IsaacAshovb BOOKOF \SCIEI\CEN Editedby IsaacAsimou andlason A. Shulman A BLUE CLIFF EDITIONS BOOK - XN WeidenfeUWtf:; Copyright @ 1988by Blue Cliff Editions, Inc. All rights reserved.No reproductionof this book in whole or in part or in any form may be madewithout written authorizationof the copyright owner. Publishedby Weidenfeld& Nicolson, New York A Division of Vheatland Corporation 10 East53rd Street New York, NY 10022 Publishedin Canadaby GeneralPublishing Company, Ltd. Due to limitationsof space,permissions appear on Page 337. Library of CongressCataloging-in-Publication Data IsaacAsimov's book of scienceand nature quotations / editedby Isaac Asimov andJasonA. Shulman.-lst ed. p. cm. 'A Blue Cliff editionsbook. " Includesindex. rsBN 1-555-84111-2 1. Science-Quotations,maxims, etc. I. Asimov,lsaac, I92A- II. Shulman,Jason. Iil. Title: Book of scienceand nature quotations. Q173.r831983 87-22489 5oo-dc19 cIP Manufacturedin the United Statesof America Designedby lrving PerkinsAssociates, Inc. First Edition 1098765432r FOR MY DAUGHTER ARIANA ELIZABETH: May the Seasstay DrE andthe Skystay HW May yourHeait ttoy Oput andBeauty fiU yourEyt, J. A. S. Acklrowledg*ents THts BooK could not havebeen createdwithout a number of peopleI would like to acknowledg. here: A*y Appleby, ashead researcher,was responsiblefor gathering mosr of the raw material used in the book. Her skill in findirg quotarions for every subject I could conceive of (and some she inventedl) was truly amtzing. This proJectcould not have gotten out of its infancy without her care and work. SusanWalker not only added many of the quotations, but did much of the original researchin finding quotations from news stories and scientific abstracts alike. Her contribution has been to add primary material to this book, and thereby make it useful to both scholarsand lay people for years to come. Elizabeth Guss added additional primary material and helped us add the spice that made the final work more flavorful. Peter Pickow created the original programmirg we used to collect the databasethat eventually becamethis book. We aregrateful to have a Pickow original in our computer. Mark Polizzotti, our editor at Weidenfeld & Nicolsor, nor only read and commented in detail on the entire manuscript, but like a good gardener helped us pull out weeds and add new plants in barren spors. Jackie Ogburn, as managirg editor of Blue Cliff Editions, had the truly mammothjob of organrzing aUthe raw material into a recog1y1z- ably literate form. This took erudition, intelligence, fortitude, and patience.It took the ability tojuggle thousandsofbits ofinformarion on the computer and have it turn out right. It took a knowledge of philosophy, science, and the art of bookmaking. Ms. Ogburn also played a vital role in the basic organization of this book, from adding quotations in areasof dearth and implementing changes in categories that enhanced the final structure of the work, to adding her editorial voice in the final choice of marerial itself vlt vul Acknowledgmel:Its Finally,my thanksto IsaacAsimov the inspirationof my boyhood. He is the man who, more than any other,taught me that the subjectof sciencecan be passionateand exciting, and that the study of science warms the soul while it enlightensthe mind. Thank you to all. JasoN SHuruAN Contents FOREV/ORD xiii INTRODUCTION xix 1. Aeronautics 3 2. Agriculture 8 3. Anatomy 1,2 4. Animal Behavior 15 5. Anthropology 18 6. Archaeology 22 7. Astronomy 26 8. The Atom 31 9. Biochemistry 34 10. Biology 36 17. Botany 39 72. Chemistry 43 13. Comets and Meteors 47 14. Computer Science 51 15. Cytology 54 16. Dietetics 57 17. The Earth 61 19. Ecology 64 19. Electricity and Electronics 69 20. Embryology 73 21. Energy 75 ?2. Engineering 78 ?3. Entomology 80 24. Error 83 25. Evolution 86 26. Experiment 94 27. Fact 97 28. Forestry 101 29. Genetics 104 30. Geology 108 31. Gravity 1,12 32. Hypothesis 114 33. Invention y. 117 Laboratory 121 Contents 35. Light r23 36. Linguistics 125 37. Logic 132 38. Marine Biology 1,34 39. Matter r37 40. Medicine r40 41,. Meteotology 151 42. Microbiology 156 43. Mineralogy 159 4. The Moon 1& 45. Narural Law 167 M. Nature 171, 47. Nuclear Energy 176 48. Nuclear Weapons 180 49. Observation 183 50. Oceanography 186 51. Optics 189 52. The Origin of Life 192 53. Ornithology 1,97 54. Paleontology 202 55. Parapsychology 207 56. Physics 2t0 57. Physiology 21,4 58. The Planets 218 59. Probability 22r ffi. Psychology and PsychiatrY 2?3 6I. Radiation 233 62. Reproduction 235 63. Research 239 &. Science 243 65. Scienceand Art 251 6. Scienceand Education 255 262 67. Scienceand Journalism 68. Scienceand Mathematics 265 69. Scienceand Philosophy 268 70. Scienceand Politics 270 71. Scienceand Religion 273 72. Scienceand SocietY 28r 73. Scientific Apparatus 284 74. Scientific Funding 287 75. Scientific Method 290 76. Scientists 294 77. Sociology 301 Contents 78. SpaceExploration 306 79. The Stars 309 80. SubjectiveSciences 312 81. The Sun 31s 82. Thxonomy 318 83. Technology 321 84. Theory 324 85. The LJniverse 328 86. Zoology 334 INDEX 339 Foreword BY ISAAC ASIMOV THERE Anr five billion people on Earth, and I should guessthat at eny given moment one or two billion of us are speaking. And I should further guessthat virtually nothing anyone rryr is memorable. A state- ment may give useful information, such as, "It's five o'clock, " or it may be very precious to someone, ?S with, "I love you." But these are ephemeralthings. There atetimes, however,when someoneturns a phrasethat seemsso clever or so apt or so enlightening or so true, thai the statement flies from person to person and gives pleasureat eachpassage. The statement becomesa "quotation. " Quotations do not necessarily have extended lifetimes. Some are appropriate only to the immediate occasion and lose their force with time. Some are never written down and, if too much time passes,they may be forgotten. Some are too lengthy and complex, or too weighty, to remain long in our minds even if they are written down. A quotation has the best chance of survivirg if it is short. For example, in 338 B.c. Philip of Macedon, ?t the lreight of his power, swept into southern Greece. The Greek cities submitted at orr.., all except Sparta. Sparta had been the foremost military power in Greece until 371B. c., but sincethen had declinedinto nearh.lpl.ssness. Philip, annoyed by the defiance of this impotent city, sent thir message:"If I attack Sparta, I will level it to the ground. " Back at once came t[. reply t single "lf -of word: !" Philip, admiring the spirit ofthe.ity, left without brandishing a weapon. Another way of preserving a quotation is to present it as poetry. It is easierto remember a passagethat contains rhythm and rhyme than one that does not. Consider the man whom many people deem to be the greatestscientist in history. His greatnessmight be spoken of in pere- graphs and pages and yet not be captured as well 6 Al.*ander Pop. xru xiv Foreword managed to do in two lines of verse intended as an epitaph for the great man: I'Jatureand Nature'slaws lay hid in night: Cod said, "Let I'Jewtonbe" andall wa light. William Wordsworth commented on a statue of Newton: Tlrc marbleindex d a mind-foreuer Voyagingthrough strange seas of tlnught, Alone. That powerful last word, "alone," emphasizesthe uniquenessof the man and makes the remark an unforgettable quotation. But what did Newton himself say that would be suitable as a quotation?Natur ally,the greatestscientific mind in all history cannot be expectedto boast of it: Tb myselfI seemto hauebem, only like a boy playins on the seaslnre,ad diuerting myselfin now and thm f*di"S a smoother pebbleor a prettiersheT than ordinary, whilst thegreat ocean of truth lay all undiscoueredbefore rne . That is not verse, and it is too long for the averageperson to remembeg but when one readsit, what a picture it presents,and how it forces the myriads oflesser minds in the world to long to wrest one drop of truth from that great ocean. If we speakof scientific quotations, particularly, one has the chanceof surviving if it expresses,most pithily, some great truth. We know for instance, that everythittg moves. A rock may seem motionless, but every rock and every mountain is moving with the Earth around the planetary axis, and also about the Sun, and also about the galacticcenter. Within the rock there are atoms and molecules that restlessly and eternally vibrate, and very slowly shift position. On a more visible scale,the oceanwaves, the river flows, living things z1e-, die, and decay. How best to say all this? The ancientGreek philosopher FleracleitusPut it this way: "It is not possibleto step twice into the sameriver. " Think about it. You step into new water each time. Scientistshave always tried to simplify matters. They have tried to find very broad generalizations that explain as much as possible in as compact t way as possible. They try to cut away the superficial and Foreword XV trivial and get down to basics. As the ancient Greek philosopher Democritus concluded,"There is nothing but atoms and the void.'t By atoms, he meant fundamental particles, but there arealso fields of force (such as gravitation) that filI all space,so that a true void does not exist without them; you can, therefore, still argue that Democritus was correct. And the concisenessof the saying gives you an im age of the Universe that is pregnant with many philosophical implications. Ultim ately,what Democritus was saying was that if we could under- stand the Universe deeply enough, we would find it was simple. This may be false,but in the 2,500 yearssince Democritus, scientificfindings have strongly supported the notion of simplicity.