--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The age of innocent faith in science and…" description: "\"The age of innocent faith in science and technology may be over.\" — Barry Commoner" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e67/barry-commoner-9980_age_the-age-of-innocent-faith-in-science-and_1466194.png" --- # The age of innocent faith in science and technology may be… ![“The age of innocent faith in science and technology may be over.” quote by Barry Commoner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e67/barry-commoner-9980_age_the-age-of-innocent-faith-in-science-and_1466194.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e67/barry-commoner-9980_age_the-age-of-innocent-faith-in-science-and_1466194.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e67/barry-commoner-9980_age_the-age-of-innocent-faith-in-science-and_1466194.png) > “The age of innocent faith in science and technology may be over.” [Barry Commoner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-commoner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The era of blind trust in science and technology is ending, urging critical scrutiny. **In simple terms:** Blind faith in tech is fading. Key Takeaway Question assumptions about progress. Themes environment technology skepticism Mood cautious reflective Type critical environmental When to use this quote - policy making - education - public debate - media analysis Key Concepts critical thinking science ethics sustainability Questions to Reflect On - What evidence would restore your confidence in technology? - How can we balance optimism with caution? A Different Perspective Some innovations still merit trust. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Science and technology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science-and-technology/) [Science technology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science-technology/) [Technology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technology/) ## Related quotes > [Americans in particular are oddly innocent in their faith that science holds explanations for everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-briggs/americans-in-particular-are-oddly-innocent-in-their-faith-that/) [Patricia Briggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-briggs/) > [“The innocent put their faith into their government, whereas the smart do their own research and adopt protective lifestyle changes based on biological science.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/the-innocent-put-their-faith-into-their-government-whereas-the-smart/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [I would be mute, beautiful, changless as the earth for you. I would be your memory, without age, always innocent, always waiting in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-would-be-mute-beautiful-changless-as-the-earth-for-you-i-would-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Science and technology are what we can do; morality is what we agree we should or should not do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/science-and-technology-are-what-we-can-do-morality-is-what-we-agree/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There can be very little of present-day science and technology that is not dependent on complex numbers in one way or another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-devlin/there-can-be-very-little-of-present-day-science-and-technology-that/) [Keith Devlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-devlin/) > [The unprecedented development of science and technology... so rapid that it is said that 90 per cent of the scientists which this country has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-platt/the-unprecedented-development-of-science-and-technology-so-rapid-that/) Robert Platt > [There has come about a general public awareness that America is not automatically, and effortlessly, and unquestionably the leader of the world in science…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-condon/there-has-come-about-a-general-public-awareness-that-america-is-not/) [Edward Condon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-condon/) > [“For a list of all the ways technology has failed to improve the quality of life, please press three. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-kahn/for-a-list-of-all-the-ways-technology-has-failed-to-improve-the/) Alice Kahn > [No society has ever yet been able to handle the temptations of technology to mastery, to waste, to exuberance, to exploration and exploitation. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/no-society-has-ever-yet-been-able-to-handle-the-temptations-of/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [Science and technology have been embarrassed by two world wars, many smaller ones, and the spread of weapons that could destroy humanity. As a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-keating/science-and-technology-have-been-embarrassed-by-two-world-wars-many/) [Thomas Keating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-keating/) > [The intelligent use of science and technology are the tools with which to achieve a new direction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacque-fresco/the-intelligent-use-of-science-and-technology-are-the-tools-with/) [Jacque Fresco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacque-fresco/) > [Anybody can use science and technology without fundamentally altering his own frame of mind which governs how they are used.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bohm/anybody-can-use-science-and-technology-without-fundamentally-altering/) [David Bohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bohm/) > [Wisdom demands a new orientation of science and technology toward the organic, the gentle, the elegant and beautiful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/wisdom-demands-a-new-orientation-of-science-and-technology-toward-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Today, more than ever before, science holds the key to our survival as a planet and our security and prosperity as a nation. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/today-more-than-ever-before-science-holds-the-key-to-our-survival-as/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [We live in a society exquisitely dependent on science and technology and yet have cleverly arranged things so that almost no one understands science…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/we-live-in-a-society-exquisitely-dependent-on-science-and-technology/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) ## More by Barry Commoner > [The gap between brute power and human need continues to grow, as the power fattens on the same faulty technology that intensifies the need.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-commoner/the-gap-between-brute-power-and-human-need-continues-to-grow-as-the/) [Barry Commoner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-commoner/) > [The methods that EPA introduced after 1970 to reduce air-pollutant emissions worked for a while, but over time have become progressively less effective.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-commoner/the-methods-that-epa-introduced-after-1970-to-reduce-air-pollutant/) [Barry Commoner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-commoner/) > [Sooner or later, wittingly or unwittingly, we must pay for every intrusion on the natural environment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-commoner/sooner-or-later-wittingly-or-unwittingly-we-must-pay-for-every/) [Barry Commoner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-commoner/) > [Environmental concern is now firmly embedded in public life: in education, medicine and law; in journalism, literature and art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-commoner/environmental-concern-is-now-firmly-embedded-in-public-life-in/) [Barry Commoner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-commoner/) > [Environmental pollution is an incurable disease. It can only be prevented.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-commoner/environmental-pollution-is-an-incurable-disease-it-can-only-be/) [Barry Commoner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-commoner/) > [In nature, no organic substance is synthesized unless there is provision for its degradation; recycling is enforced.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-commoner/in-nature-no-organic-substance-is-synthesized-unless-there-is/) [Barry Commoner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-commoner/) > [We are in an environmental crisis which threatens the survival of this nation, and of the world as a suitable place of human habitation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-commoner/we-are-in-an-environmental-crisis-which-threatens-the-survival-of/) [Barry Commoner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-commoner/) > [I don't believe in environmentalism as the solution to anything. What I believe is that environmentalism illuminates the things that need to be done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-commoner/i-don-t-believe-in-environmentalism-as-the-solution-to-anything-what/) [Barry Commoner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-commoner/) > [The environmental crisis is somber evidence of an insidious fraud hidden in the vaunted productivity and wealth of modern, technology-based society. This wealth has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-commoner/the-environmental-crisis-is-somber-evidence-of-an-insidious-fraud/) [Barry Commoner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-commoner/) > [The most meaningful engine of change, powerful enough to confront corporate power, may be not so much environmental quality, as the economic development and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-commoner/the-most-meaningful-engine-of-change-powerful-enough-to-confront/) [Barry Commoner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-commoner/) > [The environmental crisis is a sign that the ecosphere is now so heavily strained that its continued stability is threatened. It is a warning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-commoner/the-environmental-crisis-is-a-sign-that-the-ecosphere-is-now-so/) [Barry Commoner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-commoner/) > [It reflects a prevailing myth that production technology is no more amenable to human judgment or social interests than the laws of thermodynamics, atomic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-commoner/it-reflects-a-prevailing-myth-that-production-technology-is-no-more/) [Barry Commoner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-commoner/) > [Seen that way, the wholesale transformation of production technologies that is mandated by pollution prevention creates a new surge of economic development.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-commoner/seen-that-way-the-wholesale-transformation-of-production-technologies/) [Barry Commoner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-commoner/) > [Recycling is a good thing to do. It makes people feel good to do it. The thing I want to emphasize is the vast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-commoner/recycling-is-a-good-thing-to-do-it-makes-people-feel-good-to-do-it/) [Barry Commoner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-commoner/) > [Finally, since human beings are uniquely capable of producing materials not found in nature, environmental degradation may be due to the resultant intrusion into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-commoner/finally-since-human-beings-are-uniquely-capable-of-producing/) [Barry Commoner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-commoner/) [Explore all 69 Barry Commoner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-commoner/) ## More Age quotes > [I need a bath." He chuckled. "You smell of smoke, as do I." The duke turned, leaning heavily on his cane. "Jameson, open the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hawkins/i-need-a-bath-he-chuckled-you-smell-of-smoke-as-do-i-the-duke-turned/) [Karen Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hawkins/) > [While we've youth in our hearts, we can never grow old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/while-we-ve-youth-in-our-hearts-we-can-never-grow-old/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [It's easier to change a law than an age-old mentality. Deep down, many prejudices, many hostilities, many fears persist. But if we take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/it-s-easier-to-change-a-law-than-an-age-old-mentality-deep-down-many/) [Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/) > [When I first started writing, when I was 15, I would go to work with people and they would tell me my lyrics were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sabrina-claudio/when-i-first-started-writing-when-i-was-15-i-would-go-to-work-with/) [Sabrina Claudio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sabrina-claudio/) > [Real people speak in my books about the main events of the age, such as the war, the Chernobyl disaster, and the downfall of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/svetlana-alexievich/real-people-speak-in-my-books-about-the-main-events-of-the-age-such/) [Svetlana Alexievich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/svetlana-alexievich/) > [As a child I was very involved with sports and I knew at age 9 that I wanted to be an Olympic champion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-jones/as-a-child-i-was-very-involved-with-sports-and-i-knew-at-age-9-that-i/) [Marion Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-jones/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [I am just enjoying the dream of being Milan coach at the age of 40.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennaro-gattuso/i-am-just-enjoying-the-dream-of-being-milan-coach-at-the-age-of-40/) [Gennaro Gattuso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennaro-gattuso/) > [Age is an accumulation of life and loss. Adulthood is a series of lines crossed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-goodman/age-is-an-accumulation-of-life-and-loss-adulthood-is-a-series-of/) [Ellen Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-goodman/) > [I calculated that if I live up to the age of 80, then I end up using 450 toothbrushes in my life. All that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dia-mirza/i-calculated-that-if-i-live-up-to-the-age-of-80-then-i-end-up-using/) [Dia Mirza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dia-mirza/) > [Why is wisdom so fair? Why is beauty so wise? Because all else is temporary, while beauty and wisdom are the only real and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-nazarian/why-is-wisdom-so-fair-why-is-beauty-so-wise-because-all-else-is/) [Vera Nazarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-nazarian/) > [It was only when I went to acting school that I was like, "You are absolutely such a pigheaded freak show that you thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-matthey/it-was-only-when-i-went-to-acting-school-that-i-was-like-you-are/) [Giles Matthey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-matthey/) > [That old man dies prematurely whose memory records no benefits conferred. They only have lived long who have lived virtuously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/that-old-man-dies-prematurely-whose-memory-records-no-benefits/) [Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/) > [We have started to make music at age seven. That was a hard work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-kaulitz/we-have-started-to-make-music-at-age-seven-that-was-a-hard-work/) [Bill Kaulitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-kaulitz/) [Browse all 18,948 Age quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The age of innocent faith in science and technology may be over.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Barry Commoner" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-commoner/the-age-of-innocent-faith-in-science-and-technology-may-be-over/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Age" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-commoner/the-age-of-innocent-faith-in-science-and-technology-may-be-over/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e67/barry-commoner-9980_age_the-age-of-innocent-faith-in-science-and_1466194.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e67/barry-commoner-9980_age_the-age-of-innocent-faith-in-science-and_1466194.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e67/barry-commoner-9980_age_the-age-of-innocent-faith-in-science-and_1466194.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The age of innocent faith in science and technology may be over.” — Barry Commoner", "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": "Barry Commoner", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-commoner/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The age of innocent faith in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-commoner/the-age-of-innocent-faith-in-science-and-technology-may-be-over/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-commoner/the-age-of-innocent-faith-in-science-and-technology-may-be-over/#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 } } ] } ```