---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I like writing about biology, not doing it."
description: "\"I like writing about biology, not doing it.\" — Kary Mullis"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/629/kary-mullis-13943_biology_i-like-writing-about-biology-not-doing-i_1885124.png"
---

#  I like writing about biology, not doing it.

![“I like writing about biology, not doing it.” quote by Kary Mullis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/629/kary-mullis-13943_biology_i-like-writing-about-biology-not-doing-i_1885124.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/629/kary-mullis-13943_biology_i-like-writing-about-biology-not-doing-i_1885124.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/629/kary-mullis-13943_biology_i-like-writing-about-biology-not-doing-i_1885124.png)

> “I like writing about biology, not doing it.”

[Kary Mullis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/)

## About This Quote

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

He enjoys describing biological concepts more than performing laboratory work.

**In simple terms:** Prefers writing about biology over doing experiments.

Key Takeaway

Focus on communicating science.

Themes

science communication writing biology

Mood

reflective analytical

Type

explanatory educational

When to use this quote

- academic writing
- science journalism
- teaching
- public outreach

Key Concepts

Narrative explanatory

Questions to Reflect On

- Do you find writing helps you understand biology better?
- How does storytelling affect scientific perception?

A Different Perspective

May lack hands‑on experimental insight.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Biology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biology/) [Biology Doing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biology-doing-2687973/) [Like Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-writing/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing Biology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-biology-2687972/)

## Related quotes

> [Indeed, if "biology is chemistry with history," as somebody has said, then nature writing is biology with love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hoagland/indeed-if-biology-is-chemistry-with-history-as-somebody-has-said-then/)

[Edward Hoagland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hoagland/)

> [The school was very supportive. The only class that I had to attend every day was biology when we were doing dissections. I would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mila-kunis/the-school-was-very-supportive-the-only-class-that-i-had-to-attend/)

[Mila Kunis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mila-kunis/)

> [“Well I want something to do, to create, to achieve, to whatever… Something I can’t get enough of. You know something that I can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/klaus-joehle/well-i-want-something-to-do-to-create-to-achieve-to-whatever/)

[Klaus Joehle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/klaus-joehle/)

> [I started to write songs. And I started to like what I was writing. I think it's a new way for me to express…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-cotillard/i-started-to-write-songs-and-i-started-to-like-what-i-was-writing-i/)

[Marion Cotillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-cotillard/)

> [If it sounds like writing, I rewrite it. Or, if proper usage gets in the way, it may have to go. I can't allow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmore-leonard/if-it-sounds-like-writing-i-rewrite-it-or-if-proper-usage-gets-in-the/)

[Elmore Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmore-leonard/)

> [My first feeling was that there was no way to continue. Writing isn't like math;in math, two plus two always equals four no matter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephenie-meyer/my-first-feeling-was-that-there-was-no-way-to-continue-writing-isn-t/)

[Stephenie Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephenie-meyer/)

> [I always thought that I was a terrible writer. And I started to write songs. And I started to like what I was writing.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-cotillard/i-always-thought-that-i-was-a-terrible-writer-and-i-started-to-write/)

[Marion Cotillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-cotillard/)

> [“If he didn't like the writing, then he didn't like her, and everything she had done in her whole life would be for nothing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alethea-kontis/if-he-didn-t-like-the-writing-then-he-didn-t-like-her-and-everything/)

[Alethea Kontis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alethea-kontis/)

> [I feel like I was writing as I was learning to talk. Writing was always a go-to form of communication. And I knew I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-ocean/i-feel-like-i-was-writing-as-i-was-learning-to-talk-writing-was/)

[Frank Ocean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-ocean/)

> [I like writing all different kinds of songs. I've wanted to run the gamut of artists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-warren/i-like-writing-all-different-kinds-of-songs-i-ve-wanted-to-run-the/)

[Diane Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-warren/)

> [Certainly, not all trans people like my writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torrey-peters/certainly-not-all-trans-people-like-my-writing/)

[Torrey Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torrey-peters/)

> [For all forms, writing dialogue is almost like writing music. I pay close attention to rhythms and tones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sefi-atta/for-all-forms-writing-dialogue-is-almost-like-writing-music-i-pay/)

[Sefi Atta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sefi-atta/)

> [In a lot of senses, things are definitely changing in my life, and with what's going on around me. But I still feel like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angel-olsen/in-a-lot-of-senses-things-are-definitely-changing-in-my-life-and-with/)

[Angel Olsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angel-olsen/)

> [“But this...writing about how it feels to listen to music, to have found him--it almost feels like I'm writing a description of how my organs work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-lauren/but-this-writing-about-how-it-feels-to-listen-to-music-to-have-found/)

[Christina Lauren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-lauren/)

> [Reading a book is like re-writing it for yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-carter/reading-a-book-is-like-re-writing-it-for-yourself/)

[Angela Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-carter/)

## More by Kary Mullis

> [People don't realize that molecules themselves are somewhat hypothetical, and that their interactions are more so, and that the biological reactions are even more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/people-don-t-realize-that-molecules-themselves-are-somewhat/)

[Kary Mullis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/)

> [My father, Cecil Banks Mullis, and mother, formerly Bernice Alberta Barker, grew up in rural North Carolina in the foothills of the Blue Ridge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/my-father-cecil-banks-mullis-and-mother-formerly-bernice-alberta/)

[Kary Mullis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/)

> [My mother often mailed me articles from 'Reader's Digest' about advances in DNA chemistry. No matter how I tried to explain it to her,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/my-mother-often-mailed-me-articles-from-reader-s-digest-about/)

[Kary Mullis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/)

> [Religion is inwardly focused and driven only to sustain itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/religion-is-inwardly-focused-and-driven-only-to-sustain-itself/)

[Kary Mullis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/)

> [Natural DNA is a tractless coil, like an unwound and tangled audiotape on the floor of the car in the dark.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/natural-dna-is-a-tractless-coil-like-an-unwound-and-tangled-audiotape/)

[Kary Mullis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/)

> [Do we care about these people that are HIV-positive whose lives have been ruined? Those are the people I'm the most concerned about. Every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/do-we-care-about-these-people-that-are-hiv-positive-whose-lives-have/)

[Kary Mullis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/)

> [I love a microphone and a big crowd; I'm an entertainer, I guess.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/i-love-a-microphone-and-a-big-crowd-i-m-an-entertainer-i-guess/)

[Kary Mullis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/)

> [Science consistently produces a new crop of miraculous truths and dazzling devices every year.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/science-consistently-produces-a-new-crop-of-miraculous-truths-and/)

[Kary Mullis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/)

> [Here's a bunch of people practising a new set of behavioural norms. Apparently it didn't work because a lot of them got sick. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/here-s-a-bunch-of-people-practising-a-new-set-of-behavioural-norms/)

[Kary Mullis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/)

> [People realize this man knows what the hell's going on and nobody else does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/people-realize-this-man-knows-what-the-hell-s-going-on-and-nobody/)

[Kary Mullis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/)

> [Science, like nothing else among the institutions of mankind, grows like a weed every year. Art is subject to arbitrary fashion, religion is inwardly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/science-like-nothing-else-among-the-institutions-of-mankind-grows/)

[Kary Mullis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/)

> [I'm not politically correct.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/i-m-not-politically-correct/)

[Kary Mullis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/)

> [Fish don't know much about water, and people didn't know much about air.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/fish-don-t-know-much-about-water-and-people-didn-t-know-much-about-air/)

[Kary Mullis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/)

> [My mother would give my brothers and me a pile of catalogues and let us pick what we wanted for Christmas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/my-mother-would-give-my-brothers-and-me-a-pile-of-catalogues-and-let/)

[Kary Mullis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/)

> [They can't pooh-pooh me now, because of who I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/they-can-t-pooh-pooh-me-now-because-of-who-i-am/)

[Kary Mullis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/)

[Explore all 48 Kary Mullis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/)

## More Biology quotes

> [In the fight between biology and morality, biology has commonly won in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/semir-zeki/in-the-fight-between-biology-and-morality-biology-has-commonly-won-in/)

[Semir Zeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/semir-zeki/)

> [“Genetics is a science full of gods, Mr. Sanchez.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valeria-luiselli/genetics-is-a-science-full-of-gods-mr-sanchez/)

[Valeria Luiselli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valeria-luiselli/)

> [We became Homo sapiens not that long ago, from the scientific perspective, and we've retained a lot of our beast nature. We've done all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wangechi-mutu/we-became-homo-sapiens-not-that-long-ago-from-the-scientific/)

[Wangechi Mutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wangechi-mutu/)

> [Evolution happens in jumps, very rapidly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-ferguson/evolution-happens-in-jumps-very-rapidly/)

[Marilyn Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-ferguson/)

> [“Toshiaki learned that all living organisms were governed by their DNA. He was impressed by perfection of this system.Why did existence have the ability…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hideaki-sena/toshiaki-learned-that-all-living-organisms-were-governed-by-their-dna/)

[Hideaki Sena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hideaki-sena/)

> [I'm all about evolution. I'm the first person to judge myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-weeknd/i-m-all-about-evolution-i-m-the-first-person-to-judge-myself/)

[The Weeknd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-weeknd/)

> [We are somehow the children of the planet, we are somehow its finest hour; we bind time, we bind the past, we anticipate the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-somehow-the-children-of-the-planet-we-are-somehow-its-finest/)

[Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/)

> [I think the ethics and morals of genetic engineering are very complicated. It intrigues me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-spottiswoode/i-think-the-ethics-and-morals-of-genetic-engineering-are-very/)

[Roger Spottiswoode](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-spottiswoode/)

> [Biochemists and biologists who adhere blindly to the Darwinism theory search for results that will be in agreement with their theories and consequently orient…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-paul-grasse/biochemists-and-biologists-who-adhere-blindly-to-the-darwinism-theory/)

[Pierre-Paul Grasse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-paul-grasse/)

> [“A note of caution: epigenetics is also on the verge of transforming into a dangerous idea. Epigenetic modifications of genes can potentially superpose historical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siddhartha-mukherjee/a-note-of-caution-epigenetics-is-also-on-the-verge-of-transforming/)

[Siddhartha Mukherjee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siddhartha-mukherjee/)

> [Natural history is not taught in seminary. This is curious, as most people in pastoral ministry are about 567 times more likely to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-maitland/natural-history-is-not-taught-in-seminary-this-is-curious-as-most/)

[Sara Maitland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-maitland/)

> [We are coming to a place where the road ends. From here on out, we will be making the road as we walk it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-atlee/we-are-coming-to-a-place-where-the-road-ends-from-here-on-out-we-will/)

[Tom Atlee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-atlee/)

> [I've always been interested in medicine and was pleased when my brother became a doctor. But after thinking seriously about that field, I realized…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-lowry/i-ve-always-been-interested-in-medicine-and-was-pleased-when-my/)

[Lois Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-lowry/)

> [Evolution... is the most powerful and the most comprehensive idea that has ever arisen on Earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-huxley/evolution-is-the-most-powerful-and-the-most-comprehensive-idea-that/)

[Julian Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-huxley/)

> [History employs evolution to structure biological events in time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/history-employs-evolution-to-structure-biological-events-in-time/)

[Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/)

[Browse all 3,034 Biology quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biology/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "I like writing about biology, not doing it.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Kary Mullis"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/i-like-writing-about-biology-not-doing-it/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Biology"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/i-like-writing-about-biology-not-doing-it/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/629/kary-mullis-13943_biology_i-like-writing-about-biology-not-doing-i_1885124.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/629/kary-mullis-13943_biology_i-like-writing-about-biology-not-doing-i_1885124.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/629/kary-mullis-13943_biology_i-like-writing-about-biology-not-doing-i_1885124.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I like writing about biology, not doing it.” — Kary Mullis",
                "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": "Kary Mullis",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "I like writing about biology, not...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/i-like-writing-about-biology-not-doing-it/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/i-like-writing-about-biology-not-doing-it/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
