Life Quote by Kurt Vonnegut
““He said he hoped a lot of us would have careers in science,' she said. She didn't see anything funny in that. She was remembering a lesson that had impressed her. She was repeating it, gropingly, dutifully. 'He said, the trouble with the world was...' 'The trouble with the world was,' she continued hesitatingly, 'that people were still superstitious instead of scientific. He said if everybody would study science more, there wouldn't be all the trouble there was.' 'He said science was going to discover the basic secret of life some day,' the bartender put in. He scratched his head and frowned. 'Didn't I read in the paper the other day where they'd finally found out what it was?' 'I missed that,' I murmured. ' I saw that, said Sandra. "About two days ago.' 'That's right,' said the bartender. 'What is the secret of life?' I asked. 'I forget,' said Sandra. 'Protein,' the bartender declared. 'They found out something about protein.' 'Yeah,' said Sandra, 'that's it.””
About This Quote
Source Short story: The Secret of Life, 1975
People cling to superstitions; science could solve many problems, yet ignorance persists.
In simple terms: Science vs superstition; ignorance remains.
Key Takeaway
Promote critical thinking and scientific literacy.
Themes
science
ignorance
superstition
Mood
thoughtful
ironic
Type
narrative
dialogue
When to use this quote
- education reform
- public policy
- media literacy
- health communication
Key Concepts
epistemology
skepticism
Questions to Reflect On
- What drives people to favor superstition over evidence?
- How can we make science more accessible?
A Different Perspective
Changing deep‑seated beliefs is difficult.
![“Thomas Jefferson High School [..] His high school was named after a slave owner who was also one of the world’s greatest theoreticians on the subject of human liberty.” quote by Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/73a/kurt-vonnegut-41_freedom_thomas-jefferson-high-school-his-high-sc_9727.jpg)
