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Knowing “why” (an idea) is more important than learning “what” (the fact).

James Watson

[As a young man ] I came to the conclusion that the church was just a bunch of fascists that supported Franco. I stopped going on Sunday mornings and watched the birds with my father instead.
JAMES WATSON

Bird Father Man Myself Stop Support Young
The brain, is the most complex thing we have yet discovered in our universe.
JAMES WATSON

Brain Discover Universe
Science seldom proceeds in the straightforward logical manner imagined by outsiders. Instead, its steps forward (and sometimes backward) are often very human events in which personalities and cultural traditions play major roles.
JAMES WATSON

Culture Human Imagination Logic Personality Role Science Tradition
Ultimately, we’ll help the people we discriminate against if we try to understand more about them; genetics will lead to a world where there is a sympathy for the underdog.
JAMES WATSON

Direction Discrimination Help Leadership People Sympathy Try Understand
The brain is the last and grandest biological frontier, the most complex thing we have yet discovered in our universe. It contains hundreds of billions of cells interlinked through trillions of connections. The brain boggles the mind.
JAMES WATSON

Biology Brain Connection Discover Mindset Science Universe
The biggest advantage to believing in God is you don’t have to understand anything, no physics, no biology. I wanted to understand.
JAMES WATSON

Believe Big God Myself Understand
I don’t think we are here for anything. We’re just products of evolution. You can say, “Gee, your life must be pretty bleak if you don’t think there’s a purpose.” But I’m anticipating a good lunch.
JAMES WATSON

Evolution Goodness Myself Production Purpose Thinking
Science has always been my preoccupation and when you think a breakthrough is possible, it is terribly exciting.
JAMES WATSON

Break Excitement Occupation Science Terrible Thinking
For all my life, America was the place to be. And we somehow continue to be the place where there are real opportunities to change the world for the better.
JAMES WATSON

Better Change Life Opportunity Place Reality World
Already for thirty-five years he had not stopped talking and almost nothing of fundamental value had emerged.
JAMES WATSON

Age Fundamental Stop Talk Time Value
No good model ever accounted for all the facts, since some data was bound to be misleading if not plain wrong.
JAMES WATSON

Goodness Model Responsibility Wrong
Today, the theory of evolution is an accepted fact for everyone but a fundamentalist minority, whose objections are based not on reasoning but on doctrinaire adherence to religious principles.
JAMES WATSON

Acceptance Evolution Principle Reason Religious Theory
I have been much blessed.
JAMES WATSON

Blessing Myself
I think the reason people are dealing with science less well now than 50 years ago is that it has become so complicated.
JAMES WATSON

Complication Deal Reason Science Thinking
Our goal should be to understand our differences.
JAMES WATSON

Difference Goal Ourselves Understand
A clone of Einstein wouldn’t be stupid, but he wouldn’t necessarily be any genius, either.
JAMES WATSON

Genius Necessary Stupidity

Knowing “why” (an idea) is more important than learning “what” (the fact).

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Knowing “why” (an idea) is more important than learning “what” (the fact).

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Popular Authors

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