---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: By the time we made the discovery in…"
description: "\"By the time we made the discovery in 2015, the National Science Foundation had put close to $1.1 billion into it.\" — Rainer Weiss"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/346/rainer-weiss-11997_discovery_by-the-time-we-made-the-discovery-in-201_810147.jpg"
---

#  By the time we made the discovery in 2015, the National…

![“By the time we made the discovery in 2015, the National Science Foundation had put close to $1.1 billion into it.” quote by Rainer Weiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/346/rainer-weiss-11997_discovery_by-the-time-we-made-the-discovery-in-201_810147.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/346/rainer-weiss-11997_discovery_by-the-time-we-made-the-discovery-in-201_810147.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/346/rainer-weiss-11997_discovery_by-the-time-we-made-the-discovery-in-201_810147.jpg)

> “By the time we made the discovery in 2015, the National Science Foundation had put close to $1.1 billion into it.”

[Rainer Weiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-weiss/)

## About This Quote

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

Significant public investment enabled breakthrough research in 2015.

**In simple terms:** Huge funding spurred discovery.

Key Takeaway

Leverage public funds wisely.

Themes

science funding innovation

Mood

optimistic serious

Type

informative analytical

When to use this quote

- grant applications
- research planning
- technology development

Key Concepts

public policy research economics

Questions to Reflect On

- How can we ensure funded projects deliver impact?
- What safeguards prevent wasteful spending?

A Different Perspective

Funding alone doesn't guarantee success; execution matters.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Discovery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discovery/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/)

## Related quotes

> [We are all enormously indebted to the National Science Foundation of the United States and the American public for steady support over close to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-weiss/we-are-all-enormously-indebted-to-the-national-science-foundation-of/)

[Rainer Weiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-weiss/)

> [“In addressing a subcommittee of the National Science Board (it oversees the National Science Foundation) charged with reviewing “transformational” science, he remarked: My colleagues…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-west/in-addressing-a-subcommittee-of-the-national-science-board-it/)

[Geoffrey West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-west/)

> [ The show \[ StarTalk \] was born as a radio program out of a National Science Foundation grant. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/the-show-startalk-was-born-as-a-radio-program-out-of-a-national/)

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

> [There is no national science, just as there is no national multiplication table; what is national is no longer science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/there-is-no-national-science-just-as-there-is-no-national/)

[Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/)

> [Discovery is the ability to be puzzled by simple things. Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/discovery-is-the-ability-to-be-puzzled-by-simple-things-noam-chomsky/)

[Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/)

> [When we look at the love of Christ, we make a wonderful discovery. Love is more a decision than an emotion! Christ-like love applauds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/when-we-look-at-the-love-of-christ-we-make-a-wonderful-discovery-love/)

[Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/)

> [Every fact of science was once Damned. Every invention was considered impossible. Every discovery was a nervous shock to some orthodoxy. Every artistic innovation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/every-fact-of-science-was-once-damned-every-invention-was-considered/)

[Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/)

> [ That has been another interesting discovery: that basically a city \[Lagos\] could recover from a really deep, deep, deep pit. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rem-koolhaas/that-has-been-another-interesting-discovery-that-basically-a-city/)

[Rem Koolhaas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rem-koolhaas/)

> [We cannot predict the new forces, powers, and discoveries that will be disclosed to us when we reach the other planets and set up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/we-cannot-predict-the-new-forces-powers-and-discoveries-that-will-be/)

[Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/)

> [ “\[W\]e must learn to accommodate ourselves to the discovery that some of those cunningly-fashioned instruments called human souls have only a very limited range… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/w-e-must-learn-to-accommodate-ourselves-to-the-discovery-that-some-of/)

[George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/)

> [The discovery that heartbreak is indeed heartbreaking consoles us about our humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/the-discovery-that-heartbreak-is-indeed-heartbreaking-consoles-us/)

[Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/)

> [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/)

> [There is usually no dreamer so unworldly as the anthologist. He wanders in a vast garden, lost in wonder, unable to decide often between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-webb/there-is-usually-no-dreamer-so-unworldly-as-the-anthologist-he/)

[Mary Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-webb/)

> [Throughout my work, I have assumed that the standard model is correct, and hence, the Higgs boson should be found. Although this is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashoke-sen/throughout-my-work-i-have-assumed-that-the-standard-model-is-correct/)

[Ashoke Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashoke-sen/)

> [ Next came the Patent laws. These began in England in 1624; and, in this country, with the adoption of our constitution. Before then \[these?\],… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/next-came-the-patent-laws-these-began-in-england-in-1624-and-in-this/)

[Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/)

## More by Rainer Weiss

> [Gravitational waves, because they are so imperturbable - they go through everything - they will tell you the most information you can get about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-weiss/gravitational-waves-because-they-are-so-imperturbable-they-go-through/)

[Rainer Weiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-weiss/)

> [The waves travel with the velocity of light and slightly squeeze and stretch space transverse to the direction of their motion. The first waves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-weiss/the-waves-travel-with-the-velocity-of-light-and-slightly-squeeze-and/)

[Rainer Weiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-weiss/)

> [Experimentally, we now have demonstrated that Einstein's theory is right in strong gravitational fields. That's important to a lot of people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-weiss/experimentally-we-now-have-demonstrated-that-einstein-s-theory-is/)

[Rainer Weiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-weiss/)

> [You think Earth's gravity is really something when you're climbing the stairs. But, as far as physics goes, it is a pipsqueak, infinitesimal, tiny…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-weiss/you-think-earth-s-gravity-is-really-something-when-you-re-climbing/)

[Rainer Weiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-weiss/)

> [We've seen black holes, which is already wonderful. We also expect to see the merger of neutron stars, and that was a thing that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-weiss/we-ve-seen-black-holes-which-is-already-wonderful-we-also-expect-to/)

[Rainer Weiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-weiss/)

> [We know about black holes and neutron stars, but we hope there are other phenomena we can see because of the gravitational waves they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-weiss/we-know-about-black-holes-and-neutron-stars-but-we-hope-there-are/)

[Rainer Weiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-weiss/)

> [We were looking almost one-tenth of the way to the edge of the universe. We're planning to use the facilities we have to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-weiss/we-were-looking-almost-one-tenth-of-the-way-to-the-edge-of-the/)

[Rainer Weiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-weiss/)

> [It's very, very exciting that it worked out in the end that we are actually detecting things and actually adding to the knowledge, through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-weiss/it-s-very-very-exciting-that-it-worked-out-in-the-end-that-we-are/)

[Rainer Weiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-weiss/)

> [For reasons probably related to the popular vision of Albert Einstein and, also, the threat posed by black holes in comic books and science…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-weiss/for-reasons-probably-related-to-the-popular-vision-of-albert-einstein/)

[Rainer Weiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-weiss/)

> [The whole idea of gravity curling up space, that is the epitome of what is going on in a black hole. I would've loved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-weiss/the-whole-idea-of-gravity-curling-up-space-that-is-the-epitome-of/)

[Rainer Weiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-weiss/)

> [The obvious thing to me was, let's take freely floating masses in space and measure the time it takes light to travel between them.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-weiss/the-obvious-thing-to-me-was-let-s-take-freely-floating-masses-in/)

[Rainer Weiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-weiss/)

> [All at once, funding was gone due to the Mansfield Amendment, which was a reaction to the Vietnam War. In the minds of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-weiss/all-at-once-funding-was-gone-due-to-the-mansfield-amendment-which-was/)

[Rainer Weiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-weiss/)

> [The whole world tried to reproduce the Weber experiments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-weiss/the-whole-world-tried-to-reproduce-the-weber-experiments/)

[Rainer Weiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-weiss/)

> [My father was a dictator in the true German sense. He suppressed my mother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-weiss/my-father-was-a-dictator-in-the-true-german-sense-he-suppressed-my/)

[Rainer Weiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-weiss/)

> [People say, 'I failed out of college! My life is over!' Well, it's not over. It depends on what you do with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-weiss/people-say-i-failed-out-of-college-my-life-is-over-well-it-s-not-over/)

[Rainer Weiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-weiss/)

[Explore all 57 Rainer Weiss quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-weiss/)

## More Discovery quotes

> [ Next came the Patent laws. These began in England in 1624; and, in this country, with the adoption of our constitution. Before then \[these?\],… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/next-came-the-patent-laws-these-began-in-england-in-1624-and-in-this/)

[Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/)

> [Throughout my work, I have assumed that the standard model is correct, and hence, the Higgs boson should be found. Although this is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashoke-sen/throughout-my-work-i-have-assumed-that-the-standard-model-is-correct/)

[Ashoke Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashoke-sen/)

> [There is usually no dreamer so unworldly as the anthologist. He wanders in a vast garden, lost in wonder, unable to decide often between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-webb/there-is-usually-no-dreamer-so-unworldly-as-the-anthologist-he/)

[Mary Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-webb/)

> [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/)

> [The discovery that heartbreak is indeed heartbreaking consoles us about our humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/the-discovery-that-heartbreak-is-indeed-heartbreaking-consoles-us/)

[Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/)

> [ “\[W\]e must learn to accommodate ourselves to the discovery that some of those cunningly-fashioned instruments called human souls have only a very limited range… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/w-e-must-learn-to-accommodate-ourselves-to-the-discovery-that-some-of/)

[George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/)

> [We cannot predict the new forces, powers, and discoveries that will be disclosed to us when we reach the other planets and set up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/we-cannot-predict-the-new-forces-powers-and-discoveries-that-will-be/)

[Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/)

> [ That has been another interesting discovery: that basically a city \[Lagos\] could recover from a really deep, deep, deep pit. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rem-koolhaas/that-has-been-another-interesting-discovery-that-basically-a-city/)

[Rem Koolhaas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rem-koolhaas/)

> [Every fact of science was once Damned. Every invention was considered impossible. Every discovery was a nervous shock to some orthodoxy. Every artistic innovation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/every-fact-of-science-was-once-damned-every-invention-was-considered/)

[Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/)

> [When we look at the love of Christ, we make a wonderful discovery. Love is more a decision than an emotion! Christ-like love applauds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/when-we-look-at-the-love-of-christ-we-make-a-wonderful-discovery-love/)

[Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/)

> [Discovery is the ability to be puzzled by simple things. Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/discovery-is-the-ability-to-be-puzzled-by-simple-things-noam-chomsky/)

[Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/)

> [“In December of 2007 human bones including skulls, which have been radiocarbon dated back to between 1304 and 1424, were found in a museum…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/captain-hank-bracker-seawater-one/in-december-of-2007-human-bones-including-skulls-which-have-been/)

Captain Hank Bracker, "Seawater One

> [The European talks of progress because by the aid of a few scientific discoveries he has established a society which has mistaken comfort for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/the-european-talks-of-progress-because-by-the-aid-of-a-few-scientific/)

[Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/)

> [Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/education-is-a-progressive-discovery-of-our-own-ignorance/)

[Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/)

> [The characters in my novels are my own unrealized possibilities. That is why I am equally fond of them all and equally horrified by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-characters-in-my-novels-are-my-own-unrealized-possibilities-that/)

[Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/)

[Browse all 3,125 Discovery quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discovery/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "By the time we made the discovery in 2015, the National Science Foundation had put close to $1.1 billion into it.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Rainer Weiss"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-weiss/by-the-time-we-made-the-discovery-in-2015-the-national-science/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Discovery"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-weiss/by-the-time-we-made-the-discovery-in-2015-the-national-science/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/346/rainer-weiss-11997_discovery_by-the-time-we-made-the-discovery-in-201_810147.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/346/rainer-weiss-11997_discovery_by-the-time-we-made-the-discovery-in-201_810147.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/346/rainer-weiss-11997_discovery_by-the-time-we-made-the-discovery-in-201_810147.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“By the time we made the discovery in 2015, the National Science Foundation had put close to $1.1 billion…” — Rainer Weiss",
                "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": "Rainer Weiss",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-weiss/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "By the time we made the...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-weiss/by-the-time-we-made-the-discovery-in-2015-the-national-science/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-weiss/by-the-time-we-made-the-discovery-in-2015-the-national-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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
