---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We speak piously of ... making small…"
description: "\"We speak piously of ... making small studies that will add another brick to the temple of science. Most such bricks just lie around the brickyard.\" — J..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/82b/john-r-platt-80129_add_we-speak-piously-of-making-small-studies_1692742.png"
---

#  We speak piously of ... making small studies that will add…

![“We speak piously of ... making small studies that will add another brick to the temple of science. Most such bricks just lie around the brickyard.” quote by John R. Platt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/82b/john-r-platt-80129_add_we-speak-piously-of-making-small-studies_1692742.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/82b/john-r-platt-80129_add_we-speak-piously-of-making-small-studies_1692742.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/82b/john-r-platt-80129_add_we-speak-piously-of-making-small-studies_1692742.png)

> “We speak piously of ... making small studies that will add another brick to the temple of science. Most such bricks just lie around the brickyard.”

John R. Platt

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Scientific progress often builds on minor, incremental studies that may seem insignificant.

**In simple terms:** Small studies add up to big discoveries.

Key Takeaway

Value incremental research.

Themes

science progress incremental work

Mood

analytical inquisitive

Type

academic inspirational

When to use this quote

- lab experiments
- grant proposals
- academic publishing
- collaborative projects

Key Concepts

research methodology knowledge accumulation

Questions to Reflect On

- Which small studies have yielded big impacts?
- How to prioritize valuable incremental work?

A Different Perspective

Not all small studies lead to breakthroughs; some waste resources.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Lying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lying/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Temples](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/temples/)

## Related quotes

> [Anybody who has been seriously engaged is scientific work of any kind realizes that over the entrance to the gates of the temple of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-planck/anybody-who-has-been-seriously-engaged-is-scientific-work-of-any-kind/)

[Max Planck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-planck/)

> [In the temple of science are many mansions, and various indeed are they that dwell therein and the motives that have led them thither.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/in-the-temple-of-science-are-many-mansions-and-various-indeed-are-3/)

[Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/)

> [Modern man worships at the temple of science, but science tells him only what is possible, not what is right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-s-eisenhower/modern-man-worships-at-the-temple-of-science-but-science-tells-him/)

Milton S. Eisenhower

> [If the God of revelation is most appropriately worshipped in the temple of religion, the God of nature may be equally honored in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brewster/if-the-god-of-revelation-is-most-appropriately-worshipped-in-the/)

[David Brewster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brewster/)

> [Anybody who has been seriously engaged in scientific work of any kind realizes that over the entrance to the gates of the temple of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-planck/anybody-who-has-been-seriously-engaged-in-scientific-work-of-any-kind/)

[Max Planck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-planck/)

> [Philosophy dwells aloft in the Temple of Science, the divinity of its inmost shrine; her dictates descend among men, but she herself descends not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/philosophy-dwells-aloft-in-the-temple-of-science-the-divinity-of-its/)

[Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/)

> [No one should approach the temple of science with the soul of a money changer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-browne/no-one-should-approach-the-temple-of-science-with-the-soul-of-a-money/)

[Thomas Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-browne/)

> [“In the temple of science are many mansions, and various indeed are they that dwell therein and the motives that have led them thither.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/in-the-temple-of-science-are-many-mansions-and-various-indeed-are/)

[Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/)

> [I am always really buzzed after each performance, and at around one in the morning, Ill hit a brick wall and need to sleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hattie-morahan/i-am-always-really-buzzed-after-each-performance-and-at-around-one-in/)

[Hattie Morahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hattie-morahan/)

> [The Brick House was one of the toughest joints I ever played in ... Guys would drink and fight one another like circle saws.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-armstrong/the-brick-house-was-one-of-the-toughest-joints-i-ever-played-in-guys/)

[Louis Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-armstrong/)

> [I am the enfant terrible of literature and science. If I cannot, and I know I cannot, get the literary and scientific bigwigs to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/i-am-the-enfant-terrible-of-literature-and-science-if-i-cannot-and-i/)

[Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/)

> [Even if you tried to extinguish your personality, what is left in the story will reflect it, perhaps by its negation. Our lives provide…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandar-hemon/even-if-you-tried-to-extinguish-your-personality-what-is-left-in-the/)

[Aleksandar Hemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandar-hemon/)

> [LEGO is universal. So many people enjoy it, from all different walks of life, all different ages, all different cultures. When I was in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-sawaya/lego-is-universal-so-many-people-enjoy-it-from-all-different-walks-of/)

[Nathan Sawaya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-sawaya/)

> [That city is well fortified which has a wall of men instead of brick.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/that-city-is-well-fortified-which-has-a-wall-of-men-instead-of-brick/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [ Leave a cavity behind the \[wall\] facings, and on the inside build walls two feet thick, made of red dimension stone or burnt brick… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-vitruvius-pollio/leave-a-cavity-behind-the-wall-facings-and-on-the-inside-build-walls/)

[Marcus Vitruvius Pollio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-vitruvius-pollio/)

## More by John R. Platt

> [Going to the moon is not a matter of physics but of economics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-r-platt/going-to-the-moon-is-not-a-matter-of-physics-but-of-economics/)

John R. Platt

> [It's just as sure a recipe for failure to have the right idea fifty years too soon as five years too late.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-r-platt/it-s-just-as-sure-a-recipe-for-failure-to-have-the-right-idea-fifty/)

John R. Platt

Explore all 3 John R. Platt quotes

## More Add quotes

> [Most marriages don't add two people together. They subtract one from the other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-fleming/most-marriages-don-t-add-two-people-together-they-subtract-one-from/)

[Ian Fleming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-fleming/)

> [Friendship, "the wine of life," should, like a well-stocked cellar, be continually renewed; and it is consolatory to think, that although we can seldom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-boswell/friendship-the-wine-of-life-should-like-a-well-stocked-cellar-be/)

[James Boswell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-boswell/)

> [Life as we know it is fundamentally unsatisfying. I think most folks feel this to be true. They know that a life of aimless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-yates/life-as-we-know-it-is-fundamentally-unsatisfying-i-think-most-folks/)

[Michael Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-yates/)

> [Give me a platter of choice finnan haddie, freshly cooked in its bath of water and milk, add melted butter, a slice or two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-claiborne/give-me-a-platter-of-choice-finnan-haddie-freshly-cooked-in-its-bath/)

[Craig Claiborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-claiborne/)

> [Writing adds up to the conscience of our times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-firrell/writing-adds-up-to-the-conscience-of-our-times/)

[Martin Firrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-firrell/)

> [A 'modern' man has nothing to add to modernism, if only because he has nothing to oppose it with. The well-adapted drop off the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elias-canetti/a-modern-man-has-nothing-to-add-to-modernism-if-only-because-he-has/)

[Elias Canetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elias-canetti/)

> [Observation and theory get on best when they are mixed together, both helping one another in the pursuit of truth. It is a good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-eddington/observation-and-theory-get-on-best-when-they-are-mixed-together-both/)

[Arthur Eddington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-eddington/)

> [I may add that we have more than once stated our willingness to conclude nonaggression pacts with the states neighboring our own!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/i-may-add-that-we-have-more-than-once-stated-our-willingness-to/)

[Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/)

> [The American Constitution declares 'All men are born equal.' The British Socialist Party add: 'All men must be kept equal'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/the-american-constitution-declares-all-men-are-born-equal-the-british/)

[Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/)

> [New generations of humans inherit the acquired discoveries of generations past, allowing cosmic insight to accumulate without limit. Each discovery of science therefore adds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/new-generations-of-humans-inherit-the-acquired-discoveries-of/)

[Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/)

> [Thirty days is just about the right amount of time to add a new habit or subtract a habit - like watching the news…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-cutts/thirty-days-is-just-about-the-right-amount-of-time-to-add-a-new-habit/)

[Matt Cutts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-cutts/)

> [In presenting a mathematical argument the great thing is to give the educated reader the chance to catch on at once to the momentary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edensor-littlewood/in-presenting-a-mathematical-argument-the-great-thing-is-to-give-the/)

[John Edensor Littlewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edensor-littlewood/)

> [The Greeks said grandly in their tragic phrase, 'Let no one be called happy till his death;' to which I would add, 'Let no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-barrett-browning/the-greeks-said-grandly-in-their-tragic-phrase-let-no-one-be-called/)

[Elizabeth Barrett Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-barrett-browning/)

> [Mostly we just add to the piles of rainbow glass that's been blown off the exteriors of the cany-colored buildings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/mostly-we-just-add-to-the-piles-of-rainbow-glass-that-s-been-blown/)

[Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/)

> [Global is a unifying bond for people. Once they get outside their own heads and their own communities and see themselves in a broader…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-calvin/global-is-a-unifying-bond-for-people-once-they-get-outside-their-own/)

[Kathy Calvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-calvin/)

Browse all 2,710 Add quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "We speak piously of ... making small studies that will add another brick to the temple of science. Most such bricks just lie around the brickyard.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "John R. Platt"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-r-platt/we-speak-piously-of-making-small-studies-that-will-add-another-brick/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Add"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-r-platt/we-speak-piously-of-making-small-studies-that-will-add-another-brick/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/82b/john-r-platt-80129_add_we-speak-piously-of-making-small-studies_1692742.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/82b/john-r-platt-80129_add_we-speak-piously-of-making-small-studies_1692742.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/82b/john-r-platt-80129_add_we-speak-piously-of-making-small-studies_1692742.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“We speak piously of ... making small studies that will add another brick to the temple of science. Most such…” — John R. Platt",
                "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 R. Platt",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-r-platt/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "We speak piously of ... making...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-r-platt/we-speak-piously-of-making-small-studies-that-will-add-another-brick/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-r-platt/we-speak-piously-of-making-small-studies-that-will-add-another-brick/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
