Best E. O. Wilson Quotes
- Biological diversity is the key to the maintenance of the world as we know it... Eliminate one species, and another increases to take its place.… Animal
- Humanity, in the desperate attempt to fit 8 billion or more people on the planet and give them a higher standard of living, is at… Attempt
- It was inspiring to learn of the new Bachelor of Environmental Studies Program, and I congratulate you for it. Singapore is geographically in the right… Academic
- Look closely at nature. Every species is a masterpiece, exquisitely adapted to the particular environment in which it has survived. Who are we to destroy… Adapted
- Homo sapiens, the first truly free species, is about to decommission natural selection, the force that made us. Soon we must look deep within ourselves… Decide
- Women are extraordinary in lacking the estrus, or period of heat. The females of most other primate species become sexually active, to the point of… Active
- Mating Strategy is influenced by the cardinal fact that women have more at stake in sexual activity than men, because of the limited age span… Activity
- These slender little people (Homo Habilis), the size of modern 12 year olds, were devoid of fangs and claws and almost certainly slower on foot… Almost Certainly
- If insemination were the sole biological function of sex, it could be achieved far more economically in a few seconds of mounting and insertion. Indeed,… Achieved
- We don't know nearly enough about the complexities of Nature. If we think we can eliminate natural ecosystems and substitute prosthetic devices, i.e. clean air… Air
- Human existence may be simpler than we thought. There is no predestination, no unfathomed mystery of life. Demons and gods do not vie for our… Adapted
- [O]ld beliefs die hard even when demonstrably false. Belief
- Each species is a masterpiece, a creation assembled with extreme care and genius. Assembled
- The real problem of humanity is the following: we have paleolithic emotions; medieval institutions; and god-like technology. And it is terrifically dangerous, and it is… Approaching
- Biodiversity is the totality of all inherited variation in the life forms of Earth, of which we are one species. We study and save it… All
- Each of these [bacterial] species are masterpieces of evolution. Each has persisted for thousands to millions of years. Each is exquisitely adapted to the environment… Adapted
- Consider the nematode roundworm, the most abundant of all animals. Four out of five animals on Earth are nematode worms — if all solid materials… Abundant
- In the attempt to make scientific discoveries, every problem is an opportunity — and the more difficult the problem, the greater will be the importance… Attempt
- I turned to the teeming small creatures that can be held between the thumb and forefinger: the little things that compose the foundation of our… Compose
- The search for knowledge is in our genes. It was put there by our distant ancestors who spread across the world, and it's never going… Across
- Go as far as you can, [young scientists]. The world needs you badly. Badly
- When all else fails, men turn to reason. All
- If history and science have taught us anything, it is that passion and desire are not the same as truth. Desire
- No barrier stands between the material world of science and the sensibilities of the hunter and the poet, Barrier
- Nature first, then theory. Or, better, Nature and theory closely intertwined while you throw all your intellectual capital at the subject. Love the organisms for… All