--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In the last fifty years science has…" description: "\"In the last fifty years science has advanced more than in the 2,000 previous years and given mankind greater powers over the forces of nature than the ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b46/john-boyd-orr-21695_fifty_in-the-last-fifty-years-science-has-adva_595897.jpg" --- # In the last fifty years science has advanced more than in… ![“In the last fifty years science has advanced more than in the 2,000 previous years and given mankind greater powers over the forces of nature than the ancients ascribed to their gods.” quote by John Boyd Orr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b46/john-boyd-orr-21695_fifty_in-the-last-fifty-years-science-has-adva_595897.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b46/john-boyd-orr-21695_fifty_in-the-last-fifty-years-science-has-adva_595897.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b46/john-boyd-orr-21695_fifty_in-the-last-fifty-years-science-has-adva_595897.jpg) > “In the last fifty years science has advanced more than in the 2,000 previous years and given mankind greater powers over the forces of nature than the ancients ascribed to their gods.” [John Boyd Orr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boyd-orr/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Science has accelerated dramatically, granting humanity unprecedented control over natural forces compared to ancient beliefs. **In simple terms:** Science grew fast, giving humans new power over nature. Key Takeaway Recognize and responsibly use modern scientific power. Themes science progress humanity Mood optimistic concerned Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - policy making - education - environmental management - ethical debates Key Concepts technological advancement empowerment Questions to Reflect On - How should societies balance scientific advancement with moral responsibility? - What safeguards are needed for new technologies? A Different Perspective Rapid progress can outpace ethical frameworks, causing misuse. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Mankind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mankind/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) ## Related quotes > [Science is advanced by proposing and testing hypothesis, not by declaring questions unsolvable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-matzke/science-is-advanced-by-proposing-and-testing-hypothesis-not-by/) Nick Matzke > [Angels possess greater powers than do human beings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-lang/angels-possess-greater-powers-than-do-human-beings/) [Walter Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-lang/) > [When I started, TV was regarded as something that wasn't as great as film or theatre or radio, but it has proved to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-rigg/when-i-started-tv-was-regarded-as-something-that-wasn-t-as-great-as/) [Diana Rigg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-rigg/) > [Greater powers and resources do not guarantee tactical superiority.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-bin/greater-powers-and-resources-do-not-guarantee-tactical-superiority/) [Sun Bin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-bin/) > [Has the center of gravity shifted such that all governments have greater powers and fewer restrictions than they ever had, and are empowered by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/has-the-center-of-gravity-shifted-such-that-all-governments-have/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [All the fantasies of Trump-Bannon nationalism require a vastly expanded state, with greater powers over the economy and society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-wilson/all-the-fantasies-of-trump-bannon-nationalism-require-a-vastly/) [Rick Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-wilson/) > [For great as the powers of destruction may be, greater still, are the powers of healing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/starhawk/for-great-as-the-powers-of-destruction-may-be-greater-still-are-the/) [Starhawk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/starhawk/) > [The only freedom which deserves the name is that of pursuing our own good in our own way, so long as we do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/the-only-freedom-which-deserves-the-name-is-that-of-pursuing-our-own-3/) [John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/) > [no one more sincerely wishes the spread of information among mankind than I do, and none has greater confidence in it's effect towards supporting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/no-one-more-sincerely-wishes-the-spread-of-information-among-mankind/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [“Only when we prove that international law and the human rights of all mankind are greater than any villain can we vanquish evil.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-shattuck/only-when-we-prove-that-international-law-and-the-human-rights-of-all/) [Jessica Shattuck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-shattuck/) > [“The only gain of civilisation for mankind is the greater capacity for variety of sensations - and absolutely nothing more.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/the-only-gain-of-civilisation-for-mankind-is-the-greater-capacity-for/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [Of all human powers operating on the affairs of mankind, none is greater than that of competition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-clay/of-all-human-powers-operating-on-the-affairs-of-mankind-none-is/) [Henry Clay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-clay/) > [Mankind are greater gainers by suffering each other to live as seems good to themselves, than by compelling each to live as seems good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/mankind-are-greater-gainers-by-suffering-each-other-to-live-as-seems/) [John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/) > [After there is great trouble among mankind, a greater one is prepared. The great mover of the universe will renew time, rain, blood, thirst,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nostradamus/after-there-is-great-trouble-among-mankind-a-greater-one-is-prepared/) [Nostradamus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nostradamus/) > [“Science had given mankind many gifts, and she valued it. But the one important thing it had taken away was the value of subjective,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-s-a-corey/science-had-given-mankind-many-gifts-and-she-valued-it-but-the-one/) [James S.A. Corey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-s-a-corey/) ## More by John Boyd Orr > [Though the general principles of statecraft have survived the rise and fall of empires, every increase in knowledge has brought about changes in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boyd-orr/though-the-general-principles-of-statecraft-have-survived-the-rise/) [John Boyd Orr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boyd-orr/) > [It is said that those whom the gods wish to destroy they first make mad. It may well be that a war neurosis stirred…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boyd-orr/it-is-said-that-those-whom-the-gods-wish-to-destroy-they-first-make/) [John Boyd Orr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boyd-orr/) > [Our civilization is now in the transition stage between the age of warring empires and a new age of world unity and peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boyd-orr/our-civilization-is-now-in-the-transition-stage-between-the-age-of/) [John Boyd Orr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boyd-orr/) > [When the Industrial Revolution of the nineteenth century brought a rapid increase in wealth, the demand of workers for a fair share of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boyd-orr/when-the-industrial-revolution-of-the-nineteenth-century-brought-a/) [John Boyd Orr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boyd-orr/) > [There can be no peace in the world so long as a large proportion of the population lack the necessities of life and believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boyd-orr/there-can-be-no-peace-in-the-world-so-long-as-a-large-proportion-of/) [John Boyd Orr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boyd-orr/) > [We are now physically, politically, and economically one world and nations so interdependent that the absolute national sovereignty of nations is no longer possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boyd-orr/we-are-now-physically-politically-and-economically-one-world-and/) [John Boyd Orr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boyd-orr/) > [Some think the worst horrors of war might be avoided by an international agreement not to use atomic bombs. 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One, the British…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boyd-orr/in-recent-times-european-nations-with-the-use-of-gunpowder-and-other/) [John Boyd Orr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boyd-orr/) > [Nearly every country in the world is now becoming industrialized as rapidly as it can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boyd-orr/nearly-every-country-in-the-world-is-now-becoming-industrialized-as/) [John Boyd Orr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boyd-orr/) > [Our civilization has evolved through the continuous adjustment of society to the stimulus of new knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boyd-orr/our-civilization-has-evolved-through-the-continuous-adjustment-of/) [John Boyd Orr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boyd-orr/) > [Some wars have been due to the lust of rulers for power and glory, or to revenge to wipe out the humiliation of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boyd-orr/some-wars-have-been-due-to-the-lust-of-rulers-for-power-and-glory-or/) [John Boyd Orr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boyd-orr/) > [As we have seen, the wireless and the airplane have made the world so small and nations so dependent on each other that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boyd-orr/as-we-have-seen-the-wireless-and-the-airplane-have-made-the-world-so/) [John Boyd Orr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boyd-orr/) [Explore all 28 John Boyd Orr quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boyd-orr/) ## More Fifty quotes > [When you find someone you want to spend forever with you, you don't let them go, whether forever turns out to be a day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-williams/when-you-find-someone-you-want-to-spend-forever-with-you-you-don-t/) [Nicole Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-williams/) > [What comes to mind when you think of heaven? 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Touching to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-macaulay/it-wasn-t-really-touching-to-be-young-it-was-touching-not-to-be-young/) [Rose Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-macaulay/) > [Emma was a shocking driver, simultaneously sloppy and petrified, and for the first fifty miles had been absent-mindedly driving with her spectacles on top…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/emma-was-a-shocking-driver-simultaneously-sloppy-and-petrified-and/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [If I were entering adulthood now instead of in the environment of fifty years ago, I would choose a career that kept me in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lindbergh/if-i-were-entering-adulthood-now-instead-of-in-the-environment-of/) [Charles Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lindbergh/) > [Instead of finding himself in nerd heaven—where every nerd gets fifty-eight virgins to role-play with—he woke up in Robert Wood Johnson with two broken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/instead-of-finding-himself-in-nerd-heaven-where-every-nerd-gets-fifty/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [In North America and Western Europe, ten percent of the population of the world consumes fifty percent of its energy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yehuda-levi/in-north-america-and-western-europe-ten-percent-of-the-population-of/) [Yehuda Levi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yehuda-levi/) > [...that in spite of living in a mansion an American is not above wearing a pair of secondhand pants, bought for fifty cents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jhumpa-lahiri/that-in-spite-of-living-in-a-mansion-an-american-is-not-above-wearing/) [Jhumpa Lahiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jhumpa-lahiri/) > [The process of maturing is an art to be learned, an effort to be sustained. By the age of fifty you have made yourself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marya-mannes/the-process-of-maturing-is-an-art-to-be-learned-an-effort-to-be/) [Marya Mannes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marya-mannes/) > [Last night we had three small zucchini for dinner that were grown within fifty feet of our back door. I estimate they cost somewhere…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-rooney/last-night-we-had-three-small-zucchini-for-dinner-that-were-grown/) [Andy Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-rooney/) > [Time starts out as a notion. But after you turn fifty, time is not a notion anymore but a fact that you start feeling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/time-starts-out-as-a-notion-but-after-you-turn-fifty-time-is-not-a/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [I had an inspiration once. I woke up one morning and I knew that it was my task to swallow fifty asprin.It was my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susanna-kaysen/i-had-an-inspiration-once-i-woke-up-one-morning-and-i-knew-that-it/) [Susanna Kaysen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susanna-kaysen/) > [“Oh, you mysterious girls, when you are fifty-two we shall find you out; you must come into the open then. If the mouth has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/oh-you-mysterious-girls-when-you-are-fifty-two-we-shall-find-you-out/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Fifty thousand people in Mexico have been murdered. Puerto Penasco, 60 miles south of our border, just had five people and a police officer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-brewer/fifty-thousand-people-in-mexico-have-been-murdered-puerto-penasco-60/) [Jan Brewer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-brewer/) Browse all 1,246 Fifty quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In the last fifty years science has advanced more than in the 2,000 previous years and given mankind greater powers over the forces of nature than the ancients ascribed to their gods.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Boyd Orr" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boyd-orr/in-the-last-fifty-years-science-has-advanced-more-than-in-the-2-000/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Fifty" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boyd-orr/in-the-last-fifty-years-science-has-advanced-more-than-in-the-2-000/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b46/john-boyd-orr-21695_fifty_in-the-last-fifty-years-science-has-adva_595897.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b46/john-boyd-orr-21695_fifty_in-the-last-fifty-years-science-has-adva_595897.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b46/john-boyd-orr-21695_fifty_in-the-last-fifty-years-science-has-adva_595897.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In the last fifty years science has advanced more than in the 2,000 previous years and given mankind greater…” — John Boyd Orr", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "John Boyd Orr", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boyd-orr/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "In the last fifty years science...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boyd-orr/in-the-last-fifty-years-science-has-advanced-more-than-in-the-2-000/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boyd-orr/in-the-last-fifty-years-science-has-advanced-more-than-in-the-2-000/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```