Attainment Quote by H. L. Mencken
“This passion, so unordered and yet so potent, explains the capacity for teaching that one frequently observes in scientific men of high attainments in their specialties-for example, Huxley, Ostwald, Karl Ludwig, Virchow, Billroth, Jowett, William G. Sumner, Halsted and Osler-men who knew nothing whatever about the so-called science of pedagogy, and would have derided its alleged principles if they had heard them stated.”
About This Quote
Source Essay: “The Science of Pedagogy” (1923)
Scientific experts often lack formal teaching knowledge, yet their passion can inspire learning despite unconventional methods.
In simple terms: Great teachers may not follow formal pedagogy.
Key Takeaway
Leverage passion to teach effectively.
Themes
education
expertise
passion
Mood
analytical
critical
Type
educational
philosophical
When to use this quote
- lecture
- mentoring
- public speaking
Key Concepts
pedagogy
informal learning
Questions to Reflect On
- How can experts improve teaching without formal training?
- What role does passion play in learning?
A Different Perspective
Lack of pedagogy may limit student comprehension.
![“A significant contribution to science pedagogy and to the scholarship of teaching and learning. ... [W]ill be of interest to researchers in the area of science education and to college and university faculty members who seek to improve their teaching.” quote by David W. Oxtoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/939/david-w-oxtoby-231594_areas_a-significant-contribution-to-science-pe_1969207.jpg)
![“[For] men to whom nothing seems great but reason ... nature ... is a cosmos, so admirable, that to penetrate to its ways seems to them the only thing that makes life worth living. These are the men whom we see possessed by a passion to learn ... Those are the natural scientific men; and they are…” quote by Charles Sanders Peirce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/6b9/charles-sanders-peirce-5105_admirable_for-men-to-whom-nothing-seems-great-but_2407623.jpg)
![“[A]ll the ingenious men, and all the scientific men, and all the fanciful men, in the world,... could never invent, if all their wits were boiled into one, anything so curious and so ridiculous as a lobster.” quote by Charles Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/cde/charles-kingsley-1896_curious_a-ll-the-ingenious-men-and-all-the-scien_396115.jpg)
![“By profession a biologist, [Thomas Henry Huxley] covered in fact the whole field of the exact sciences, and then bulged through its four fences. Absolutely nothing was uninteresting to him. His curiosity ranged from music to theology and from philosophy to history. He didn't simply know something…” quote by H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/f46/h-l-mencken-245_absolutely-nothing_by-profession-a-biologist-thomas-henry-h_5368.jpg)
