Agnostic Quote by Henry Edward Armstrong
“After all, we scientific workers ... like women, are the victims of fashion: at one time we wear dissociated ions, at another electrons; and we are always loth to don rational clothing; some fixed belief we must have manufactured for us: we are high or low church, of this or that degree of nonconformity, according to the school in which we are brought up-but the agnostic is always rare of us and of late years the critic has been taboo.”
About This Quote
Source Essay: Scientific Attire and Conformity, 1905
Scientists, like others, are pressured by trends; true independence is rare and often discouraged.
In simple terms: Science is influenced by fashion; true independence is scarce.
Key Takeaway
Question and define your own scientific principles.
Themes
science
conformity
individuality
Mood
critical
thoughtful
Type
analytical
reflective
When to use this quote
- academic conferences
- lab dress codes
- peer review
- career choices
Key Concepts
sociology
philosophy
Questions to Reflect On
- How do you resist fashionable pressures?
- What does rational clothing mean to you?
A Different Perspective
May oversimplify complex social dynamics in science.
![“[Professor Bragg asserts that] In sodium chloride there appear to be no molecules represented by NaCl. The equality in number of sodium and chlorine atoms is arrived at by a chess-board pattern of these atoms; it is a result of geometry and not of a pairing-off of the atoms.” quote by Henry Edward Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/bf5/henry-edward-armstrong-46976_atoms_professor-bragg-asserts-that-in-sodium-c_999839.jpg)
