--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Science attacks our most cherished…" description: "\"Science attacks our most cherished opinions. Opinions which come straight from our collective gut. Oh, wait, according to gastroenterologists, the only..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21d/stephen-colbert-503_collectives_science-attacks-our-most-cherished-opini_1447635.jpg" --- # Science attacks our most cherished opinions. Opinions… ![“Science attacks our most cherished opinions. Opinions which come straight from our collective gut. Oh, wait, according to gastroenterologists, the only thing that comes from the gut is waste left from the digestion of food. That’s right, “waste.” I guess that means that scientists literally think…” quote by Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21d/stephen-colbert-503_collectives_science-attacks-our-most-cherished-opini_1447635.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21d/stephen-colbert-503_collectives_science-attacks-our-most-cherished-opini_1447635.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21d/stephen-colbert-503_collectives_science-attacks-our-most-cherished-opini_1447635.jpg) > “Science attacks our most cherished opinions. Opinions which come straight from our collective gut. Oh, wait, according to gastroenterologists, the only thing that comes from the gut is waste left from the digestion of food. That’s right, “waste.” I guess that means that scientists literally think our opinions should be flushed down the toilet!” [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Science challenges deeply held beliefs, exposing their origins in instinct rather than evidence. **In simple terms:** Science questions gut‑based opinions. Key Takeaway Examine why you hold certain beliefs. Themes critical thinking science beliefs Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - debates - personal reflection - media consumption Key Concepts cognitive bias empiricism skepticism Questions to Reflect On - What belief would you test scientifically? - How do you balance intuition and evidence? A Different Perspective Science can’t replace personal values, only inform them. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Collective Gut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/collective-gut-5197569/) [Collectives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/collectives/) [Comes Gut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comes-gut-5197570/) [Digestion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/digestion/) [Gut Waste](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gut-waste-5197567/) [Guts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guts/) [Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/) [Opinion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opinion/) [Opinions Flushed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opinions-flushed-5197568/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Scientist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scientist/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Think Opinions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-opinions-293561/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Toilets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/toilets/) [Waiting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/waiting/) [Waste](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/waste/) ## Related quotes > [“Once you get into your thirties, you stop giving a fuck what people think about your opinions. You're more confident.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-b-powell/once-you-get-into-your-thirties-you-stop-giving-a-fuck-what-people/) [Aaron B. Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-b-powell/) > [I think opinions should be judged by their influences and effects; and if a man holds none that tend to make him less virtuous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/i-think-opinions-should-be-judged-by-their-influences-and-effects-and/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [It's arrogant for us to think our opinions are always the right ones & to put others down because they don't think exactly as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-arrogant-for-us-to-think-our-opinions-are-always-the-right-ones/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I don't think most of my opinions, political or social, are so far outside of the mainstream that they'd cause massive outrage on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/i-don-t-think-most-of-my-opinions-political-or-social-are-so-far/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [Few men think, yet all will have opinions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-berkeley/few-men-think-yet-all-will-have-opinions/) [George Berkeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-berkeley/) > [ I barely trust established sources of information. I have a hard time finding \[Wikipedia\], an encyclopedia that anyone can alter, to be a safe… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-k-milholland/i-barely-trust-established-sources-of-information-i-have-a-hard-time/) [R. K. Milholland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-k-milholland/) > [If I don't belong because of what I think and because of my opinions, then so be it. What can one do about it?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herta-m-ller/if-i-don-t-belong-because-of-what-i-think-and-because-of-my-opinions/) [Herta Muller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herta-m-ller/) > [“I don't think my opinions are stupid but other people do, so it's better to keep them to myself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-frank/i-don-t-think-my-opinions-are-stupid-but-other-people-do-so-it-s/) [Anne Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-frank/) > [It is only natural, of course, that each man should think his own opinions best: the crow loves his fledgling, and the ape his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-more/it-is-only-natural-of-course-that-each-man-should-think-his-own/) [Thomas More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-more/) > [I think journalists have the right to their opinions but I think their opinions should be based on history and what they see, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-jacobs/i-think-journalists-have-the-right-to-their-opinions-but-i-think/) [Marc Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-jacobs/) > [“Few men think; yet all have opinions. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-berkeley/few-men-think-yet-all-have-opinions/) [George Berkeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-berkeley/) > [We do not at present educate people to think but, rather, to have opinions, and that is something altogether different.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-l-amour/we-do-not-at-present-educate-people-to-think-but-rather-to-have/) [Louis L'Amour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-l-amour/) > [“Who are these people, and why do they think their own opinions are the only right ones?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huntley-fitzpatrick/who-are-these-people-and-why-do-they-think-their-own-opinions-are-the/) [Huntley Fitzpatrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huntley-fitzpatrick/) > [Books only spoil the originality of genius. Very well for those who can't think for themselves - But when one has made up one's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-edgeworth/books-only-spoil-the-originality-of-genius-very-well-for-those-who/) [Maria Edgeworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-edgeworth/) > [We let other people hurt us simply because we think their opinions and actions are more important than ours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mark/we-let-other-people-hurt-us-simply-because-we-think-their-opinions/) [Terry Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mark/) ## More by Stephen Colbert > [Don't be bitter. Everybody suffers. If you can accept your suffering then you will understand other people better. Be grateful for pain. Love life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/don-t-be-bitter-everybody-suffers-if-you-can-accept-your-suffering/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [Cynicism masquerades as wisdom, but it is the farthest thing from it. Because cynics don’t learn anything. Because cynicism is a self-imposed blindness, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/cynicism-masquerades-as-wisdom-but-it-is-the-farthest-thing-from-it/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [We all deserve credit for this new surveillance state that we live in because we the people voted for the Patriot Act. Democrats and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/we-all-deserve-credit-for-this-new-surveillance-state-that-we-live-in/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [I've long been against illegal aliens, partly because they distract us from an even bigger threat: real aliens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/i-ve-long-been-against-illegal-aliens-partly-because-they-distract-us/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [Believe in me, cause I don't believe in anything, and I wanna be someone to believe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/believe-in-me-cause-i-don-t-believe-in-anything-and-i-wanna-be/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [It's August, which means Congress is on recess and Mitch McConnell has shimmied back into the ocean to seek a mate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/it-s-august-which-means-congress-is-on-recess-and-mitch-mcconnell-has/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [Try to love others and serve others and hopefully find those who love and serve you in return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/try-to-love-others-and-serve-others-and-hopefully-find-those-who-love/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [Thirty seconds is the exact amount of time Americans can tolerate something they don't understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/thirty-seconds-is-the-exact-amount-of-time-americans-can-tolerate/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [I used to make up stuff in my bio all the time, that I used to be a professional ice-skater and stuff like that.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/i-used-to-make-up-stuff-in-my-bio-all-the-time-that-i-used-to-be-a/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [I live by syllogisms: God is love. Love is blind. Stevie Wonder is blind. Therefore, Stevie Wonder is God. I don't know what I'd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/i-live-by-syllogisms-god-is-love-love-is-blind-stevie-wonder-is-blind/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [“Unlike Paul Newman, who seems to think that salad dressing is the cure-all for America's ills, I'm a man of action.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/unlike-paul-newman-who-seems-to-think-that-salad-dressing-is-the-cure/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [Now, for my younger viewers out there, a book is something we used to have before the internet. It’s sort of a blog for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/now-for-my-younger-viewers-out-there-a-book-is-something-we-used-to/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [Jesus forgives sinners, not criminals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/jesus-forgives-sinners-not-criminals/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [Used books are the sluts of the literary world. Passed around from person to person, spreading their pages for anyone, getting cheaper and cheaper…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/used-books-are-the-sluts-of-the-literary-world-passed-around-from/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [“Divorce is a marital welfare. It's just couples asking society to bail them out because they didn't do enough research before they got married.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/divorce-is-a-marital-welfare-it-s-just-couples-asking-society-to-bail/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) [Explore all 514 Stephen Colbert quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) ## More Collectives quotes > [Where I grew up, learning was a collective activity. But when I got to school and tried to share learning with other students that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/where-i-grew-up-learning-was-a-collective-activity-but-when-i-got-to/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [As in any machine, all the wires must be connected to the mains through one main wire. In the same way, you all must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nirmala-srivastava/as-in-any-machine-all-the-wires-must-be-connected-to-the-mains/) [Nirmala Srivastava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nirmala-srivastava/) > [What is accurately portrayed is the rich humanity not just of Martin Luther King but of the movement, which was a multiracial movement. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/what-is-accurately-portrayed-is-the-rich-humanity-not-just-of-martin/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [It clearly follows that to make men moral it is necessary to make their social environment moral. And that can be done in only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-bakunin/it-clearly-follows-that-to-make-men-moral-it-is-necessary-to-make/) [Mikhail Bakunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-bakunin/) > [There is a way in which the collective knowledge of mankind expresses itself, for the finite individual, through mere daily living . . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurens-van-der-post/there-is-a-way-in-which-the-collective-knowledge-of-mankind-expresses/) [Laurens van der Post](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurens-van-der-post/) > [The law is the collective organization of the individual's right to lawful defense of his life, liberty and property. When it is used for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/the-law-is-the-collective-organization-of-the-individual-s-right-to/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [But we need to be very clear: because of our decades of collective denial, no gradual, incremental options are now available to us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-klein/but-we-need-to-be-very-clear-because-of-our-decades-of-collective/) [Naomi Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-klein/) > [A “collective” mind does not exist. It is merely the sum of endless numbers of individual minds. If we have an endless number of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/a-collective-mind-does-not-exist-it-is-merely-the-sum-of-endless/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Through Sahaja Yoga what happens to you, that you become a collective personality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nirmala-srivastava/through-sahaja-yoga-what-happens-to-you-that-you-become-a-collective/) [Nirmala Srivastava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nirmala-srivastava/) > [If you don't allow people to contribute, to offer their point of view, or to criticize what has been put before them, then they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-mandela/if-you-don-t-allow-people-to-contribute-to-offer-their-point-of-view/) [Nelson Mandela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-mandela/) > [“The whole organization seemed to be in free fall, indulging in a collective fantasy in which experienced colleagues refused to admit that their every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-whole-organization-seemed-to-be-in-free-fall-indulging-in-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We seem to have lost contact with the earlier, more profound functions of art, which have always had to do with personal and collective…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-london/we-seem-to-have-lost-contact-with-the-earlier-more-profound-functions/) [Peter London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-london/) > [If you need someone to come out of the sewer with a wire you don't hire someone who needs laborious collective instruction. You let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-monahan/if-you-need-someone-to-come-out-of-the-sewer-with-a-wire-you-don-t/) [William Monahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-monahan/) > [For all the civilians saved thanks to the presence of peacekeepers, there have been those who were lost - the United Nations personnel who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-eliasson/for-all-the-civilians-saved-thanks-to-the-presence-of-peacekeepers/) [Jan Eliasson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-eliasson/) > [Man, in the collective sense, is the hero of science. Man, in the collective sense, is the hero of Earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacque-fresco/man-in-the-collective-sense-is-the-hero-of-science-man-in-the/) [Jacque Fresco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacque-fresco/) [Browse all 1,039 Collectives quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/collectives/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Science attacks our most cherished opinions. Opinions which come straight from our collective gut. Oh, wait, according to gastroenterologists, the only thing that comes from the gut is waste left from the digestion of food. 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