--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The sciences, each straining in its own…" description: "\"“The sciences, each straining in its own direction, have hitherto harmed us little; but some day the piecing together of dissociated knowledge will ope..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f2/h-p-lovecraft-2-2159_lovecraft_the-sciences-each-straining-in-its-own-d_2491479.jpg" --- # The sciences, each straining in its own direction, have… ![“The sciences, each straining in its own direction, have hitherto harmed us little; but some day the piecing together of dissociated knowledge will open up such terrifying vistas of reality, and of our frightful position therein, that we shall either go mad from the revelation or flee from the…” quote by H.P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f2/h-p-lovecraft-2-2159_lovecraft_the-sciences-each-straining-in-its-own-d_2491479.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f2/h-p-lovecraft-2-2159_lovecraft_the-sciences-each-straining-in-its-own-d_2491479.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f2/h-p-lovecraft-2-2159_lovecraft_the-sciences-each-straining-in-its-own-d_2491479.jpg) > ““The sciences, each straining in its own direction, have hitherto harmed us little; but some day the piecing together of dissociated knowledge will open up such terrifying vistas of reality, and of our frightful position therein, that we shall either go mad from the revelation or flee from the deadly light into the peace and safety of a new dark age. ”” [H.P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft-2/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. When fragmented scientific knowledge finally unites, it may reveal terrifying truths that could overwhelm humanity, prompting either madness or a retreat into ignorance. **In simple terms:** Combining science may expose scary realities that could drive us mad or cause us to hide. Key Takeaway Prepare for profound discoveries with humility. Themes knowledge fear future Mood cautious apprehensive Type philosophical warning When to use this quote - researchers confronting paradigm shifts - policy makers assessing AI risks - public grappling with climate data Key Concepts epistemology existential risk dark enlightenment Questions to Reflect On - What truths could change our worldview? - How should society balance curiosity and caution? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on doom can paralyze action and ignore potential benefits. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dark Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dark-age-457264/) [Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lovecraft/) [Mad Revelation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mad-revelation-968102/) [Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace/) [Revelation Flee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revelation-flee-968101/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Sciences Straining](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sciences-straining-968100/) [Terrifying Vistas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terrifying-vistas-968103/) ## Related quotes > [“The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents. 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Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft-2/) > [“Down through this verdant land Carter walked at evening, and saw twilight float up from the river to the marvelous golden spires of Thran.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft-2/down-through-this-verdant-land-carter-walked-at-evening-and-saw/) [H.P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft-2/) > [“By noon Carter reached the jasper terraces of Kiran which slope down to the river's edge and bear that temple of loveliness wherein the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft-2/by-noon-carter-reached-the-jasper-terraces-of-kiran-which-slope-down/) [H.P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft-2/) > [We're living in a Dark Age of macroeconomics. Remember, what defined the Dark Ages wasn’t the fact that they were primitive — the Bronze…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-krugman/we-re-living-in-a-dark-age-of-macroeconomics-remember-what-defined/) [Paul Krugman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-krugman/) > [Hitler knows that he will have to break us in this island or lose the war. If we can stand up to him, all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/hitler-knows-that-he-will-have-to-break-us-in-this-island-or-lose-the/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [“When a dark age comes, hold the light inside.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-frost/when-a-dark-age-comes-hold-the-light-inside/) [Mark Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-frost/) > [A Dark Age is not just a period in which people no longer know how to do things. The real key is that people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-pournelle/a-dark-age-is-not-just-a-period-in-which-people-no-longer-know-how-to/) [Jerry Pournelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-pournelle/) > [Once Europe existed in a Dark Age and Islam carried the torch of learning. Now we Muslims live in a Dark age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahmud-tarzi/once-europe-existed-in-a-dark-age-and-islam-carried-the-torch-of/) [Mahmud Tarzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahmud-tarzi/) ## More by H.P. Lovecraft > [“Damn it, it wasn’t quite fresh enough!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft-2/damn-it-it-wasn-t-quite-fresh-enough/) [H.P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft-2/) > [“Fear best lends itself to the creation of Nature-defying illusions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft-2/fear-best-lends-itself-to-the-creation-of-nature-defying-illusions/) [H.P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft-2/) > [“a new chill from afar out whither the condor had flown, as if my flesh had caught a horror before my eyes had seen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft-2/a-new-chill-from-afar-out-whither-the-condor-had-flown-as-if-my-flesh/) [H.P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft-2/) > [“One can trace the relics of this former happiness in the trim shapes of the buildings, the occasional graceful churches, and the evidences of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft-2/one-can-trace-the-relics-of-this-former-happiness-in-the-trim-shapes/) [H.P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft-2/) > [“many pairs of legs and with two great bat-like wings in the middle of the back. They sometimes walked on all their legs, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft-2/many-pairs-of-legs-and-with-two-great-bat-like-wings-in-the-middle-of/) [H.P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft-2/) > [“the trees would die before the poison was out of the soil.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft-2/the-trees-would-die-before-the-poison-was-out-of-the-soil/) [H.P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft-2/) > [“Calm, lasting beauty comes only in dream, and this solace the world had thrown away when in its worship of the real it threw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft-2/calm-lasting-beauty-comes-only-in-dream-and-this-solace-the-world-had/) [H.P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft-2/) > [“It’s hard to have done all one’s growing up since 33 — but that’s a damn sight better than not growing up at all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft-2/it-s-hard-to-have-done-all-one-s-growing-up-since-33-but-that-s-a/) [H.P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft-2/) > [“By noon Carter reached the jasper terraces of Kiran which slope down to the river's edge and bear that temple of loveliness wherein the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft-2/by-noon-carter-reached-the-jasper-terraces-of-kiran-which-slope-down/) [H.P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft-2/) > [“The vast marble dome of the State House stood out in massive silhouette, its crowning statue haloed fantastically by a break in one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft-2/the-vast-marble-dome-of-the-state-house-stood-out-in-massive/) [H.P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft-2/) > [“On many occasions the curious atmospheric effects enchanted me vastly; these including a strikingly vivid mirage - the first I had ever seen -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft-2/on-many-occasions-the-curious-atmospheric-effects-enchanted-me-vastly/) [H.P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft-2/) > [“Heaven knows where I'll end up - it's a safe bet I'll never be at the top of anything! Nor do I particularly care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft-2/heaven-knows-where-i-ll-end-up-it-s-a-safe-bet-i-ll-never-be-at-the/) [H.P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft-2/) > [“Our apprehensions were over what we might find, or fail to find, at the end of our journey; for silence continued to answer all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft-2/our-apprehensions-were-over-what-we-might-find-or-fail-to-find-at-the/) [H.P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft-2/) > [“What we heard was not the fabulous note of any buried blasphemy of elder earth from whose supernal toughness an age-denied polar sun had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft-2/what-we-heard-was-not-the-fabulous-note-of-any-buried-blasphemy-of/) [H.P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft-2/) > [“The Lurking Fear: Shrieking, slithering, torrential shadows of red viscous madness chasing one another through endless, ensanguined condors of purple fulgurous sky... formless phantasms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft-2/the-lurking-fear-shrieking-slithering-torrential-shadows-of-red/) [H.P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft-2/) [Explore all 148 H.P. Lovecraft quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft-2/) ## More Lovecraft quotes > [“The “Howard” in the entry had to be Howard Phillips Lovecraft , that twentieth-century puritanic Poe from Providence, with his regrettable but undeniable loathing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fritz-leiber/the-howard-in-the-entry-had-to-be-howard-phillips-lovecraft-that/) [Fritz Leiber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fritz-leiber/) > [ The whole thing that Dante \[Alighieri\] did was summed up in the medieval world. It's like St. Thomas Aquinas, the Summa Theologica. He didn't… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-laffoley/the-whole-thing-that-dante-alighieri-did-was-summed-up-in-the/) [Paul Laffoley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-laffoley/) > [Almost nobody dances sober, unless they happen to be insane. H. P. LOVECRAFT, attributed, Telling It Like It Is Dancing is very important nowadays.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/almost-nobody-dances-sober-unless-they-happen-to-be-insane-h-p/) [Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/) > [ You know, Mick Jagger's "Sympathy for the Devil." I think it was inspired by that \[H.P.Lovecraft stories\]. You don't know who's reading what, you… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-laffoley/you-know-mick-jagger-s-sympathy-for-the-devil-i-think-it-was-inspired/) [Paul Laffoley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-laffoley/) > [“By noon Carter reached the jasper terraces of Kiran which slope down to the river's edge and bear that temple of loveliness wherein the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft-2/by-noon-carter-reached-the-jasper-terraces-of-kiran-which-slope-down/) [H.P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft-2/) > [As a teenager, I read a lot of H.P. Lovecraft, so I wrote like H.P. Lovecraft. And in my 20s, I read a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/as-a-teenager-i-read-a-lot-of-h-p-lovecraft-so-i-wrote-like-h-p/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“This is Lovecraft's best terrible story. 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He didn't believe in telepathy, didn't believe in any of that stuff, didn't believe… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-laffoley/nikola-tesla-said-he-had-no-interest-in-the-spiritual-he-didn-t/) [Paul Laffoley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-laffoley/) > [While my chosen form of story-writing is obviously a special and perhaps a narrow one, it is none the less a persistent and permanent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/while-my-chosen-form-of-story-writing-is-obviously-a-special-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ I started with "Pickman's Model," because it was about Boston. I mean, what I loved about \[H. P. Lovecraft\], at first is his sense… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-laffoley/i-started-with-pickman-s-model-because-it-was-about-boston-i-mean/) [Paul Laffoley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-laffoley/) > [The prose of Joe Pulver can take its place with that of the masters of our genre – E.A. Poe, H.P. Lovecraft, Ramsey Campbell,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-t-joshi-2/the-prose-of-joe-pulver-can-take-its-place-with-that-of-the-masters/) [S. T. Joshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-t-joshi-2/) > [The situation has a real Lovecraft feel to it. Though, you know, if you come over it'll be more of an Anne Rice situation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wong/the-situation-has-a-real-lovecraft-feel-to-it-though-you-know-if-you/) [David Wong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wong/) [Browse all 54 Lovecraft quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lovecraft/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The sciences, each straining in its own direction, have hitherto harmed us little; but some day the piecing together of dissociated knowledge will open up such terrifying vistas of reality, and of our frightful position therein, that we shall either go mad from the revelation or flee from the deadly light into the peace and safety of a new dark age. ”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "H.P. 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