--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is no final truth in palaeontology…" description: "\"“There is no final truth in palaeontology. Every new observer brings something of his or her own: a new technique, a new intelligence, even new mistake..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de4/richard-fortey-24595_evolution_there-is-no-final-truth-in-palaeontology_427243.png" --- # There is no final truth in palaeontology. Every new… ![“There is no final truth in palaeontology. Every new observer brings something of his or her own: a new technique, a new intelligence, even new mistakes. The past mutates. The scientist is on a perpetual journey into a past that can never be fully known, and there is no end to the quest for…” quote by Richard Fortey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de4/richard-fortey-24595_evolution_there-is-no-final-truth-in-palaeontology_427243.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de4/richard-fortey-24595_evolution_there-is-no-final-truth-in-palaeontology_427243.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de4/richard-fortey-24595_evolution_there-is-no-final-truth-in-palaeontology_427243.png) > ““There is no final truth in palaeontology. Every new observer brings something of his or her own: a new technique, a new intelligence, even new mistakes. The past mutates. The scientist is on a perpetual journey into a past that can never be fully known, and there is no end to the quest for knowledge.”” [Richard Fortey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-fortey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Science is an ever‑evolving field where each new perspective reshapes our understanding of the past, making absolute truth unattainable. **In simple terms:** Knowledge changes as new ideas appear. Key Takeaway Embrace continual learning and humility. Themes science knowledge humility Mood curious reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - academic research - museum curation - education - public talks Key Concepts epistemology history of science Questions to Reflect On - How do we balance skepticism with confidence? - What role does error play in scientific advancement? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on uncertainty can paralyze progress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Evolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evolution/) [Final Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/final-truth-365356/) [Palaeontology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/palaeontology/) [Palaeontology New](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/palaeontology-new-3774238/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Truth Palaeontology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth-palaeontology-3774237/) ## Related quotes > [These are the experiences I wish to record in this book, which should really be called The Diary of a Palaeontologist. But in committing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustav-heinrich-ralph-von-koenigswald/these-are-the-experiences-i-wish-to-record-in-this-book-which-should/) [Gustav Heinrich Ralph von Koenigswald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustav-heinrich-ralph-von-koenigswald/) > [If we turn to palaeontology to tell us about our biological evolution it is to prehistory that we look for evidence of the evolution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-g-d-clark/if-we-turn-to-palaeontology-to-tell-us-about-our-biological-evolution/) [John G. D. Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-g-d-clark/) > [Nothing from man's hands, nor law, nor constitution, can be final. Truth alone is final.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-sumner/nothing-from-man-s-hands-nor-law-nor-constitution-can-be-final-truth/) [Charles Sumner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-sumner/) > [There can be no final truth in ethics any more than in physics, until the last man has had his experience and said his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/there-can-be-no-final-truth-in-ethics-any-more-than-in-physics-until/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [“How you do life is your real and final truth, not what ideas you believe.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/how-you-do-life-is-your-real-and-final-truth-not-what-ideas-you/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [This is the world of One Taste, with no inside and no outside, no subject and no object, no in here versus out there,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/this-is-the-world-of-one-taste-with-no-inside-and-no-outside-no/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [If you come to a negotiation table saying you have the final truth, that you know nothing but the truth and that is final,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harri-holkeri/if-you-come-to-a-negotiation-table-saying-you-have-the-final-truth/) [Harri Holkeri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harri-holkeri/) > [The failure of the system to deal quickly was attributable to Nixon's lying, stonewalling and refusal to come clean. So it took 26 months…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-woodward/the-failure-of-the-system-to-deal-quickly-was-attributable-to-nixon-s/) [Bob Woodward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-woodward/) > [There is neither creation nor destruction, neither destiny nor free will, neither path nor achievement. This is the final truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramana-maharshi/there-is-neither-creation-nor-destruction-neither-destiny-nor-free/) [Ramana Maharshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramana-maharshi/) > [The number of known human fossils only increases slowly. But the manner of regarding and assessing them is capable of progressing rapidly, as indeed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/the-number-of-known-human-fossils-only-increases-slowly-but-the/) [Pierre Teilhard de Chardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/) > [“Evolution requires intermediate forms between species and palaeontology does not provide them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-kitts/evolution-requires-intermediate-forms-between-species-and/) [David Kitts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-kitts/) > [Palaeontology is the Aladdin's lamp of the most deserted and lifeless regions of the earth; it touches the rocks and there spring forth in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-chapman-andrews/palaeontology-is-the-aladdin-s-lamp-of-the-most-deserted-and-lifeless/) [Roy Chapman Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-chapman-andrews/) > [“Nature has a habit of placing some of her most attractive treasures in places where it is difficult to locate and obtain them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-doolittle-walcott/nature-has-a-habit-of-placing-some-of-her-most-attractive-treasures/) [Charles Doolittle Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-doolittle-walcott/) > [Specialisation paralyses, ultra-specialisation kills. Palaeontology is littered with such catastrophes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/specialisation-paralyses-ultra-specialisation-kills-palaeontology-is/) [Pierre Teilhard de Chardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/) > [“Why did Dodgson just stand there like that? That's not the way to act around predators. You get caught around lions, you make a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-crichton/why-did-dodgson-just-stand-there-like-that-that-s-not-the-way-to-act/) [Michael Crichton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-crichton/) ## More by Richard Fortey > [“Every new discovery about the genome is consistent with evolution having happened. Whether we find it appealing or not is another question, but personally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-fortey/every-new-discovery-about-the-genome-is-consistent-with-evolution/) [Richard Fortey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-fortey/) > [“Without death there is little innovation. Extinction - death of a species - is part and parcel of evolutionary change. In the absence of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-fortey/without-death-there-is-little-innovation-extinction-death-of-a/) [Richard Fortey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-fortey/) > [“But, for now, I retreated back down the little hidden staircase into the familiar world of the basement of the Natural History Museum, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-fortey/but-for-now-i-retreated-back-down-the-little-hidden-staircase-into/) [Richard Fortey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-fortey/) > [The great proliferation of museums in the nineteenth century was a product of the marriage of the exhibition as a way of awakening intelligent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-fortey/the-great-proliferation-of-museums-in-the-nineteenth-century-was-a/) [Richard Fortey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-fortey/) > [“Whether we find it appealing or not is another question, but personally I like being fourth cousin to a mushroom and having a bonobo…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-fortey/whether-we-find-it-appealing-or-not-is-another-question-but/) [Richard Fortey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-fortey/) > [I believe profoundly in the importance of museums; I would go as far as to say that you can judge a society by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-fortey/i-believe-profoundly-in-the-importance-of-museums-i-would-go-as-far/) [Richard Fortey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-fortey/) > [“Mankind is nothing more than a parasitic tick gorging himself on temporary plenty while the seas are low and the climate is clement. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-fortey/mankind-is-nothing-more-than-a-parasitic-tick-gorging-himself-on/) [Richard Fortey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-fortey/) > [“I attempted in vain to calculate the size of the holdings on the shelves, floor on floor, only to boggle hopelessly, baffled by bibliographic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-fortey/i-attempted-in-vain-to-calculate-the-size-of-the-holdings-on-the/) [Richard Fortey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-fortey/) > [I wonder if we are seeing a return to the object in the science-based museum. Since any visitor can go to a film like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-fortey/i-wonder-if-we-are-seeing-a-return-to-the-object-in-the-science-based/) [Richard Fortey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-fortey/) > [A life accumulates a collection: of people, work and perplexities. We are all our own curators.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-fortey/a-life-accumulates-a-collection-of-people-work-and-perplexities-we/) [Richard Fortey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-fortey/) > [“When I meet some of my commuting acquaintances on the 6.21 home to Henley-on-Thames they occasionally enquire what I have done that day. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-fortey/when-i-meet-some-of-my-commuting-acquaintances-on-the-6-21-home-to/) [Richard Fortey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-fortey/) > [“Trilobites survived for a total of three hundred million years, almost the whole duration of the Palaeozoic era: who are we johnny-come-latelies to label…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-fortey/trilobites-survived-for-a-total-of-three-hundred-million-years-almost/) [Richard Fortey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-fortey/) > [“There might be symphonies of perfume, Mozarts of musk. Novelists might construct nasal narratives, versifiers sonnets of scent. Sculpture would entail subtleties of shape…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-fortey/there-might-be-symphonies-of-perfume-mozarts-of-musk-novelists-might/) [Richard Fortey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-fortey/) > [“In the Spirit Building there are thousands upon thousands of jars containing fish or snake, octopus or lobster, pickled to the life. ... As…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-fortey/in-the-spirit-building-there-are-thousands-upon-thousands-of-jars/) [Richard Fortey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-fortey/) > [“I recall the words of Charles Darwin in his Autobiography. ‘I rejoice that I have avoided controversies, and this I owe to Charles Lyell,\*…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-fortey/i-recall-the-words-of-charles-darwin-in-his-autobiography-i-rejoice/) [Richard Fortey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-fortey/) [Explore all 24 Richard Fortey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-fortey/) ## More Evolution quotes > [I rap when I'm rich. I rap when I'm broke. I rap when I'm bullshit in the street. I rap about only having one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/killer-mike/i-rap-when-i-m-rich-i-rap-when-i-m-broke-i-rap-when-i-m-bullshit-in/) [Killer Mike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/killer-mike/) > [At the deepest level, all living things that have ever been looked at have the same DNA code. And many of the same genes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/at-the-deepest-level-all-living-things-that-have-ever-been-looked-at/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“A question for Christians who accept evolution: When did we gain a "soul"? Did Homo habilis have a soul? Homo ergaster? Did God only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-g-mcafee/a-question-for-christians-who-accept-evolution-when-did-we-gain-a/) [David G. McAfee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-g-mcafee/) > [If the polymer chain assumes a helicoidal conformation in the crystalline state, and if it does not contain asymmetric carbon atoms, it can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giulio-natta/if-the-polymer-chain-assumes-a-helicoidal-conformation-in-the/) [Giulio Natta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giulio-natta/) > [“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/) > [Guns have little or nothing to do with juvenile violence. The causes of youth violence are working parents who put their kids into daycare,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-delay/guns-have-little-or-nothing-to-do-with-juvenile-violence-the-causes/) [Tom DeLay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-delay/) > [The fact -- not theory -- that evolution has occurred and the Darwinian theory as to how it occurred have become so confused in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-gaylord-simpson/the-fact-not-theory-that-evolution-has-occurred-and-the-darwinian/) [George Gaylord Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-gaylord-simpson/) > [Perhaps no order of mammals presents us with so extraordinary a series of gradations as this \[step by step, from humans to apes to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/perhaps-no-order-of-mammals-presents-us-with-so-extraordinary-a/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [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/) > [The true nature of soul is right knowledge, right faith and right conduct. The soul, so long as it is subject to transmigration, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virchand-gandhi/the-true-nature-of-soul-is-right-knowledge-right-faith-and-right/) [Virchand Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virchand-gandhi/) > [“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/) > [The shelves of many evangelicals are full of books that point out the flaws in evolution, discuss it only as a theory, and almost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-collins/the-shelves-of-many-evangelicals-are-full-of-books-that-point-out-the/) [Francis Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-collins/) > [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/) > [The next evolution of content marketing is not more content; it's better distribution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-penn/the-next-evolution-of-content-marketing-is-not-more-content-it-s/) [Chris Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-penn/) [Browse all 6,185 Evolution quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evolution/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“There is no final truth in palaeontology. Every new observer brings something of his or her own: a new technique, a new intelligence, even new mistakes. The past mutates. 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