Ralph Gomory, the President of the Alfred P. Sloan…
““Ralph Gomory, the President of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, proposes a tripartite division of science: the known, the unknown, and the unknowable. The known is taught in the schools and universities and is exhibited in the science museums. But scientists are excited by the unknown. Parenthetically, artists go to art museums to learn; scientists do not go to science museums because those museums act as if it's all known and preordained. That may be changing; exemplars are the Exploratorium in San Francisco and the American Museum of Natural History. Gomory's tripartite division proposes three distinct areas: the known, the unknown which may someday become known, and the unknowable, which will never be known. The unknown and the unknowable form the boundary of science. Here are examples of questions for which the answers are today unknown.””
About This Quote
This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.
Science is divided into known, unknown, and unknowable; the unknown drives curiosity.
In simple terms: Science explores what we know and don’t.
Key Takeaway
Pursue the unknown.
Themes
science
knowledge
exploration
uncertainty
Mood
intellectual
inquisitive
Type
Complexity-and-information:0
Known:0
Natural history:0
San francisco:0
Science:0
Unknowable:1
Unknown:0
Known Unknown:0
Art Museums:0
Art Museum:0
Unknown Unknowable:0
Science Known:0
Known Unknowable:0
Unknowable Known:0
When to use this quote
- academia
- R research
- museum curation
Key Concepts
philosophy of science
research methodology
education
Questions to Reflect On
- What unknowns intrigue you?
- How do you handle uncertainty?
A Different Perspective
The unknowable may be unsettling.