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Yuval Noah Harari on Science

born 1976 Israel

← All quotes by Yuval Noah Harari

9 quotes

Modern science is based on the Latin injunction ignoramus - 'we do not know'.

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind (2011)

The willingness to admit ignorance has made modern science more dynamic, supple and inquisitive than any previous tradition of knowledge.

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind (2011)

The undisputed monarch of all science was theology.

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind (2011)

exact science - defined as 'exact' by their use of mathematical tools.

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind (2011)

Mere observations, however, are not knowledge. In order to understand the universe, we need to connect observations into comprehensive theories. Earlier traditions usually formulated their theories in terms of stories. Modern science uses mathematics.

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind (2011)

Scientists themselves are not always aware of the political, economic and religious interests that control the flow of money; many scientists do, in fact, act out of purely intellectual curiosity. Hovever, only rarely do scientists dictate the scientific agenda.

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind (2011)

According to the science of biology, people were not 'created'. They... evolved. And... not... to be 'equal'.

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind (2011)

The whole of science... is a self-correcting mechanism. ...[S]cientific journals publish ...corrections to previous publications.., to past mistakes or past lacuna.

The Collapse of Truth (2025)

Today... there is an irresistible urge to study the exact sciences - defined... 'exact' by their... mathematical tools.

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind (2011)

Attribution

Quotes and notes from Wikiquote: Yuval Noah Harari (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.