“The scientist has to take 95 per cent of his subject on trust. He has to because he can't possibly do all the experiments, therefore he has to take on trust the experiments all his colleagues and predecessors have done. Whereas a mathematician doesn't have to take anything on trust. Any theorem that's proved, he doesn't believe it, really, until he goes through the proof himself, and therefore he knows his whole subject from scratch. He's absolutely 100 per cent certain of it. And that gives him an extraordinary conviction of certainty, and an arrogance that scientists don't have.” KnowsGivingBelieveDoneWholeScienceCertainBeliefSubjectsScientistExtraordinaryConvictionProofExperimentsCertaintyArroganceCentsMathematicianColleaguesScratchesPredecessorsTheorems Author:Christopher Zeeman
“It was foreordained that I should go alone to Umvelos', and in the promptings of my own infallible heart I believed I saw the workings of Omnipotence. Such is our moral arrogance, and yet without such a belief I think that mankind would have ever been content to bide sluggishly at home.” ThinkingShouldHeartHomeBeliefMy OwnMoralSawsMankindArroganceInfallibleOmnipotence Author:John Buchan
“I still feel there is a case to be made for my old belief that as man approaches the 'new heaven and the new earth' -- or the space-age universe, if you will, he must do so with humility rather than with arrogance.” IfsMenFeelsMadeStillsAgeEarthUniverseBeliefHeavenSpaceCasesHumilityApproachArroganceNew Earth Author:Rachel Carson
“A whole lot of us go through life assuming that we are basically right, basically all the time, about basically everything: about our political and intellectual convictions, our religious and moral beliefs, our assessments of other people, our memories, our grasp of facts. As absurd as it sounds when we stop to think about it, our steady state seems to be one of unconsciously assuming that we are very close to omniscient.” PeopleThinkingStatesWholeFactsSeemsPoliticalBeliefSoundReligiousMemoriesMoralIntellectualAssumingConvictionAbsurdArroganceSteadyOur MemoriesAssessmentOmniscientMoral Beliefs Author:Kathryn Schulz
“In spite of the fact that religion looks backward to revealed truth while science looks forward to new vistas and discoveries, both activities produce a sense of awe and a curious mixture of humility and arrogance in their practitioners. All great scientists are inspired by the subtlety and beauty of the natural world that they are seeking to understand. Each new subatomic particle, every unexpected object, produces delight and wonderment. In constructing their theories, physicists are frequently guided by arcane concepts of elegance in the belief that the universe is intrinsically beautiful.” WorldLooksFactsBeautifulScienceReligionUniverseBeliefNaturalObjectsProduceHumilityTheoryActivityConceptsDiscoveryScientistInspiredDelightSeekingCuriousArroganceAweSpiteUnexpectedPhysicistEleganceMixturesParticlesNatural WorldSubtletyVistasGreat ScientistArcaneSubatomic Particles Author:Paul Davies
“The opposite of humility is arrogance--the belief that we are wiser or better than others. Arrogance promotes separation rather than community. It looms like a brick wall between us and those from whom we could learn.” BeliefCommunityHumilityWallOppositesSeparationArroganceWiserBricksBrick Wall Author:John Templeton