--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Some of my scientific friends and…" description: "\"“Some of my scientific friends and colleagues confess that they cannot for the life of them see why I don't abandon ship and join them. The short answe..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b3a/daniel-dennett-3895_friendship_some-of-my-scientific-friends-and-collea_481704.jpg" --- # Some of my scientific friends and colleagues confess that… ![“Some of my scientific friends and colleagues confess that they cannot for the life of them see why I don't abandon ship and join them. The short answer is that I have managed, by straddling the boundaries, to have the best of both worlds. By working with scientists I get a rich diet of fascinating…” quote by Daniel Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b3a/daniel-dennett-3895_friendship_some-of-my-scientific-friends-and-collea_481704.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b3a/daniel-dennett-3895_friendship_some-of-my-scientific-friends-and-collea_481704.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b3a/daniel-dennett-3895_friendship_some-of-my-scientific-friends-and-collea_481704.jpg) > ““Some of my scientific friends and colleagues confess that they cannot for the life of them see why I don't abandon ship and join them. The short answer is that I have managed, by straddling the boundaries, to have the best of both worlds. By working with scientists I get a rich diet of fascinating and problematic facts to think about, but by staying a philosopher without a lab or a research grant, I get to think about all the theories and experiments and never have to do the dishes”” [Daniel Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-dennett/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Balancing scientific rigor with philosophical freedom yields a rich, problem‑rich diet without practical burdens. **In simple terms:** Mixing science and philosophy gives insight without lab work. Key Takeaway Blend disciplines for broader perspective. Themes interdisciplinary freedom creativity Mood thoughtful playful Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - research planning - career advice - public speaking Key Concepts epistemology boundary‑spanning Questions to Reflect On - What benefits arise from staying unbound? - How to maintain rigor without resources? A Different Perspective Risk of lacking empirical grounding. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Friends And Colleagues](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friends-and-colleagues/) [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [Humor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humor/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Philosopher Lab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosopher-lab-4141166/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Scientific Friends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scientific-friends-4141165/) [Scientists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scientists/) [Staying Philosopher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/staying-philosopher-4141164/) [Working Scientists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/working-scientists-657429/) ## Related quotes > [I have some friends, colleagues here at the Karolinska Institute and even in the United States and many other countries too, because we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lennart-nilsson/i-have-some-friends-colleagues-here-at-the-karolinska-institute-and/) [Lennart Nilsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lennart-nilsson/) > [Many science-fiction writers, such as Gregory Benford, are working scientists. 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We have already lost too many friends and colleagues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-geffen/hiv-infection-and-aids-is-growing-but-so-too-is-public-apathy-we-have/) [David Geffen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-geffen/) > [When you gossip about another person, listeners unconsciously associate you with the characteristics you are describing, ultimately leading to those characteristics' being “transferred” to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-wiseman/when-you-gossip-about-another-person-listeners-unconsciously/) [Richard Wiseman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-wiseman/) > [...in the eyes of her oldest friends and colleagues and extended family, she wasn't a painfully thin seventy-five-year-old gray haired woman dying of cancer-…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-schwalbe/in-the-eyes-of-her-oldest-friends-and-colleagues-and-extended-family/) [Will Schwalbe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-schwalbe/) > [During the mourning period after my father passed, his friends and colleagues were saying there was no way the business would survive. There was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-smolyansky/during-the-mourning-period-after-my-father-passed-his-friends-and/) [Julie Smolyansky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-smolyansky/) > [I was christened the "British Bulldog" by friends and colleagues who said I not only looked like a bulldog but fought like one. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-london/i-was-christened-the-british-bulldog-by-friends-and-colleagues-who/) [Brian London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-london/) > [I was convinced I'd hate Twitter - but I've come to like it very much. I use it mostly to keep in touch with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-harris/i-was-convinced-i-d-hate-twitter-but-i-ve-come-to-like-it-very-much-i/) [Joanne Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-harris/) > [The questions of traditional and redefined marriage are highly emotional and a difficult and sensitive topic. Living in the D.C. area and having gay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mercedes-schlapp/the-questions-of-traditional-and-redefined-marriage-are-highly/) [Mercedes Schlapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mercedes-schlapp/) ## More by Daniel Dennett > [Virtually every major technological advance in the history of the human species- back to the invention of stone tools and the domestication of fire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-dennett/virtually-every-major-technological-advance-in-the-history-of-the/) [Daniel Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-dennett/) > [Churches have given us great treasures such as music and architecture. Whether that pays for the harm they have done is another matter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-dennett/churches-have-given-us-great-treasures-such-as-music-and-architecture/) [Daniel Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-dennett/) > [The secret of happiness is: Find something more important than you are and dedicate your life to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-dennett/the-secret-of-happiness-is-find-something-more-important-than-you-are/) [Daniel Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-dennett/) > [Whereas religions may serve a benign purpose by letting many people feel comfortable with the level of morality they themselves can attain, no religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-dennett/whereas-religions-may-serve-a-benign-purpose-by-letting-many-people/) [Daniel Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-dennett/) > [There's no polite way to say to somebody (religious followers) 'Do you realize you've wasted your life?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-dennett/there-s-no-polite-way-to-say-to-somebody-religious-followers-do-you/) [Daniel Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-dennett/) > [Wherever there is a design that is highly successful in a broad range of similar environments, it is apt to emerge again and again,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-dennett/wherever-there-is-a-design-that-is-highly-successful-in-a-broad-range/) [Daniel Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-dennett/) > [The haven all memes depend on reaching is the human mind, but a human mind is itself an artifact created when memes restructure a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-dennett/the-haven-all-memes-depend-on-reaching-is-the-human-mind-but-a-human/) [Daniel Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-dennett/) > [Cost is always an object - the second law of thermodynamics sees to that](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-dennett/cost-is-always-an-object-the-second-law-of-thermodynamics-sees-to-that/) [Daniel Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-dennett/) > [In the beginning, there were no reasons; there were only causes. Nothing had a purpose, nothing has so much as a function; there was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-dennett/in-the-beginning-there-were-no-reasons-there-were-only-causes-nothing/) [Daniel Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-dennett/) > [I look around the world and see so many wonderful things that I love and enjoy and benefit from, whether it's art or music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-dennett/i-look-around-the-world-and-see-so-many-wonderful-things-that-i-love/) [Daniel Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-dennett/) > [In all mammalian species that have so far been carefully studied, the rate at which their members engage in the killing of conspecifics is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-dennett/in-all-mammalian-species-that-have-so-far-been-carefully-studied-the/) [Daniel Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-dennett/) > [Cults and prophets proclaiming the imminent end of the world have been with us for several millennia, and it has been another sour sort…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-dennett/cults-and-prophets-proclaiming-the-imminent-end-of-the-world-have/) [Daniel Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-dennett/) > [Consciousness is cerebral celebrity--nothing more and nothing less. Those contents are conscious that persevere, that monopolize resources long enough to achieve certain typical and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-dennett/consciousness-is-cerebral-celebrity-nothing-more-and-nothing-less/) [Daniel Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-dennett/) > [People ache to believe that we human beings are vastly different from all other species - and they are right! We are different. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-dennett/people-ache-to-believe-that-we-human-beings-are-vastly-different-from/) [Daniel Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-dennett/) > [Minds are in limited supply, and each mind has a limited capacity for memes, and hence there is considerable competition among memes for entry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-dennett/minds-are-in-limited-supply-and-each-mind-has-a-limited-capacity-for/) [Daniel Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-dennett/) [Explore all 120 Daniel Dennett quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-dennett/) ## More Friendship quotes > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I never believed in trying to do anything. Whatever I set out to do I found I had already accomplished.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/i-never-believed-in-trying-to-do-anything-whatever-i-set-out-to-do-i/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [“ever day Maureen is Selfish To her friend and Family One she get mad at her friend and family and She need to Grad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-andeson/ever-day-maureen-is-selfish-to-her-friend-and-family-one-she-get-mad/) [Maureen Andeson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-andeson/) > [I'm trying to write a film with my friend. I'd love to get the thrill of speaking actors making my work even funnier.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-howard/i-m-trying-to-write-a-film-with-my-friend-i-d-love-to-get-the-thrill/) [Russell Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-howard/) > [I gave my archive to Emory University because there's a really dear friend who teaches there, Rudolph Byrd, and he's the editor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/i-gave-my-archive-to-emory-university-because-there-s-a-really-dear/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [Friends are like stars you can't always see them, but you know they're there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unknwon/friends-are-like-stars-you-can-t-always-see-them-but-you-know-they-re/) [Unknwon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/unknwon/) > [I've been writing songs since I was 10 years old and always had a penchant for rhyming. I started listening to hip hop through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hoodie-allen/i-ve-been-writing-songs-since-i-was-10-years-old-and-always-had-a/) [Hoodie Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hoodie-allen/) > [If you love some one for who they are not for there body or how many friend so when you say I love you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unknow/if-you-love-some-one-for-who-they-are-not-for-there-body-or-how-many/) [Unknow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/unknow/) > [“But my best friend from college was silent for a long time. She, of all of my friends, had seen the parade of sad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-groff/but-my-best-friend-from-college-was-silent-for-a-long-time-she-of-all/) [Lauren Groff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-groff/) > [You smile upon your friend to-day, To-day his ills are over; You hearken to the lover's say, And happy is the lover. 'Tis late…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-smile-upon-your-friend-to-day-to-day-his-ills-are-over-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“way. A true friend isn't the one that agrees with everything you say or do. A true friend is someone that has your back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shameek-speight/way-a-true-friend-isn-t-the-one-that-agrees-with-everything-you-say/) [Shameek Speight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shameek-speight/) > [No one is completely unhappy at the failure of his best friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/no-one-is-completely-unhappy-at-the-failure-of-his-best-friend/) [Groucho Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/groucho-marx/) > [“Kings don’t move mountains as a favor to a friend,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-whalen-turner/kings-don-t-move-mountains-as-a-favor-to-a-friend/) [Megan Whalen Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-whalen-turner/) > [I have friends and family that identify as LGBTQ.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-mace/i-have-friends-and-family-that-identify-as-lgbtq/) [Nancy Mace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-mace/) > [“The real purpose of friendship was to discover and exploit weakness in others.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-thompson/the-real-purpose-of-friendship-was-to-discover-and-exploit-weakness/) [Brian Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-thompson/) [Browse all 45,469 Friendship quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Some of my scientific friends and colleagues confess that they cannot for the life of them see why I don't abandon ship and join them. 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