--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Every fact of science was once Damned…" description: "\"Every fact of science was once Damned. Every invention was considered impossible. Every discovery was a nervous shock to some orthodoxy. Every artistic..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f25/robert-anton-wilson-1198_artistic_every-fact-of-science-was-once-damned-ev_1648320.jpg" --- # Every fact of science was once Damned. Every invention was… ![“Every fact of science was once Damned. Every invention was considered impossible. Every discovery was a nervous shock to some orthodoxy. Every artistic innovation was denounced as fraud and folly. The entire web of culture and "progress," everything on earth that is man-made and not given to us by…” quote by Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f25/robert-anton-wilson-1198_artistic_every-fact-of-science-was-once-damned-ev_1648320.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f25/robert-anton-wilson-1198_artistic_every-fact-of-science-was-once-damned-ev_1648320.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f25/robert-anton-wilson-1198_artistic_every-fact-of-science-was-once-damned-ev_1648320.jpg) > “Every fact of science was once Damned. Every invention was considered impossible. Every discovery was a nervous shock to some orthodoxy. Every artistic innovation was denounced as fraud and folly. The entire web of culture and "progress," everything on earth that is man-made and not given to us by nature, is the concrete manifestation of some man's refusal to bow to Authority.” [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Scientific and artistic breakthroughs face resistance; cultural progress often stems from challenging authority. **In simple terms:** New ideas are often rejected at first. Key Takeaway Embrace questioning authority to foster innovation. Themes innovation authority culture progress skepticism Mood critical inquisitive Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - research labs - artistic communities - policy debates - education reform Key Concepts paradigm shift social dynamics creative risk Questions to Reflect On - What mechanisms can balance respect for tradition with innovation? - How do you differentiate healthy skepticism from obstruction? A Different Perspective Resistance can also stem from legitimate concerns, not just authority. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artistic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artistic/) [Authority](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/authority/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Discovery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discovery/) [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Folly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/folly/) [Fraud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fraud/) [Innovation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/innovation/) [Invention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/invention/) [Manifestation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/manifestation/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Nervous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nervous/) [Orthodoxy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/orthodoxy/) [Progress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/progress/) [Recalcitrant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/recalcitrant/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Shock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shock/) ## Related quotes > [Disobedience was man's Original Virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/disobedience-was-man-s-original-virtue/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [“I clawed through a thick web of the culture’s consciousness that I hadn’t known existed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/i-clawed-through-a-thick-web-of-the-culture-s-consciousness-that-i/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [Many dotcoms recruited people from existing companies who were quite experienced in finance, marketing, distribution and other disciplines but not necessarily experienced in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-patrick/many-dotcoms-recruited-people-from-existing-companies-who-were-quite/) [John Patrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-patrick/) > [“An endless series of gambits backed by gigantic investments encouraged young people entering the online world for the first time to create standardized presences…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaron-lanier/an-endless-series-of-gambits-backed-by-gigantic-investments/) [Jaron Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaron-lanier/) > [“Mandel, who died in 1995, had mastered the art of packaging his interiority, an innovation that would become the driving engine behind Web culture.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-siegel/mandel-who-died-in-1995-had-mastered-the-art-of-packaging-his/) [Lee Siegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-siegel/) > [The target market is for people who have not been entrenched in Web culture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-patrick/the-target-market-is-for-people-who-have-not-been-entrenched-in-web/) [John Patrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-patrick/) > [The observation that species are amazingly conservative and static entities throughout long periods of time has all the qualities of the emperor's new clothes:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niles-eldredge/the-observation-that-species-are-amazingly-conservative-and-static/) [Niles Eldredge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niles-eldredge/) > [“affectation of assuming everything was alive and potentially recalcitrant,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/affectation-of-assuming-everything-was-alive-and-potentially/) [John le Carré](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) > [The recalcitrant forces in the historical drama have a power and persistence beyond our reckoning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/the-recalcitrant-forces-in-the-historical-drama-have-a-power-and/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [But now his dry and silent grieving for his lost wife must end, for there she stood, the fierce, recalcitrant, and fragile stranger, forever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/but-now-his-dry-and-silent-grieving-for-his-lost-wife-must-end-for/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [I used to think I had no will to power. Now I perceive that I vented it on thoughts, rather than people. Conquering an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/i-used-to-think-i-had-no-will-to-power-now-i-perceive-that-i-vented/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [Words are as recalcitrant as circus animals, and the unskilled trainer can crack his whip at them in vain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-brenan/words-are-as-recalcitrant-as-circus-animals-and-the-unskilled-trainer/) [Gerald Brenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-brenan/) > [... until both employers' and workers' groups assume responsibility for chastising their own recalcitrant children, they can vainly bay the moon about "ignorant" and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-barnett-gilson/until-both-employers-and-workers-groups-assume-responsibility-for/) [Mary Barnett Gilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-barnett-gilson/) > [ \[The current governing judicial philosophy is:\] If you want something passionately enough, it is guaranteed by the Constitution. No need to fiddle around gathering… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bork/the-current-governing-judicial-philosophy-is-if-you-want-something/) [Robert Bork](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bork/) > [A scientist sets out to conquer nature through knowledge - external nature, external knowledge. By these means he may split the atom and achieve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-k-s-iyengar/a-scientist-sets-out-to-conquer-nature-through-knowledge-external/) [B.K.S. Iyengar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-k-s-iyengar/) ## More by Robert Anton Wilson > [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/) > [The only way to stave off boredom, in a complex domesticated primate like humankind, is to increase one's intelligence. This is not appealing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/the-only-way-to-stave-off-boredom-in-a-complex-domesticated-primate/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [Disobedience was man's Original Virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/disobedience-was-man-s-original-virtue/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [In every state of the Union, Fundamentalists still fight to ban all the science they dislike and prosecute all who teach it. To them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/in-every-state-of-the-union-fundamentalists-still-fight-to-ban-all/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [It is a great privilege to be conscious in this universe. Those who understand, shine like stars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/it-is-a-great-privilege-to-be-conscious-in-this-universe-those-who/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [I will do anything, including highway robbery and murder, to avoid leaving my children in poverty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/i-will-do-anything-including-highway-robbery-and-murder-to-avoid/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [I see anarchism as the theoretical ideal to which we are all gradually evolving to a point where everybody can tell the truth to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/i-see-anarchism-as-the-theoretical-ideal-to-which-we-are-all/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [“Masturbation is not the happiest form of sexuality, but the most advisable for him who wants to be alone and think. I detect the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/masturbation-is-not-the-happiest-form-of-sexuality-but-the-most/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [I like pacifists and people who have a heavy emotional identification with deathism and war would probably call me a pacifist, but I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/i-like-pacifists-and-people-who-have-a-heavy-emotional-identification/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [Cynics regarded everybody as equally corrupt... Idealists regarded everybody as equally corrupt, except themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/cynics-regarded-everybody-as-equally-corrupt-idealists-regarded/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [The most important truths always appear first as blasphemies or obscenities. That's why every great innovator is persecuted. And the sacraments look obscene, too,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/the-most-important-truths-always-appear-first-as-blasphemies-or/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [“When you're dealing with these forces or powers in a philosophic and scientific way, contemplating them from an armchair, that rationalistic approach is useful.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/when-you-re-dealing-with-these-forces-or-powers-in-a-philosophic-and/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [“And Spaceship Earth, that glorious and bloody circus, continued its four-billion-year-long spiral orbit about the Sun; the engineering, I must admit, was so exquisite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/and-spaceship-earth-that-glorious-and-bloody-circus-continued-its/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [Existence is larger than any model that is not itself the exact size of existence (which has no size).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/existence-is-larger-than-any-model-that-is-not-itself-the-exact-size/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [The totally convinced and the totally stupid have too much in common for the resemblance to be accidental.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/the-totally-convinced-and-the-totally-stupid-have-too-much-in-common/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) [Explore all 274 Robert Anton Wilson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) ## More Artistic quotes > [I can skate beautifully. While performing on ice I always try to please the audience and to win as well. Being artistic is very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeni-plushenko/i-can-skate-beautifully-while-performing-on-ice-i-always-try-to/) [Evgeni Plushenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeni-plushenko/) > [We don't make glamorous movies today. Everything now is very realistic, artistic - and depressing. When is the last time you you saw a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-head/we-don-t-make-glamorous-movies-today-everything-now-is-very-realistic/) [Edith Head](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-head/) > [Unfortunately, moral beauty in art - like physical beauty in a person - is extremely perishable. It is nowhere so durable as artistic or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/unfortunately-moral-beauty-in-art-like-physical-beauty-in-a-person-is/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [Ideal for the child and society in the best of times, Rudolf Steiner's brilliant process of education is critically needed and profoundly relevant now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-chilton-pearce/ideal-for-the-child-and-society-in-the-best-of-times-rudolf-steiner-s/) [Joseph Chilton Pearce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-chilton-pearce/) > [In a personal way, to do with family and the father-son relationship, in a kind of artistic way with regard to him being an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-serkis/in-a-personal-way-to-do-with-family-and-the-father-son-relationship/) [Andy Serkis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-serkis/) > [It took me a long time to get to where I am, but I am here and it is everywhere I want to be.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/princess-nokia/it-took-me-a-long-time-to-get-to-where-i-am-but-i-am-here-and-it-is/) [Princess Nokia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/princess-nokia/) > [When we idealize the real, we sacrifice to artistic fancy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-fuseli/when-we-idealize-the-real-we-sacrifice-to-artistic-fancy/) [Henry Fuseli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-fuseli/) > [For now, I'm supposing that all movements are equal, which they're not, except in this respect: that none of them gives a damn about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilfrid-sheed/for-now-i-m-supposing-that-all-movements-are-equal-which-they-re-not/) [Wilfrid Sheed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilfrid-sheed/) > [At a time when painting itself often seems to be a threatened, even despised, form of artistic activity, Andrew Salgado emerges as a dazzlingly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-lucie-smith/at-a-time-when-painting-itself-often-seems-to-be-a-threatened-even/) Edward Lucie-Smith > [I think once the artistic world of the type designer merged with the scientific world of the computer programmer, you began to see this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bierut/i-think-once-the-artistic-world-of-the-type-designer-merged-with-the/) [Michael Bierut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bierut/) > [Abstract Expressionism was invented by New York drunks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/abstract-expressionism-was-invented-by-new-york-drunks/) [Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/) > [Writers and musicians know well the importance of extensive reading for successful writing or extensive listening for musical composition. Likewise, visual artists... understand that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-laseau/writers-and-musicians-know-well-the-importance-of-extensive-reading/) [Paul Laseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-laseau/) > [Being a Catholic, I was drawn to the mystery of the Latin and the smoke and the mirrors and all of that. That part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sarandon/being-a-catholic-i-was-drawn-to-the-mystery-of-the-latin-and-the/) [Susan Sarandon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sarandon/) > [It is, of course, a luxury to create art and, on top of this, to insist on expressing one's own artistic opinion. Nothing is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-beckmann/it-is-of-course-a-luxury-to-create-art-and-on-top-of-this-to-insist/) [Max Beckmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-beckmann/) > [Niches set back in the walls contained polished marble statues of entwined bodies. Will looked away from them hastily, and then back. It wasn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/niches-set-back-in-the-walls-contained-polished-marble-statues-of/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) [Browse all 1,574 Artistic quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artistic/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Every fact of science was once Damned. Every invention was considered impossible. Every discovery was a nervous shock to some orthodoxy. Every artistic innovation was denounced as fraud and folly. 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