--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The coldest most rational scientific…" description: "\"“The coldest most rational scientific madness is also the most intolerable. But when a man has acquired a certain ability to subsist, even rather scant..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cfd/louis-ferdinand-celine-1139_death_the-coldest-most-rational-scientific-mad_1224656.jpg" --- # The coldest most rational scientific madness is also the… ![“The coldest most rational scientific madness is also the most intolerable. But when a man has acquired a certain ability to subsist, even rather scantily, in a certain niche with the help of a few grimaces, he must either keep at it or resign himself to dying the death of a guinea pig. Habits are…” quote by Louis-Ferdinand Céline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cfd/louis-ferdinand-celine-1139_death_the-coldest-most-rational-scientific-mad_1224656.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cfd/louis-ferdinand-celine-1139_death_the-coldest-most-rational-scientific-mad_1224656.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cfd/louis-ferdinand-celine-1139_death_the-coldest-most-rational-scientific-mad_1224656.jpg) > ““The coldest most rational scientific madness is also the most intolerable. But when a man has acquired a certain ability to subsist, even rather scantily, in a certain niche with the help of a few grimaces, he must either keep at it or resign himself to dying the death of a guinea pig. Habits are acquired more quickly than courage, especially the habit of filling one's stomach.”” [Louis-Ferdinand Céline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-ferdinand-celine/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage describes how survival habits form quickly, often outweighing courage, and how they can trap one in a stagnant existence. **In simple terms:** Habits dominate over bravery, leading to stagnation. Key Takeaway Break harmful habits, cultivate courage. Themes survival habit courage Mood critical motivational Type philosophical practical When to use this quote - daily routines - career choices - health habits - creative work Key Concepts psychology existentialism Questions to Reflect On - What habit holds you back? - How can you replace it with courageous action? A Different Perspective Habits can become limiting if unexamined. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Coldest Rational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coldest-rational-3763735/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Guinea pig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guinea-pig/) [Habit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habit/) [Habits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habits/) [Intolerable Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intolerable-man-2358257/) [Ralph-mannheim-translation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ralph-mannheim-translation/) [Rational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rational/) [Rational Scientific](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rational-scientific-2197386/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) ## Related quotes > [“Everyone always has to have the rational, scientific explanation for something, even if it's so obviously wrong you could scream.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-wynne-jones/everyone-always-has-to-have-the-rational-scientific-explanation-for/) [Diana Wynne Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-wynne-jones/) > [“The nights in Billancourt were soft and sweet, enlivened now and again by those childish airplane or zeppelin alarms which provided the civilian population…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-ferdinand-celine/the-nights-in-billancourt-were-soft-and-sweet-enlivened-now-and-again/) [Louis-Ferdinand Céline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-ferdinand-celine/) > [“When you stop to examine the way in which our words are formed and uttered, our sentences are hard-put to it to survive the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-ferdinand-celine/when-you-stop-to-examine-the-way-in-which-our-words-are-formed-and-2/) [Louis-Ferdinand Céline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-ferdinand-celine/) > [“The Place Faidherbe had the characteristic atmosphere, the overdone décor, the floral and verbal excess, of a subprefecture in southern France gone mad. 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You can see they don’t give a damn whether they’re getting what they want out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-ferdinand-celine/there-is-something-sad-about-people-going-to-bed-you-can-see-they-don/) [Louis-Ferdinand Céline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-ferdinand-celine/) > [“While he was cautiously preambling, I tried to form a picture of all he did each day to earn his calories, all his grimaces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-ferdinand-celine/while-he-was-cautiously-preambling-i-tried-to-form-a-picture-of-all/) [Louis-Ferdinand Céline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-ferdinand-celine/) > [Nothing is so intolerable to man as being fully at rest, without a passion, without business, without entertainment, without care.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/nothing-is-so-intolerable-to-man-as-being-fully-at-rest-without-a/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [Nothing is so intolerable to man as being fully at rest, without passion, without business, without entertainment, without care. It is then that he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/nothing-is-so-intolerable-to-man-as-being-fully-at-rest-without/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [There is no "scientific worldview" just as there is no uniform enterprise "science" - except in the minds of metaphysicians, school masters, and scientists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-feyerabend/there-is-no-scientific-worldview-just-as-there-is-no-uniform/) [Paul Feyerabend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-feyerabend/) > [“Undoubtedly, modern Science is rational and the scientific method is based on rationality. But rationality is a wider concept, and it can explore what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corrado-ghinamo/undoubtedly-modern-science-is-rational-and-the-scientific-method-is/) [Corrado Ghinamo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corrado-ghinamo/) > [At the time when I was conducting my research there was no known method for taking the guinea pig's temperature. I demonstrated a technique…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-jules-henry-nicole/at-the-time-when-i-was-conducting-my-research-there-was-no-known/) [Charles Jules Henry Nicole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-jules-henry-nicole/) ## More by Louis-Ferdinand Céline > [The beginning of genius is being scared shitless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-ferdinand-celine/the-beginning-of-genius-is-being-scared-shitless/) [Louis-Ferdinand Celine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-ferdinand-celine/) > [“All our misery comes from wanting at all costs to go on being Tom, Dick, or Harry, year in, year out. This body of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-ferdinand-celine/all-our-misery-comes-from-wanting-at-all-costs-to-go-on-being-tom/) [Louis-Ferdinand Celine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-ferdinand-celine/) > [“Now I know... we have at least two friends!... 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