“We may need simple and heroic legends for that peculiar genre of literature known as the textbook. But historians must also labor to rescue human beings from their legends in science if only so that we may understand the process of scientific thought aright.” IfsNeedsHumansMayLiteratureProcessHuman BeingsSimpleKnownLaborGenreHistorianPeculiarLegendsHeroicRescueTextbooks Book:The Flamingo's Smile: Reflections in Natural History Source: The Flamingo's Smile: Reflections in Natural History
“People try to typecast astronauts as heroic and superhuman. We're only human beings.” PeopleTryingHumansHuman BeingsHeroicAstronautSuperhumanTypecastingSuperhuman Powers Author:Gene Cernan
“In his very rejection of art Walt Whitman is an artist. He tried to produce a certain effect by certain means and he succeeded....He stands apart, and the chief value of his work is in its prophecy, not in its performance. He has begun a prelude to larger themes. He is the herald to a new era. As a man he is the precursor of a fresh type. He is a factor in the heroic and spiritual evolution of the human being. If Poetry has passed him by, Philosophy will take note of him.” IfsMenHumansMeanArtPhilosophySpiritualArtistCertainValuesHuman BeingsEffectsProduceTypeEvolutionPerformancesNotesFactorsChiefsErasRejectionThemeHeroicProphecyWaltNew EraPreludeSpiritual EvolutionPrecursor Author:Oscar Wilde
“But nothing is better than a truth which appears not to have the semblance of truth. There is always something incomprehensible about the great heroic deeds performed by humanity because they rise so far beyond the mediocre measure of mere mortals; but it is always only because of the incredible feats that human beings have accomplished that humanity recovers its faith in itself.” HumansTruthHumanityHuman BeingsMereIncrediblesDeedsMortalsAccomplishedHeroicMediocreFeatsSemblanceMere MortalsHeroic Deeds Author:Stefan Zweig
“Hope is easy; knowledge is hard. Science is the one domain in which we human beings make a truly heroic effort to counter our innate biases and wishful thinking. Science is the one endeavor in which we have developed a refined methodology for separating what a person hopes is true from what he has good reason to believe.” ThinkingBelieveHumansPersonsHardReasonEasyHuman BeingsEffortEndeavorHeroicDomainInnateRefinedWishful ThinkingSeparatingMethodology Author:Sam Harris