--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There are two classes [of scientists]…" description: "\"There are two classes [of scientists], those who want to know, and do not care whether others think they know or not, and those who do not much care ab..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17f/samuel-butler-823_care_there-are-two-classes-of-scientists-thos_2810189.jpg" --- # There are two classes \[of scientists\], those who want to… ![“There are two classes [of scientists], those who want to know, and do not care whether others think they know or not, and those who do not much care about knowing, but care very greatly about being reputed as knowing.” quote by Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17f/samuel-butler-823_care_there-are-two-classes-of-scientists-thos_2810189.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17f/samuel-butler-823_care_there-are-two-classes-of-scientists-thos_2810189.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17f/samuel-butler-823_care_there-are-two-classes-of-scientists-thos_2810189.jpg) > “There are two classes \[of scientists\], those who want to know, and do not care whether others think they know or not, and those who do not much care about knowing, but care very greatly about being reputed as knowing.” [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Scientists split into two types: those driven by pure curiosity and those motivated by reputation. **In simple terms:** Two motivations: knowledge vs. status. Key Takeaway Seek truth, not fame. Themes curiosity reputation science Mood analytical critical Type philosophical observational When to use this quote - academic research - public policy - media coverage Key Concepts epistemology social dynamics Questions to Reflect On - Do you value curiosity over fame? - How does reputation affect your work? A Different Perspective Reputation can also drive rigorous work; not purely negative. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Care](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/care/) [Care Knowing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/care-knowing-1352171/) [Class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/class/) [Classes Scientists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/classes-scientists-3514097/) [Knowing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowing/) [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Reputed Knowing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reputed-knowing-3514099/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Scientist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scientist/) [Scientists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scientists/) [Scientists Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scientists-want-3514098/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Two](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) ## Related quotes > [Scientists want to know the evidence behind a statement; they want reproducible tests and verifiable facts. 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And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-perry/i-think-there-are-a-substantial-number-of-scientists-who-have/) [Rick Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-perry/) > [Scientists care deeply about their place in that culture, and their contribution to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haldan-keffer-hartline/scientists-care-deeply-about-their-place-in-that-culture-and-their/) [Haldan Keffer Hartline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haldan-keffer-hartline/) > [Though neglectful of their responsibility to protect science, scientists are increasingly aware of their responsibility to society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-charles-polanyi/though-neglectful-of-their-responsibility-to-protect-science/) [John Charles Polanyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-charles-polanyi/) > [Physicists analyse systems. Web scientists, however, can create the systems.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-berners-lee/physicists-analyse-systems-web-scientists-however-can-create-the/) [Tim Berners-Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-berners-lee/) > [When you're in a room with twenty people who've all got the True Theory of the universe, it's difficult to know what to do.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-wertheim/when-you-re-in-a-room-with-twenty-people-who-ve-all-got-the-true/) [Margaret Wertheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-wertheim/) > [ They \[scientists of centuries past\] call on God only from the lonely and precarious edge of incomprehension. Where they feel certain about their explanations,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/they-scientists-of-centuries-past-call-on-god-only-from-the-lonely/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [The caricature of science is that we hold tight to the theories we have, and shun challenges to them. That's just not true. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/the-caricature-of-science-is-that-we-hold-tight-to-the-theories-we/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) ## More by Samuel Butler > [Is life worth living? This is a question for an embryo not for a man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/is-life-worth-living-this-is-a-question-for-an-embryo-not-for-a-man/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [I am the enfant terrible of literature and science. 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Whether it is or is not more efficacious I do not know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/vaccination-is-the-medical-sacrament-corresponding-to-baptism-whether/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [“Having, then, once introduced an element of inconsistency into his system, he was far too consistent not to be inconsistent consistently, and he lapsed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/having-then-once-introduced-an-element-of-inconsistency-into-his/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [Brigands demand your money or your life; women require both.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/brigands-demand-your-money-or-your-life-women-require-both/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [A man who lets himself be bored is even more contemptible than the bore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/a-man-who-lets-himself-be-bored-is-even-more-contemptible-than-the/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [It is not sufficiently considered in the hour of exultation, that all human excellence is comparative; that no man performs much but in proportion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/it-is-not-sufficiently-considered-in-the-hour-of-exultation-that-all/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [“The oldest books are still only just out to those who have not read them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/the-oldest-books-are-still-only-just-out-to-those-who-have-not-read/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) [Explore all 355 Samuel Butler quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) ## More Care quotes > [I think, here's what I've realized from interviewing people, and I've been very open about my Catholicism and my love of Christ and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-mohr/i-think-here-s-what-i-ve-realized-from-interviewing-people-and-i-ve/) [Jay Mohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-mohr/) > [We all know what it feels like to love someone and care about them and want to protect them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiana-madeira/we-all-know-what-it-feels-like-to-love-someone-and-care-about-them/) [Kiana Madeira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiana-madeira/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! 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