“Scientists study only those aspects of the universe that it is within ...” — Colin Tudge Quote

“Scientists study only those aspects of the universe that it is within their gift to study: what is observable; what is measurable and amenable to statistical analysis; and, indeed, what they can afford to study within the means and time available. Science thus emerges as a giant tautology, a "closed system". It can present us with robust answers only because its practitioners take very great care to tailor the questions.”

“It only takes a few seconds to remember that our bodies are vibrant landscapes, worlds shaped by the forces of nature. Within each human are elements forged from ancient stars, rivers of blood reflecting the great waterways of earth, neural pathways branching like sprawling roots of forests, and electromagnetic waves humming in rhythm with invisible forces around us. We are simultaneously mountain, ocean, and sky; a microcosm, home to millions of organisms.”

“Science is bound, by the everlasting vow of honour, to face fearlessly every problem which can be fairly presented to it.”

“Pangea may have been a united landmass, but its treacherous weather and extreme climates gave it a dangerous unpredictability. It wouldn’t have been a particularly safe or pleasant place to call home. But the very first dinosaurs had no choice. They entered a world still recovering from the terrible mass extinction at the end of the Permian, a land subject to the violent whims of storms and the blight of blistering temperatures. So did many other new types of plants and animals that were getting their start after the mass extinction cleared the planet. All of these newbies were thrust onto an evolutionary battlefield. It was far from certain that dinosaurs were going to emerge triumphant. After all, they were small and meek creatures, nowhere near the top of the food chain during their earliest years. They were hanging around with lots of other species of small-to-midsize reptiles, early mammals, and amphibians in the middle of the food pyramid, fearful of the crocodile-line archosaurs, who held the throne. Nothing was handed to the dinosaurs. They were going to have to earn it.”

“El reduccionismo no parece conceder un respeto suficiente a la complejidad del universo. A algunos se les antoja como un híbrido curioso de arrogancia y pereza intelectual.”