--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We misuse language and talk about the…" description: "\"We misuse language and talk about the 'ascent' of man. We understand the scientific basis for the interrelatedness of life, but our ego hasn't caught u..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/052/jill-tarter-29057_about_we-misuse-language-and-talk-about-the-as_2061186.png" --- # We misuse language and talk about the 'ascent' of man. We… ![“We misuse language and talk about the 'ascent' of man. We understand the scientific basis for the interrelatedness of life, but our ego hasn't caught up yet.” quote by Jill Tarter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/052/jill-tarter-29057_about_we-misuse-language-and-talk-about-the-as_2061186.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/052/jill-tarter-29057_about_we-misuse-language-and-talk-about-the-as_2061186.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/052/jill-tarter-29057_about_we-misuse-language-and-talk-about-the-as_2061186.png) > “We misuse language and talk about the 'ascent' of man. We understand the scientific basis for the interrelatedness of life, but our ego hasn't caught up yet.” [Jill Tarter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-tarter/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Criticizes humanity’s misuse of language about progress while scientific understanding outpaces ego. **In simple terms:** Language misrepresents human progress. Key Takeaway Align words with scientific reality. Themes language ego science progress Mood critical inquisitive Type reflective educational When to use this quote - public discourse - education - policy debates - media narratives Key Concepts communication philosophy Questions to Reflect On - How can we better communicate scientific concepts? - What ego barriers hinder acceptance? A Different Perspective May underestimate cultural narratives’ role. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ego](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ego/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man/) [Scientific](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scientific/) ## Related quotes > [Without a constant misuse of language there cannot be any discovery, any progress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/without-a-constant-misuse-of-language-there-cannot-be-any-discovery/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The misuse of language induces evil in the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/the-misuse-of-language-induces-evil-in-the-soul/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [Lying is the misuse of language. We know that. We need to remember that it works the other way round too. Even with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/lying-is-the-misuse-of-language-we-know-that-we-need-to-remember-that/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [The most powerful drive in the ascent of man is his pleasure in his own skill. He loves to do what he does well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-bronowski/the-most-powerful-drive-in-the-ascent-of-man-is-his-pleasure-in-his-2/) [Jacob Bronowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-bronowski/) > [The largest single step in the ascent of man is the change from nomad to village agriculture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-bronowski/the-largest-single-step-in-the-ascent-of-man-is-the-change-from-nomad/) [Jacob Bronowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-bronowski/) > [The ascent of money has been essential to the ascent of man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niall-ferguson/the-ascent-of-money-has-been-essential-to-the-ascent-of-man/) [Niall Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niall-ferguson/) > [Whenever you trace the origin of a skill or practices which played a crucial role in the ascent of man, we usually reach the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/whenever-you-trace-the-origin-of-a-skill-or-practices-which-played-a/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [I call that brilliant sequence of cultural peaks The Ascent of Man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-bronowski/i-call-that-brilliant-sequence-of-cultural-peaks-the-ascent-of-man/) [Jacob Bronowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-bronowski/) > [The most powerful drive in the ascent of man is his pleasure in his own skill. He loves to do what he does well.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-bronowski/the-most-powerful-drive-in-the-ascent-of-man-is-his-pleasure-in-his/) [Jacob Bronowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-bronowski/) > [That series of inventions by which man from age to age has remade his environment is a different kind of evolution -- not biological,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-bronowski/that-series-of-inventions-by-which-man-from-age-to-age-has-remade-his/) [Jacob Bronowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-bronowski/) > [No limits are set to the ascent of man, and to each and everyone the highest stands open. Here it is only your personal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/no-limits-are-set-to-the-ascent-of-man-and-to-each-and-everyone-the/) [Martin Buber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/) > [“Language is a bountiful gift and its usage, an elaboration of community and society, is a sacred work. Language and usage evolve over time:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-barbery/language-is-a-bountiful-gift-and-its-usage-an-elaboration-of-2/) [Muriel Barbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-barbery/) > [“I think the true ascent of man, the moment when humans divided irrevobably from apes and other fellow creatures, occurred with the birth of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-brashares/i-think-the-true-ascent-of-man-the-moment-when-humans-divided/) [Ann Brashares](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-brashares/) > [What I love about Salman bhai is that he's one superstar minus any ego. And you see people around, who haven't achieved much in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vatsal-sheth/what-i-love-about-salman-bhai-is-that-he-s-one-superstar-minus-any/) [Vatsal Sheth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vatsal-sheth/) > [Be the grounded person, dont let the ego comes in your life because ego births the jealousy and jealousy is the worst fire that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuvika/be-the-grounded-person-dont-let-the-ego-comes-in-your-life-because/) [Yuvika](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuvika/) ## More by Jill Tarter > [We, all of us, are what happens when a primordial mixture of hydrogen and helium evolves for so long that it begins to ask…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-tarter/we-all-of-us-are-what-happens-when-a-primordial-mixture-of-hydrogen/) [Jill Tarter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-tarter/) > [The space that we're looking through is nine-dimensional. If you build a mathematical model, the amount of searching that we've done in 50 years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-tarter/the-space-that-we-re-looking-through-is-nine-dimensional-if-you-build/) [Jill Tarter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-tarter/) > [SETI is a mirror, a mirror that can show ourselves from an extraordinary perspective and can help to trivialize the differences among us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-tarter/seti-is-a-mirror-a-mirror-that-can-show-ourselves-from-an/) [Jill Tarter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-tarter/) > [We don't know how to identify intelligence over interstellar distances, so what we do instead is use technology for a proxy,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-tarter/we-don-t-know-how-to-identify-intelligence-over-interstellar/) [Jill Tarter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-tarter/) > [We are made out of stardust. The iron in the hemoglobin molecules in the blood in your right hand came from a star that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-tarter/we-are-made-out-of-stardust-the-iron-in-the-hemoglobin-molecules-in/) [Jill Tarter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-tarter/) > [As I was leaving graduate school in 1974, I was recruited to join a fledgling SETI project at the Hat Creek Observatory in California,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-tarter/as-i-was-leaving-graduate-school-in-1974-i-was-recruited-to-join-a/) [Jill Tarter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-tarter/) > [In the future, will our technologies help stabilise or planet and population, leading to a very long lifetime for us? 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Over the years, however, attempts to understand humanity's place in the cosmos through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-tarter/the-existence-of-life-beyond-earth-is-an-ancient-human-concern-over/) [Jill Tarter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-tarter/) > [Might it be the discovery of a distant civilization and our common cosmic origins that finally drives home the message of the bond among…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-tarter/might-it-be-the-discovery-of-a-distant-civilization-and-our-common/) [Jill Tarter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-tarter/) > [The story of humans is the story of ideas that shine light into dark corners.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-tarter/the-story-of-humans-is-the-story-of-ideas-that-shine-light-into-dark/) [Jill Tarter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-tarter/) > [We are the laws of chemistry and physics as they have played out here on Earth, and we are now learning that planets are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-tarter/we-are-the-laws-of-chemistry-and-physics-as-they-have-played-out-here/) [Jill Tarter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-tarter/) > [Earlier generations of stars in the galaxy could well have had planets. But really, there was only hydrogen and helium to work with, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-tarter/earlier-generations-of-stars-in-the-galaxy-could-well-have-had/) [Jill Tarter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-tarter/) > [Our television transmitters leak out from the Earth. And actually, there's a sphere surrounding the Earth from the earliest television signals, maybe 70 years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-tarter/our-television-transmitters-leak-out-from-the-earth-and-actually/) [Jill Tarter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-tarter/) [Explore all 18 Jill Tarter quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-tarter/) ## More About quotes > [If you ask an introvert a question, wait until she thinks about it. Introverts think before speaking, not through speaking. 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As soon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/magdalena-neuner/i-don-t-think-about-the-press-or-the-crowds-or-the-other-leaders-of/) [Magdalena Neuner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/magdalena-neuner/) > [Sport is not just about entertainment. It is equally about winning and losing, pooling and galvanising the energy of the youth, upgrading people's physical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nita-ambani/sport-is-not-just-about-entertainment-it-is-equally-about-winning-and/) [Nita Ambani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nita-ambani/) > [One of the ways that I discovered my confidence and my ability to overpower is becoming a mother. Suddenly, my world wasn't about myself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lights/one-of-the-ways-that-i-discovered-my-confidence-and-my-ability-to/) [Lights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lights/) > [I didn't want to do 'Fashion Police' because I thought, 'This is stupid, this is beneath me, who wants to talk about fashion?' 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