--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Living, as I do, in an educated and…" description: "\"Living, as I do, in an educated and scientific atmosphere, I could not have conceived that the first principles of zoology were so little known. Is it ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d38/arthur-conan-doyle-273_anatomy_living-as-i-do-in-an-educated-and-scient_2911850.jpg" --- # Living, as I do, in an educated and scientific atmosphere… ![“Living, as I do, in an educated and scientific atmosphere, I could not have conceived that the first principles of zoology were so little known. Is it possible that you do not know the elementary fact in comparative anatomy, that the wing of a bird is really the forearm, while the wing of a bat…” quote by Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d38/arthur-conan-doyle-273_anatomy_living-as-i-do-in-an-educated-and-scient_2911850.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d38/arthur-conan-doyle-273_anatomy_living-as-i-do-in-an-educated-and-scient_2911850.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d38/arthur-conan-doyle-273_anatomy_living-as-i-do-in-an-educated-and-scient_2911850.jpg) > “Living, as I do, in an educated and scientific atmosphere, I could not have conceived that the first principles of zoology were so little known. Is it possible that you do not know the elementary fact in comparative anatomy, that the wing of a bird is really the forearm, while the wing of a bat consists of three elongated fingers with membranes between?” [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He expresses surprise at how little basic anatomical knowledge is known despite scientific progress. **In simple terms:** Even educated people can miss simple facts. Key Takeaway Question fundamentals, stay curious. Themes education science humility Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type informational reflective When to use this quote - teaching - research - public outreach Key Concepts comparative anatomy knowledge gaps Questions to Reflect On - What basic facts do you assume everyone knows? - How can we improve foundational education? A Different Perspective Complex fields may still have basic unknowns. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anatomy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anatomy/) [Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bird/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [First Principles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-principles/) [Humorous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humorous/) [Principles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/principles/) [Sarcasm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sarcasm/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Zoology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/zoology/) ## Related quotes > [The whole aim of comparative anatomy is to discover what structures are homologous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/libbie-hyman/the-whole-aim-of-comparative-anatomy-is-to-discover-what-structures/) Libbie Hyman > [Vergleichende Anatomie der Engel. On the comparative anatomy of angels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustav-fechner/vergleichende-anatomie-der-engel-on-the-comparative-anatomy-of-angels/) Gustav Fechner > [At Harvard I was in charge of the comparative anatomy labs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-t-bakker/at-harvard-i-was-in-charge-of-the-comparative-anatomy-labs/) [Robert T. Bakker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-t-bakker/) > [What's next? Shall we appoint elephants to teach zoology?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roman-jakobson/what-s-next-shall-we-appoint-elephants-to-teach-zoology/) [Roman Jakobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roman-jakobson/) > [The older I get the more I admire and crave competence, just simple competence, in any field from adultery to zoology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-older-i-get-the-more-i-admire-and-crave-competence-just-simple/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Have pity on them all, for it is we who are the real monsters.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-heuvelmans/have-pity-on-them-all-for-it-is-we-who-are-the-real-monsters/) Bernard Heuvelmans > [ During my second year at Edinburgh \[1826-27\] I attended Jameson's lectures on Geology and Zoology, but they were incredible dull. The sole effect they… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/during-my-second-year-at-edinburgh-1826-27-i-attended-jameson-s/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [According to man's environment, society has made as many different types of men as there are varieties in zoology. The differences between a soldier,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/according-to-man-s-environment-society-has-made-as-many-different/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [My zoology thesis was a functional analysis of the thyroid gland of the three-toed sloth. I chose the sloth because its demeanour - calm,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/my-zoology-thesis-was-a-functional-analysis-of-the-thyroid-gland-of/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [Hippogriff, n. An animal (now extinct) which was half horse and half griffin. The griffin was itself a compound creature, half lion and half…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/hippogriff-n-an-animal-now-extinct-which-was-half-horse-and-half/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [The first steps in Agriculture, Astronomy, Zoology, (those first steps which the farmer, the hunter, and the sailor take,) teach that nature's dice are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-first-steps-in-agriculture-astronomy-zoology-those-first-steps/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Dragons, you know, we have a good deal of biology and zoology about the dragon; we know their habits. The dragon tends to guard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/dragons-you-know-we-have-a-good-deal-of-biology-and-zoology-about-the/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [I was 16 when I got admission in Hans Raj College. I completed school when I was 16, so everyone in my class -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-kashyap/i-was-16-when-i-got-admission-in-hans-raj-college-i-completed-school/) [Anurag Kashyap](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-kashyap/) > [Zoology has always been interesting to me. Nature is fascinating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-cage/zoology-has-always-been-interesting-to-me-nature-is-fascinating/) [Nicolas Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-cage/) > [It is, I find, in zoology as it is in botany: all nature is so full, that that district produces the greatest variety which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-white/it-is-i-find-in-zoology-as-it-is-in-botany-all-nature-is-so-full-that/) [Gilbert White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-white/) ## More by Arthur Conan Doyle > [“shattered the bone and grazed the subclavian artery. I”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/shattered-the-bone-and-grazed-the-subclavian-artery-i/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [My mind rebels at stagnation. Give me problems, give me work, give me the most abstruse cryptogram, or the most intricate analysis, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/my-mind-rebels-at-stagnation-give-me-problems-give-me-work-give-me/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [...it was a huge creature, luminous, ghastly, and spectral. I have cross-examined these men, one of them a hard-headed countryman, one a farrier, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/it-was-a-huge-creature-luminous-ghastly-and-spectral-i-have-cross/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [“A study in scarlet, eh? Why shouldn't we use a little art jargon. There's the scarlet thread of murder running through the colourless skein…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/a-study-in-scarlet-eh-why-shouldn-t-we-use-a-little-art-jargon-there/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [Mediocrity knows nothing higher than itself, but talent instantly recognizes genius.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/mediocrity-knows-nothing-higher-than-itself-but-talent-instantly/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [“Holy men? Holy cabbages! Holy bean-pods! What do they do but live and suck in sustenance and grow fat? If that be holiness, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/holy-men-holy-cabbages-holy-bean-pods-what-do-they-do-but-live-and/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [“Wonderful!" I ejaculated.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/wonderful-i-ejaculated/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [Amberley excelled at chess - a mark, Watson, of a scheming mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/amberley-excelled-at-chess-a-mark-watson-of-a-scheming-mind/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [Ex-Professor Moriarty of mathematical celebrity... is the Napoleon of crime, Watson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/ex-professor-moriarty-of-mathematical-celebrity-is-the-napoleon-of/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [“When a doctor does go wrong, he is the first of criminals. He has the nerve and he has the knowledge.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/when-a-doctor-does-go-wrong-he-is-the-first-of-criminals-he-has-the/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [“How small we feel with our petty ambitions and strivings in the presence of the great elemental forces of Nature!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/how-small-we-feel-with-our-petty-ambitions-and-strivings-in-the/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [You wish to put me in the dark. I tell you that I will never be put in the dark. You wish to beat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/you-wish-to-put-me-in-the-dark-i-tell-you-that-i-will-never-be-put-in/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [“My mind," he said, "rebels at stagnation. Give me problems, give me work, give me the most abstruse cryptogram or the most intricate analysis,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/my-mind-he-said-rebels-at-stagnation-give-me-problems-give-me-work/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [“It is hard luck on a young fellow to have expensive tastes, great expectations, aristocratic connections but no actual money in his pocket, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/it-is-hard-luck-on-a-young-fellow-to-have-expensive-tastes-great/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [“In the year 1878 I took my degree of Doctor of Medicine of the University of London, and proceeded to Netley to go through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/in-the-year-1878-i-took-my-degree-of-doctor-of-medicine-of-the/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) [Explore all 740 Arthur Conan Doyle quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) ## More Anatomy quotes > [Anatomy is destiny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/anatomy-is-destiny/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [Descriptive anatomy is to physiology what geography is to history, and just as it is not enough to know the typography of a country…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-bernard/descriptive-anatomy-is-to-physiology-what-geography-is-to-history-and/) [Claude Bernard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-bernard/) > [Dark influences from the American past congregate among us still. If we are a democracy, what are we to make of the palpable elements…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/dark-influences-from-the-american-past-congregate-among-us-still-if/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [“I feel your body, your sick and scared body. And I feel how it must be different from how it was, and how it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-montross/i-feel-your-body-your-sick-and-scared-body-and-i-feel-how-it-must-be/) [Christine Montross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-montross/) > [“The pen is an extension of my anatomy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/the-pen-is-an-extension-of-my-anatomy/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [I profess to learn and to teach anatomy not from books but from dissections, not from the tenets of Philosophers but from the fabric…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-harvey/i-profess-to-learn-and-to-teach-anatomy-not-from-books-but-from/) [William Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-harvey/) > [Bird taxonomy is a difficult field because of the severe anatomical constraints imposed by flight. There are only so many ways to design a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jared-diamond/bird-taxonomy-is-a-difficult-field-because-of-the-severe-anatomical/) [Jared Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jared-diamond/) > [We all think we’re going to be great and we feel a little bit robbed when our expectations aren’t met. But sometimes our expectations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shonda-rhimes/we-all-think-we-re-going-to-be-great-and-we-feel-a-little-bit-robbed/) [Shonda Rhimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shonda-rhimes/) > [Ultimately, the problem is that sex is perceived as a personal, intimate thing, not in the realm of science. But that's not true. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/ultimately-the-problem-is-that-sex-is-perceived-as-a-personal/) [Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) > [Grammar is to a writer what anatomy is to a sculptor, or the scales to a musician. You may loathe it, it may bore…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-j-chute/grammar-is-to-a-writer-what-anatomy-is-to-a-sculptor-or-the-scales-to/) B. J. Chute > [The whole aim of comparative anatomy is to discover what structures are homologous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/libbie-hyman/the-whole-aim-of-comparative-anatomy-is-to-discover-what-structures/) Libbie Hyman > [I am sincerely trying now to create a dance technique based entirely upon corrective exercises, created with a knowledge of human anatomy; a technique…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-horton/i-am-sincerely-trying-now-to-create-a-dance-technique-based-entirely/) Lester Horton > [My philosophy is this: Do not tamper with the anatomy of a woman's body; do not camouflage it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oleg-cassini/my-philosophy-is-this-do-not-tamper-with-the-anatomy-of-a-woman-s/) [Oleg Cassini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oleg-cassini/) > [My fundamental premise about the brain is that its workings - what we sometimes call "mind" - are a consequence of its anatomy and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/my-fundamental-premise-about-the-brain-is-that-its-workings-what-we-2/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [In my experience of these things, parties which shout about dirty tricks and the like tend to do so because they fear a direct…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-mandelson/in-my-experience-of-these-things-parties-which-shout-about-dirty/) [Peter Mandelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-mandelson/) [Browse all 273 Anatomy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anatomy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Living, as I do, in an educated and scientific atmosphere, I could not have conceived that the first principles of zoology were so little known. Is it possible that you do not know the elementary fact in comparative anatomy, that the wing of a bird is really the forearm, while the wing of a bat consists of three elongated fingers with membranes between?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Arthur Conan Doyle" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/living-as-i-do-in-an-educated-and-scientific-atmosphere-i-could-not/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Anatomy" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/living-as-i-do-in-an-educated-and-scientific-atmosphere-i-could-not/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d38/arthur-conan-doyle-273_anatomy_living-as-i-do-in-an-educated-and-scient_2911850.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d38/arthur-conan-doyle-273_anatomy_living-as-i-do-in-an-educated-and-scient_2911850.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d38/arthur-conan-doyle-273_anatomy_living-as-i-do-in-an-educated-and-scient_2911850.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Living, as I do, in an educated and scientific atmosphere, I could not have conceived that the first…” — Arthur Conan Doyle", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Arthur Conan Doyle", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Living, as I do, in an...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/living-as-i-do-in-an-educated-and-scientific-atmosphere-i-could-not/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/living-as-i-do-in-an-educated-and-scientific-atmosphere-i-could-not/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```