--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The most exciting thing in the twentieth…" description: "\"The most exciting thing in the twentieth century is science.\" — John Charles Polanyi" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dca/john-charles-polanyi-14475_century_the-most-exciting-thing-in-the-twentieth_2150931.png" --- # The most exciting thing in the twentieth century is science. ![“The most exciting thing in the twentieth century is science.” quote by John Charles Polanyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dca/john-charles-polanyi-14475_century_the-most-exciting-thing-in-the-twentieth_2150931.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dca/john-charles-polanyi-14475_century_the-most-exciting-thing-in-the-twentieth_2150931.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dca/john-charles-polanyi-14475_century_the-most-exciting-thing-in-the-twentieth_2150931.png) > “The most exciting thing in the twentieth century is science.” [John Charles Polanyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-charles-polanyi/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Science drives progress, expands knowledge, and transforms society, making the 20th century uniquely thrilling. **In simple terms:** Science makes the 20th century exciting. Key Takeaway Embrace scientific curiosity. Themes progress innovation knowledge societal impact Mood enthusiastic optimistic Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - education reform - policy making - public outreach - R&D investment Key Concepts Scientific method technological advancement interdisciplinary research Questions to Reflect On - How can we balance rapid scientific growth with ethical responsibility? - What role should society play in directing scientific priorities? A Different Perspective Science can outpace ethical frameworks, causing dilemmas. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Twentieth century](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/twentieth-century/) ## Related quotes > [“The twentieth century was the Science Fiction Century. Science fiction affected everything, and we now live in a science fiction world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-n-brown/the-twentieth-century-was-the-science-fiction-century-science-fiction/) Charles N. Brown > [It has been said that the three great develpments in twentieth century science are relativity, quantum mechanics, and chaos. That strikes me the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-l-devaney/it-has-been-said-that-the-three-great-develpments-in-twentieth/) Robert L. Devaney > [Doubt, it seems to me, is the central condition of a human being in the twentieth century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/doubt-it-seems-to-me-is-the-central-condition-of-a-human-being-in-the/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [I think psychology and self-reflection is one of the major catastrophes of the twentieth century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-herzog/i-think-psychology-and-self-reflection-is-one-of-the-major/) [Werner Herzog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-herzog/) > [One day men will look back and say I gave birth to the twentieth century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-the-ripper/one-day-men-will-look-back-and-say-i-gave-birth-to-the-twentieth/) Jack the Ripper > [For much of the twentieth century, 1984 was a year that belonged to the future - a strange, gray future at that. Then it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/for-much-of-the-twentieth-century-1984-was-a-year-that-belonged-to/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) > [Photography is the dominant and fascinating and only authentic folk art of the twentieth century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rothenstein/photography-is-the-dominant-and-fascinating-and-only-authentic-folk/) John Rothenstein > [The trouble with us is that the ghetto of the Middle Ages and the children of the twentieth century have to live under one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anzia-yezierska/the-trouble-with-us-is-that-the-ghetto-of-the-middle-ages-and-the/) [Anzia Yezierska](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anzia-yezierska/) > [Twentieth century history of Christianity will name Oral Roberts as the voice that brought the Pentecostal movement to be taken seriously by mainline Christianity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-h-schuller/twentieth-century-history-of-christianity-will-name-oral-roberts-as/) [Robert H. Schuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-h-schuller/) > [Since the middle of the twentieth century, our understanding of the American past has been revolutionized, in no small part because of our altered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drew-gilpin-faust/since-the-middle-of-the-twentieth-century-our-understanding-of-the/) [Drew Gilpin Faust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drew-gilpin-faust/) > [The history of American higher education over the twentieth century is an extraordinary one, the story of the creation of a powerhouse set of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-perlstein/the-history-of-american-higher-education-over-the-twentieth-century/) [Rick Perlstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-perlstein/) > [It has become part of the accepted wisdom to say that the twentieth century was the century of physics and the twenty-first century will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freeman-dyson/it-has-become-part-of-the-accepted-wisdom-to-say-that-the-twentieth/) [Freeman Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freeman-dyson/) > [Once Europe's colonial empires were sent into deep decline, thanks to World War II, America became globalization's primary replicating force, integrating Asia into its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-p-m-barnett/once-europe-s-colonial-empires-were-sent-into-deep-decline-thanks-to/) [Thomas P.M. Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-p-m-barnett/) > [The modern rise of Alzheimer's Disease in the twentieth century is not a sign of failure. It's a sign of success. Success in living…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-jay-olshansky/the-modern-rise-of-alzheimer-s-disease-in-the-twentieth-century-is/) [S. Jay Olshansky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-jay-olshansky/) > [“Bureaucracy will be the deity of the twentieth century.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-ter-esterh-zy/bureaucracy-will-be-the-deity-of-the-twentieth-century/) [Péter Esterházy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-ter-esterh-zy/) ## More by John Charles Polanyi > [The respect for human rights, essential if we are to use technology wisely, is not something alien that must be grafted onto science. On…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-charles-polanyi/the-respect-for-human-rights-essential-if-we-are-to-use-technology/) [John Charles Polanyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-charles-polanyi/) > [In the late 1950s a major topic under discussion was whether Canada should acquire nuclear weapons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-charles-polanyi/in-the-late-1950s-a-major-topic-under-discussion-was-whether-canada/) [John Charles Polanyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-charles-polanyi/) > [Though neglectful of their responsibility to protect science, scientists are increasingly aware of their responsibility to society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-charles-polanyi/though-neglectful-of-their-responsibility-to-protect-science/) [John Charles Polanyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-charles-polanyi/) > [Some dreamers demand that scientists only discover things that can be used for good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-charles-polanyi/some-dreamers-demand-that-scientists-only-discover-things-that-can-be/) [John Charles Polanyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-charles-polanyi/) > [ \[Intellectual courage is\] the quality that allows one to believe in one's judgement in the face of disappointment and widespread skepticism. Intellectual courage is… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-charles-polanyi/intellectual-courage-is-the-quality-that-allows-one-to-believe-in-one/) [John Charles Polanyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-charles-polanyi/) > [It takes a trained and discerning researcher to keep the goal in sight, and to detect evidence of the creeping progress toward it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-charles-polanyi/it-takes-a-trained-and-discerning-researcher-to-keep-the-goal-in/) [John Charles Polanyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-charles-polanyi/) > [Individual scientists like myself - and many more conspicuous - pointed to the dangers of radioactive fallout over Canada if we were to launch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-charles-polanyi/individual-scientists-like-myself-and-many-more-conspicuous-pointed/) [John Charles Polanyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-charles-polanyi/) > [At the heart of science lies discovery which involves a change in worldview. Discovery in science is possible only in societies which accord their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-charles-polanyi/at-the-heart-of-science-lies-discovery-which-involves-a-change-in/) [John Charles Polanyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-charles-polanyi/) > [Science exists, moreover, only as a journey toward troth. Stifle dissent and you end that journey.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-charles-polanyi/science-exists-moreover-only-as-a-journey-toward-troth-stifle-dissent/) [John Charles Polanyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-charles-polanyi/) > [Science never gives up searching for truth, since it never claims to have achieved it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-charles-polanyi/science-never-gives-up-searching-for-truth-since-it-never-claims-to/) [John Charles Polanyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-charles-polanyi/) > [The applause is a celebration not only of the actors but also of the audience. It constitutes a shared moment of delight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-charles-polanyi/the-applause-is-a-celebration-not-only-of-the-actors-but-also-of-the/) [John Charles Polanyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-charles-polanyi/) > [Nothing is more irredeemably irrelevant than bad science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-charles-polanyi/nothing-is-more-irredeemably-irrelevant-than-bad-science/) [John Charles Polanyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-charles-polanyi/) > [If we treasure our own experience and regard it as real, we must also treasure other people's experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-charles-polanyi/if-we-treasure-our-own-experience-and-regard-it-as-real-we-must-also/) [John Charles Polanyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-charles-polanyi/) > [What makes the Universal Declaration an epochal document is first of all its global impetus and secondly the breadth of its claims, a commitment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-charles-polanyi/what-makes-the-universal-declaration-an-epochal-document-is-first-of/) [John Charles Polanyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-charles-polanyi/) > [Instead, in the absence of respect for human rights, science and its offspring technology have been used in this century as brutal instruments for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-charles-polanyi/instead-in-the-absence-of-respect-for-human-rights-science-and-its/) [John Charles Polanyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-charles-polanyi/) [Explore all 46 John Charles Polanyi quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-charles-polanyi/) ## More Century quotes > [I know always that I am an outsider; a stranger in this century and among those who are still men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-know-always-that-i-am-an-outsider-a-stranger-in-this-century-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ \[The Dalai Lama\] told me some years ago, "I've made every concession to China, and I've been as open and tolerant as I could,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pico-iyer/the-dalai-lama-told-me-some-years-ago-i-ve-made-every-concession-to/) [Pico Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pico-iyer/) > [Anybody looking for a quiet life has picked the wrong century to born in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/anybody-looking-for-a-quiet-life-has-picked-the-wrong-century-to-born/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The poetry from the eighteenth century was prose; the prose from the seventeenth century was poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hare/the-poetry-from-the-eighteenth-century-was-prose-the-prose-from-the/) [David Hare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hare/) > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Talented people can predict with great accuracy what's about to happen just a tiny bit ahead of their competitors. It might be two seconds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-maney/talented-people-can-predict-with-great-accuracy-what-s-about-to/) [Kevin Maney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-maney/) > [The world's history is a divine poem, of which the history of every nation is a canto, and every man a word. Its strains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/the-world-s-history-is-a-divine-poem-of-which-the-history-of-every/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [The nineteenth century lynching mob cuts off ears, toes, and fingers, strips off flesh, and distributes portions of the body as souvenirs among the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/the-nineteenth-century-lynching-mob-cuts-off-ears-toes-and-fingers/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [At no time in the past century has public distrust of the government been so broadly distributed across the political spectrum, as it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-zimmermann/at-no-time-in-the-past-century-has-public-distrust-of-the-government/) [Phil Zimmermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-zimmermann/) > [While husbands and lovers in the stories are of all kinds, ranging from sympathetic to disgusting, women are invariably deceivers: inconstant, unscrupulous, quarrelsome, querulous,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/while-husbands-and-lovers-in-the-stories-are-of-all-kinds-ranging/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [The young people today are the 21st century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-scorsese/the-young-people-today-are-the-21st-century/) [Martin Scorsese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-scorsese/) > [The wisdom of our actions in the first three years of peace will determine the course of world history for half a century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-a-wallace/the-wisdom-of-our-actions-in-the-first-three-years-of-peace-will/) [Henry A. Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-a-wallace/) > [For me, the melancholy of the late XXth Century is walking late at night by the Mont Blanc pen store and seeing these things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/for-me-the-melancholy-of-the-late-xxth-century-is-walking-late-at/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [In a general way, the literature of the twentieth century is essentially psychological; and psychology consists of describing states of the soul by displaying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/in-a-general-way-the-literature-of-the-twentieth-century-is/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [Consequently, citizen legislators, rotating back to their communities after a short period of public service—considered an indispensable and routine characteristic and design of representative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/consequently-citizen-legislators-rotating-back-to-their-communities/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) Browse all 5,406 Century quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The most exciting thing in the twentieth century is science.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Charles Polanyi" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-charles-polanyi/the-most-exciting-thing-in-the-twentieth-century-is-science/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Century" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-charles-polanyi/the-most-exciting-thing-in-the-twentieth-century-is-science/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dca/john-charles-polanyi-14475_century_the-most-exciting-thing-in-the-twentieth_2150931.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dca/john-charles-polanyi-14475_century_the-most-exciting-thing-in-the-twentieth_2150931.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dca/john-charles-polanyi-14475_century_the-most-exciting-thing-in-the-twentieth_2150931.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The most exciting thing in the twentieth century is science.” — John Charles Polanyi", "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 Charles Polanyi", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-charles-polanyi/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The most exciting thing in the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-charles-polanyi/the-most-exciting-thing-in-the-twentieth-century-is-science/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-charles-polanyi/the-most-exciting-thing-in-the-twentieth-century-is-science/#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 } } ] } ```