--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The ideas of science germinate in a…" description: "\"The ideas of science germinate in a matrix of established knowledge gained by experiment; they are not lonesome thoughts, born in a rarified realm wher..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/713/seth-shostak-2047_before_the-ideas-of-science-germinate-in-a-matr_1378495.png" --- # The ideas of science germinate in a matrix of established… ![“The ideas of science germinate in a matrix of established knowledge gained by experiment; they are not lonesome thoughts, born in a rarified realm where no researcher has ever gone before.” quote by Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/713/seth-shostak-2047_before_the-ideas-of-science-germinate-in-a-matr_1378495.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/713/seth-shostak-2047_before_the-ideas-of-science-germinate-in-a-matr_1378495.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/713/seth-shostak-2047_before_the-ideas-of-science-germinate-in-a-matr_1378495.png) > “The ideas of science germinate in a matrix of established knowledge gained by experiment; they are not lonesome thoughts, born in a rarified realm where no researcher has ever gone before.” [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Scientific ideas grow from existing knowledge and experiments, not in isolation. **In simple terms:** Ideas need a knowledge base to develop. Key Takeaway Build on prior work. Themes science collaboration knowledge experimentation innovation Mood curious optimistic analytical Type educational inspirational When to use this quote - research labs - academic conferences - cross‑disciplinary projects - R&D teams Key Concepts epistemology network effects cumulative progress Questions to Reflect On - How can we foster environments that challenge existing assumptions? - What mechanisms help integrate disparate knowledge? A Different Perspective Ideas may be constrained by prevailing paradigms. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Experiment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experiment/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [Knowledge gained](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge-gained/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) [Research](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/research/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Thoughts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thoughts/) ## Related quotes > [“Through wisdom your days will be many, and years will be added to your life… By wisdom a house is built, by understanding it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/king-solomon/through-wisdom-your-days-will-be-many-and-years-will-be-added-to-your/) [King Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/king-solomon/) > [“The issue is not indifference to established knowledge; it’s the emergence of a positive hostility to such knowledge. This is new in American culture,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-m-nichols/the-issue-is-not-indifference-to-established-knowledge-it-s-the/) [Thomas M. Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-m-nichols/) > [Through wisdom is a house built; and by understanding it is established; and by knowledge shall every room be filled with precious and pleasant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bible/through-wisdom-is-a-house-built-and-by-understanding-it-is/) [Bible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bible/) > [“Knowledge without action is like a bow without a string.” A relationship as close as blood relationship must be established between knowledge and action.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-rosenthal/knowledge-without-action-is-like-a-bow-without-a-string-a/) [Franz Rosenthal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-rosenthal/) > [To have ideas one must have imagination. To express ideas one must have science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-henri/to-have-ideas-one-must-have-imagination-to-express-ideas-one-must/) [Robert Henri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-henri/) > [“we proposed eighteen great ideas of science that we felt framed virtually all discoveries of the natural world and all advances in technology. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-hazen/we-proposed-eighteen-great-ideas-of-science-that-we-felt-framed/) [Robert M. Hazen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-hazen/) > [In every science, after having analysed the ideas, expressing the more complicated by means of the more simple, one finds a certain number that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giuseppe-peano/in-every-science-after-having-analysed-the-ideas-expressing-the-more/) [Giuseppe Peano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giuseppe-peano/) > [In science one must search for ideas. If there are no ideas, there is no science. A knowledge of facts is only valuable in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vissarion-belinsky/in-science-one-must-search-for-ideas-if-there-are-no-ideas-there-is/) [Vissarion Belinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vissarion-belinsky/) > [In science the important thing is to modify and change one's ideas as science advances.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/in-science-the-important-thing-is-to-modify-and-change-one-s-ideas-as/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [I am a storyteller and a researcher, and I'm sorry the world has a hard time straddling the tension of those two things, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/i-am-a-storyteller-and-a-researcher-and-i-m-sorry-the-world-has-a/) [Brené Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/) > [I want to create an environment where I can create technology, get it into the hands of someone to market it, and move on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jefferson-han/i-want-to-create-an-environment-where-i-can-create-technology-get-it/) [Jefferson Han](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jefferson-han/) > [“The true worth of a researcher lies in pursuing what he did not seek in his experiment as well as what he sought.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-bernard/the-true-worth-of-a-researcher-lies-in-pursuing-what-he-did-not-seek/) [Claude Bernard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-bernard/) > [At my first job as an independent researcher at MIT Lincoln Laboratory, they told me I could work on most anything, but not what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/at-my-first-job-as-an-independent-researcher-at-mit-lincoln/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm a researcher, so I'm realistic that there's nothing I'm doing that's going to prevent me from getting cancer in the future. But I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-rath/i-m-a-researcher-so-i-m-realistic-that-there-s-nothing-i-m-doing-that/) [Tom Rath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-rath/) > [Reading papers and memorizing them doesn't make you a good researcher.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tasuku-honjo/reading-papers-and-memorizing-them-doesn-t-make-you-a-good-researcher/) [Tasuku Honjo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tasuku-honjo/) ## More by Seth Shostak > [Studying Sol's interior by looking for analogous patterns on its incandescent face is known as helioseismology, an active - if largely unpronounceable - research…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/studying-sol-s-interior-by-looking-for-analogous-patterns-on-its/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [Some pundits have proposed that the aliens have come here to breed with us. Apparently, too much bike riding or something similar has rendered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/some-pundits-have-proposed-that-the-aliens-have-come-here-to-breed/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [As far as I can tell, the only unambiguous consequence of the claimed invasion of Earth by beings from another star system has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/as-far-as-i-can-tell-the-only-unambiguous-consequence-of-the-claimed/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [Look, science is hard, it has a reputation of being hard, and the facts are, it is hard, and that's the result of 400…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/look-science-is-hard-it-has-a-reputation-of-being-hard-and-the-facts/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [Give consideration to the fact that alien astronomers could have scrutinized Earth for more than 4 billion years without detecting any radio signals, despite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/give-consideration-to-the-fact-that-alien-astronomers-could-have/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [In a movie, it's often important to have aliens whose gestures and facial expressions can be 'read' by humans. And in the days before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/in-a-movie-it-s-often-important-to-have-aliens-whose-gestures-and/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [Sure, nobody will make a fortune if we figure out why the Big Bang happened. But just about everyone would like to know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/sure-nobody-will-make-a-fortune-if-we-figure-out-why-the-big-bang/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [If you could drive straight down, into a tunnel bored through the crust of the planet, you'd hit this molten mess in about an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/if-you-could-drive-straight-down-into-a-tunnel-bored-through-the/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [While I have always thought that the motivation for looking for E.T. was both self-evident and patently worthy, it's possible that I'm a victim…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/while-i-have-always-thought-that-the-motivation-for-looking-for-e-t/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [I studied Latin in high school, and I was reading stuff from Cicero. And that signal took a few thousand years to get to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/i-studied-latin-in-high-school-and-i-was-reading-stuff-from-cicero/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [About the only things that are unique to Earth are our biota and our culture. If aliens ever come here, they'd most likely be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/about-the-only-things-that-are-unique-to-earth-are-our-biota-and-our/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [This plucky NASA telescope is able to find planets en masse. If you compare planet hunting to prospecting for gold, then Kepler is equivalent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/this-plucky-nasa-telescope-is-able-to-find-planets-en-masse-if-you/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [The most attractive habitats for synthetic sentience might be the vicinities of exceptional sources of energy - for example black holes, or even the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/the-most-attractive-habitats-for-synthetic-sentience-might-be-the/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [Buying insurance is no one's idea of fun. And it's especially easy to berate something as funky-sounding as writing checks to defend our neighborhoods…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/buying-insurance-is-no-one-s-idea-of-fun-and-it-s-especially-easy-to/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [Plate tectonics is not all havoc and destruction. The slow movement of continents and ocean floors recycles carbon dioxide dissolved in the oceans back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/plate-tectonics-is-not-all-havoc-and-destruction-the-slow-movement-of/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) [Explore all 189 Seth Shostak quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) ## More Before quotes > [If you ask an introvert a question, wait until she thinks about it. Introverts think before speaking, not through speaking. If you want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-helgoe/if-you-ask-an-introvert-a-question-wait-until-she-thinks-about-it/) [Laurie Helgoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-helgoe/) > [I want to make myself and the crowd happy by way of something different, and that makes things difficult. 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I've done that before, because sometimes you work for magazines and they have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-sacco/i-don-t-like-just-traveling-in-for-a-short-time-i-ve-done-that-before/) [Joe Sacco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-sacco/) > [Music is almost like a therapy for me. It helps keep me centered and think straight. Before I discovered it, I was walking around,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banks/music-is-almost-like-a-therapy-for-me-it-helps-keep-me-centered-and/) [Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banks/) > [My first company, Pure Software, was exciting and innovative in the first few years and bureaucratic and painful in the last few before it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reed-hastings/my-first-company-pure-software-was-exciting-and-innovative-in-the/) [Reed Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reed-hastings/) > [For the Russian masses, the proletarians, knew for certain, and already saw during the war, and in part before their very eyes, that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-gorter/for-the-russian-masses-the-proletarians-knew-for-certain-and-already/) [Herman Gorter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-gorter/) > [The Constitution is very clear on the - on the declaration of war or reacting to international crimes - crimes against nations. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-pitts/the-constitution-is-very-clear-on-the-on-the-declaration-of-war-or/) Joe Pitts > [I've been told before, and I tend to believe it, I'm not like most actresses out there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moira-kelly/i-ve-been-told-before-and-i-tend-to-believe-it-i-m-not-like-most/) [Moira Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moira-kelly/) > [Before I got addicted to comedy, I was seriously thinking about playing tennis full time. I joined the tennis team and played with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrot-top/before-i-got-addicted-to-comedy-i-was-seriously-thinking-about/) [Carrot Top](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrot-top/) > [But even before I was in the military, I was extremely jumpy when asleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-kyle/but-even-before-i-was-in-the-military-i-was-extremely-jumpy-when/) [Chris Kyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-kyle/) > [When I'm making stuff, the thing that excites me most is not the result, but the process and trying to do something I've never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spike-jonze/when-i-m-making-stuff-the-thing-that-excites-me-most-is-not-the/) [Spike Jonze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spike-jonze/) > [I've pulled ticks off of me before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-miller/i-ve-pulled-ticks-off-of-me-before/) [Jim Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-miller/) > [You know, before I would think, my cab driver hates me. Now I think my limo driver hates me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-romano/you-know-before-i-would-think-my-cab-driver-hates-me-now-i-think-my/) [Ray Romano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-romano/) Browse all 4,123 Before quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The ideas of science germinate in a matrix of established knowledge gained by experiment; they are not lonesome thoughts, born in a rarified realm where no researcher has ever gone before.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Seth Shostak" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/the-ideas-of-science-germinate-in-a-matrix-of-established-knowledge/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Before" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/the-ideas-of-science-germinate-in-a-matrix-of-established-knowledge/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/713/seth-shostak-2047_before_the-ideas-of-science-germinate-in-a-matr_1378495.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/713/seth-shostak-2047_before_the-ideas-of-science-germinate-in-a-matr_1378495.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/713/seth-shostak-2047_before_the-ideas-of-science-germinate-in-a-matr_1378495.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The ideas of science germinate in a matrix of established knowledge gained by experiment; they are not…” — Seth Shostak", "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": "Seth Shostak", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The ideas of science germinate in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/the-ideas-of-science-germinate-in-a-matrix-of-established-knowledge/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/the-ideas-of-science-germinate-in-a-matrix-of-established-knowledge/#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 } } ] } ```