Scientists giving their comments on science, in order of appearance:
Michael Shermer - Skeptic Magazine
"Science is the best tool ever devised for understanding how the world works."
Jacob Bronowski - Mathematician, Biologist, Poet
"Science is a very human form of knowledge, we are always on the brink of the known."
Carl Sagan - Astronomer, Astrophysicist
"Science is a collaborative enterprise spanning the generations. We remember those who prepared the way, seeing for them also."
"We can do science, and with it we can improve our lives."
Neil deGrass Tyson - Astrophysicist
"If you are scientifically literate, the world looks very different to you, and that understanding empowers you."
Richard Dawkins - Biologist, Ethologist
"There's real poetry in the real world. Science is the poetry of reality."
"Science replaces private prejudice with publicly verifiable evidence."
Jill Tarter - Astronomer
"The story of humans is the story of ideas, that shine light into dark corners."
Lawrence Krauss - Theoretical Physicist
"Scientists love mysteries. They love not knowing."
Richard Feynman - Quantum Physicist
"I don't feel frightened by not knowing things. I think it's much more interesting."
Brian Greene - Theoretical Physicist
"There's a larger universal reality of which we are all a part."
"From our lonely point in the cosmos we have, through the power of thought, been able to peer back to a brief moment after the begining of the universe."
Stephen Hawking - Theoretical Physicist
"The further we probe into the universe the more remarkable are the discoveries we make."
Carcolyn Porco - Planetary Scientist
"The quest for the truth, in and of itself, is a story that's filled with insights."
PZ Myers - Biologist, Blogger
"I think that science changes the way your mind works, to think a little more deeply about things."
What are these scientists famous for? Find out more below!
Michael Shermer - Science Historian
Founder of Skeptic magazine, promoter of science and critical thinking.
Jacob Bronowski - Mathematician, Biologist, Poet
Scientist possibly best known as the writer and presenter of the BBC television documentary series "The Ascent of Man".
Carl Sagan - Astronomer, Astrophysicist
Pioneer of exobiology and the search for extra terrestrial intelligence, also author of many books and the award winning television series "Cosmos: a personal voyage" and the film "Contact".
Neil deGrass Tyson - Astrophysicist
Director of the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History in Manhatten and also presenter of PBS's television show NOVA ScienceNOW.
Richard Dawkins - Biologist, Ethologist
Author of "The selfish gene" and the first Professor of Public Understanding of Science at Oxford University, UK.
Jill Tarter - Astronomer
Her work was featured in Carl Sagan's film "Contact", and she is the current director of SETI, searching for signals from extra terrestrial intelligence.
Lawrence Krauss - Theoretical Physicist
Professor of Earth and Space Exploration in Arizona, also author of best selling books including "The physics of Star Trek"
Richard Feynman - Quantum Physicist
Joint Nobel Prize winner (1965) in Physics for his work on the development of quantum electrodynamics, and, among many other achievements, credited with pioneering quantum computing.
Brian Greene - Theoretical Physicist
Professor at Columbia university, specialising in string theory, but also well-known as an author for his books, including "The Elegant Universe"
Stephen Hawking - Theoretical Physicist
Distinguished for his work in cosmology and quantum gravity, especially relating to black holes, and famous the world over for his book "A brief History of Time".
Carcolyn Porco - Planetary Scientist
An imaging scientist who has worked on missions to Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, and in a few years time to Pluto, she has also been scientific advisor to Carl Sagan's film "Contact" and the film Star Trek (2009) and gives many talks to the public, such as the cosmic context for human existence.
PZ Myers - Biologist, Blogger
An evolutionary developmental biologist who is an active blogger in the defence of science!
The poetry of reality
What is science?
Article by Elizabeth Ball, Athens
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