the new millennium. What better way than to film a number of expectant mums from across the U.K.? Coming from widely different backgrounds, all were due to give birth on January 1, 2000.”

“I did not study science at school until I was 13, when I was totally turned on by a seemingly dreary old teacher who suddenly, unannounced, manufactured a huge explosion in the middle of a totally boring monologue. From then on, all of his class wanted to make explosions.”

Wanted School Class Study Teacher Middle Huge Boring Explosions Dreary Monologues

Author:Robert Winston

“I do not know of any credible evidence that suggests Dr Zavos can clone a human being. This seems to be yet another one of his claims to get repeated publicity.”

Knows Humans Seems Human Beings Evidence Claims Drs Publicity Credible

Author:Robert Winston

“I don't like seeing myself on television and I don't enjoy filming. What I actually enjoy is thinking about how I am going to express something or how we are going to make the visual metaphor.”

Thinking Enjoy Seeing Television Metaphor Visuals

Author:Robert Winston

“I used to work for the World Health Organisation in poor countries all over the world - Bangladesh, Korea, the Philippines and India. You learn a whole range of things about how other people are living and try to connect with them to gain an understanding of where they're coming from.”

People World Trying Country Whole Used Understanding Poor Gains India Range Korea Organisation Philippines Bangladesh Poor Countries World Health

Author:Robert Winston

“I was born with my moustache and, no, I've never been tempted to shave it off. I don't spend a lot of time worrying about my face and, like Gilbert and Sullivan's Katisha, my best feature is my left shoulder-blade.”

Faces Left Born Worry Shoulders Features Tempted Blades Mustache Moustache

Author:Robert Winston

“I'm a traditional Jew with an orthodox background, and it informs much of my approach to science. Of course I think it's very important that if you have those sorts of backgrounds you don't impose them on other people as a clinician, of course.”

People Ifs Thinking Important Courses Approach Jew Backgrounds Traditional Orthodox Clinicians

Author:Robert Winston

“I've been all over the world on my own because, as a scientist, you travel a great deal if your work is reasonably successful or published. I get invitations to go to all sorts of strange countries where I would mostly be by myself and just meet other people there, instead of having travelling companions.”

People Ifs World Country My Own Deals Successful Strange Scientist Companion Invitations

Author:Robert Winston

“In prehistoric times, Homo sapiens was deeply endangered. Early humans were less fleet of foot, with fewer natural weapons and less well-honed senses than all the predators that threatened them. Moreover, they were hampered in their movements by the need to protect their uniquely immature young - juicy meals for any hungry beast.”

“It is time my colleagues got real. All British universities doing worthwhile research use animals, and, instead of hiding, they should be boasting of their achievements.”

Should Real Use Animal Achievement Research University British Hiding Worthwhile Colleagues Boast

Author:Robert Winston

“It's very clear from Biblical history and Jewish history that Jewish monotheism wasn't developed in an instant, that it became gradually the accepted norm. But undoubtedly, Jewish ancestors were polytheists.”

Clear Accepted Instant Ancestor Biblical Norm Monotheism Jewish History

Author:Robert Winston

“Medicine, which I wouldn't be without, has also been a force for... less good. For example, if you look at our mishandling of the immune system, using antibiotics in children and avoiding infection, we've certainly increased the risk of asthma.”

Ifs Looks Children Force Risk Example Medicine Avoiding Immune Infection Immune System Asthma Antibiotics

Author:Robert Winston

About the Author

Born: July 15, 1940
Known for: Professor
Quotes: 68

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