--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I tell my students, with a feeling of…" description: "\"I tell my students, with a feeling of pride that I hope they will share, that the carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen that make up ninety-nine per cent of our..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/274/george-wald-9544_billions_i-tell-my-students-with-a-feeling-of-pri_1750631.jpg" --- # I tell my students, with a feeling of pride that I hope… ![“I tell my students, with a feeling of pride that I hope they will share, that the carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen that make up ninety-nine per cent of our living substance were cooked in the deep interiors of earlier generations of dying stars. Gathered up from the ends of the universe, over billions…” quote by George Wald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/274/george-wald-9544_billions_i-tell-my-students-with-a-feeling-of-pri_1750631.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/274/george-wald-9544_billions_i-tell-my-students-with-a-feeling-of-pri_1750631.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/274/george-wald-9544_billions_i-tell-my-students-with-a-feeling-of-pri_1750631.jpg) > “I tell my students, with a feeling of pride that I hope they will share, that the carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen that make up ninety-nine per cent of our living substance were cooked in the deep interiors of earlier generations of dying stars. Gathered up from the ends of the universe, over billions of years, eventually they came to form, in part, the substance of our sun, its planets, and ourselves. Three billion years ago, life arose upon the earth. It is the only life in the solar system.” [George Wald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-wald/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Elements essential to life were forged in ancient stars, later forming our planet and bodies. **In simple terms:** Stars made our building blocks. Key Takeaway Appreciate the universe’s role in life. Themes science cosmology humility Mood wonderful humbling Type scientific philosophical When to use this quote - education - public talks - science museums Key Concepts stellar nucleosynthesis interconnectedness Questions to Reflect On - How does this perspective affect environmental stewardship? - What does it mean for humanity’s place in the cosmos? A Different Perspective Complex science can be hard to grasp for lay audiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cooking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cooking/) [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [Earth life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth-life/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Generations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generations/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Oxygen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oxygen/) [Pride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pride/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Solar system](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solar-system/) [Stars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stars/) [Students](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/students/) [Sun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sun/) [Universe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universe/) ## Related quotes > [The discovery and investigation of life on other planets is likely to change many of our ideas about how life arose on the Earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-smoot/the-discovery-and-investigation-of-life-on-other-planets-is-likely-to/) [George Smoot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-smoot/) > [There are only two possible explanations as to how life arose: Spontaneous generation arising to evolution or a supernatural creative act of God… There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-wald/there-are-only-two-possible-explanations-as-to-how-life-arose/) [George Wald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-wald/) > [When it comes to the origin of life there are only two possibilities: creation or spontaneous generation. There is no third way. Spontaneous generation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-wald/when-it-comes-to-the-origin-of-life-there-are-only-two-possibilities/) [George Wald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-wald/) > [Four elements, Hydrogen, carbon, oxygen and nitrogen, also provide an example of the astonishing togetherness of our universe. They make up the "organic" molecules…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-wald/four-elements-hydrogen-carbon-oxygen-and-nitrogen-also-provide-an/) [George Wald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-wald/) > [It is a curious situation that the sea, from which life first arose, should now be threatened by the activities of one form of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-carson/it-is-a-curious-situation-that-the-sea-from-which-life-first-arose/) [Rachel Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-carson/) > [...A change fell upon all things. Strange brilliant flowers, star-shaped, burst out upon the trees where no flowers had been before. The tints of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/a-change-fell-upon-all-things-strange-brilliant-flowers-star-shaped/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [Life began three and a half billion years ago, necessarily about as simple as it could be, because life arose spontaneously from the organic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/life-began-three-and-a-half-billion-years-ago-necessarily-about-as/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [“All at once he found his mind drawing a parallel between that destiny and his own existence; all at once questions of life arose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-goncharov/all-at-once-he-found-his-mind-drawing-a-parallel-between-that-destiny/) [Ivan Goncharov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-goncharov/) > [Whether Earth was deliberately terraformed, in other words, or whether it was seeded with the spores of life from crashed comets or whether, indeed,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-hancock/whether-earth-was-deliberately-terraformed-in-other-words-or-whether/) [Graham Hancock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-hancock/) > [Consider: Life arose on Earth close to four billion years ago. Four billion years of slithering, swimming, and soaring life forms. But only in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/consider-life-arose-on-earth-close-to-four-billion-years-ago-four/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [“Before artificial nitrogen fertilizer became widely available, the world's population was around 2 billion. When we no longer have it - or if we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-weisman/before-artificial-nitrogen-fertilizer-became-widely-available-the/) [Alan Weisman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-weisman/) > [From the results so far obtained it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that the long-range atoms arising from collision of alpha particles with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-rutherford/from-the-results-so-far-obtained-it-is-difficult-to-avoid-the/) [Ernest Rutherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-rutherford/) > [And to use something as elegant as a tree? Imagine this design assignment: Design something that makes oxygen, sequesters carbon, fixes nitrogen, distills water,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcdonough/and-to-use-something-as-elegant-as-a-tree-imagine-this-design/) [William McDonough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcdonough/) > [We sometimes freeze the specimen with liquid nitrogen, which is extremely cold, you know. This is another technique we use now - but the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lennart-nilsson/we-sometimes-freeze-the-specimen-with-liquid-nitrogen-which-is/) [Lennart Nilsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lennart-nilsson/) > [Our bodies are garbage heaps: we collect experience, and from the decomposition of the thrown-out eggshells, spinach leaves, coffee grinds, and old steak bones…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/our-bodies-are-garbage-heaps-we-collect-experience-and-from-the/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) ## More by George Wald > [Civilization will end within 15 or 30 years unless immediate action is taken against problems facing mankind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-wald/civilization-will-end-within-15-or-30-years-unless-immediate-action/) [George Wald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-wald/) > [So-called defense now absorbs sixty per cent of the national budget, and about twelve per cent of the Gross National Product.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-wald/so-called-defense-now-absorbs-sixty-per-cent-of-the-national-budget/) [George Wald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-wald/) > [I have lived much of my life among molecules. They are good company.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-wald/i-have-lived-much-of-my-life-among-molecules-they-are-good-company/) [George Wald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-wald/) > [Evolution advances, not by a priori design, but by the selection of what works best out of whatever choices offer. We are the products…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-wald/evolution-advances-not-by-a-priori-design-but-by-the-selection-of/) [George Wald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-wald/) > [Every creature alive on the earth today represents an unbroken line of life that stretches back to the first primitive organism to appear on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-wald/every-creature-alive-on-the-earth-today-represents-an-unbroken-line/) [George Wald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-wald/) > [I think if a physician wrote on a death certificate that old age was the cause of death, he'd be thrown out of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-wald/i-think-if-a-physician-wrote-on-a-death-certificate-that-old-age-was/) [George Wald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-wald/) > [I am growing old, and my future, so to speak, is already behind me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-wald/i-am-growing-old-and-my-future-so-to-speak-is-already-behind-me/) [George Wald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-wald/) > [A scientist should be the happiest of men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-wald/a-scientist-should-be-the-happiest-of-men/) [George Wald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-wald/) > [I think all of you know there is no adequate defense against massive nuclear attack.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-wald/i-think-all-of-you-know-there-is-no-adequate-defense-against-massive/) [George Wald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-wald/) > [We've committed many war crimes in Vietnam - but I'll tell you something interesting about that. We were committing war crimes in World War…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-wald/we-ve-committed-many-war-crimes-in-vietnam-but-i-ll-tell-you/) [George Wald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-wald/) > [Science goes from question to question; big questions, and little, tentative answers. The questions as they age grow ever broader, the answers are seen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-wald/science-goes-from-question-to-question-big-questions-and-little/) [George Wald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-wald/) > [There's life all over this universe, but the only life in the solar system is on earth, and in the whole universe we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-wald/there-s-life-all-over-this-universe-but-the-only-life-in-the-solar/) [George Wald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-wald/) > [I think I know what is bothering the students. I think that what we are up against is a generation that is by no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-wald/i-think-i-know-what-is-bothering-the-students-i-think-that-what-we/) [George Wald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-wald/) > [A physicist is an atom's way of knowing about atoms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-wald/a-physicist-is-an-atom-s-way-of-knowing-about-atoms/) [George Wald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-wald/) > [There are only two possible explanations as to how life arose: Spontaneous generation arising to evolution or a supernatural creative act of God… There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-wald/there-are-only-two-possible-explanations-as-to-how-life-arose/) [George Wald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-wald/) [Explore all 72 George Wald quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-wald/) ## More Billions quotes > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [As far as Japan is concerned, I want to help all of our allies, but we are losing billions and billions of dollars. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/as-far-as-japan-is-concerned-i-want-to-help-all-of-our-allies-but-we/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [The universe is simmering down, like a giant stew left to cook for four billion years. Sooner or later we won’t be able to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-bloch/the-universe-is-simmering-down-like-a-giant-stew-left-to-cook-for/) [Arthur Bloch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-bloch/) > [Right now, the government is spending billions of dollars supporting the problem-makers in the U.S. economy - the polluters, despoilers, incarcerators, and warmongers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/right-now-the-government-is-spending-billions-of-dollars-supporting/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) > [If Jesus is the Son of God in human flesh, He's one of a kind of the 13 billions of people who have ever lived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-lahaye/if-jesus-is-the-son-of-god-in-human-flesh-he-s-one-of-a-kind-of-the/) [Tim LaHaye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-lahaye/) > [Here we were talking about economic development, about investing billions of dollars in various programs, and I could see it wasn't billions of dollars…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-yunus/here-we-were-talking-about-economic-development-about-investing/) [Muhammad Yunus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-yunus/) > [Everyone thinks they've won the Magical Belief Lottery. Everyone thinks they more or less have a handle on things, that they, as opposed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-scott-bakker/everyone-thinks-they-ve-won-the-magical-belief-lottery-everyone/) [R. Scott Bakker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-scott-bakker/) > [Most neuroses and some psychoses can be traced to the unnecessary and unhealthy habit of daily wallowing in the troubles and sins of five…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/most-neuroses-and-some-psychoses-can-be-traced-to-the-unnecessary-and/) [Robert A. 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