--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A well-known scientist (some say it was…" description: "\"“A well-known scientist (some say it was Bertrand Russell) once gave a public lecture on astronomy. He described how the earth orbits around the sun an..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e19/stephen-hawking-389_astronomy_a-well-known-scientist-some-say-it-was-b_903581.jpg" --- # A well-known scientist (some say it was Bertrand Russell)… ![“A well-known scientist (some say it was Bertrand Russell) once gave a public lecture on astronomy. He described how the earth orbits around the sun and how the sun, in turn, orbits around the center of a vast collection of stars called our galaxy. At teh end of the lecture, a little old lady at…” quote by Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e19/stephen-hawking-389_astronomy_a-well-known-scientist-some-say-it-was-b_903581.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e19/stephen-hawking-389_astronomy_a-well-known-scientist-some-say-it-was-b_903581.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e19/stephen-hawking-389_astronomy_a-well-known-scientist-some-say-it-was-b_903581.jpg) > ““A well-known scientist (some say it was Bertrand Russell) once gave a public lecture on astronomy. He described how the earth orbits around the sun and how the sun, in turn, orbits around the center of a vast collection of stars called our galaxy. At teh end of the lecture, a little old lady at the back of the room got up and said: "What you have told us is rubbish. The world is really a flat plate supported on the back of a giant tortoise." The scientist gave a superior smile before replying, "What is the tortoise standing on?" "You're very clever, young man, very clever, " said the old lady. "But it turtles all the way down!”” [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The anecdote illustrates infinite regress: questioning a claim leads to deeper, possibly endless, foundations. **In simple terms:** Questioning leads to deeper layers. Key Takeaway Recognize limits of explanations. Themes philosophy science skepticism inquiry Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type philosophical humorous When to use this quote - education - debates - science communication - philosophical discussions Key Concepts infinite regress epistemology critical thinking Questions to Reflect On - What assumptions do we accept without proof? - How do we handle infinite regress in reasoning? A Different Perspective Each answer may generate another question, never reaching a final base. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Around The Sun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/around-the-sun/) [Astronomy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/astronomy/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Turtles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/turtles/) ## Related quotes > [“If an Elder shall give us a lecture upon astronomy, chemistry, or geology, our religion embraces it all. It matters not what the subject…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brigham-young/if-an-elder-shall-give-us-a-lecture-upon-astronomy-chemistry-or/) [Brigham Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brigham-young/) > [“Anyway. 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(That's what Galileo purportedly muttered after torturers forced him to recant his theory that the earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galileo-galilei/e-pur-si-muove-albeit-it-does-move-that-s-what-galileo-purportedly/) [Galileo Galilei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galileo-galilei/) > [“E pur si muove." (And yet it moves.) ( What Galileo purportedly muttered after torturers forced him to recant his theory that the earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galileo-galilei/e-pur-si-muove-and-yet-it-moves-what-galileo-purportedly-muttered/) [Galileo Galilei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galileo-galilei/) > [Man and the earth move in orbits: what they did before, they will do again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-o-malley/man-and-the-earth-move-in-orbits-what-they-did-before-they-will-do/) [Austin O'Malley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-o-malley/) > [“E pur si muove. 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There is no excuse for thinking that the Sun, which is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/science-literacy-is-being-plugged-into-the-forces-that-power-the/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [ “The Sexual plight of these children \[those adolescents experimenting sexually\] is officially not mentioned. The revolutionary attack on hypocrisy by Ibsen, Freud, Ellis, Dreiser,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-goodman/the-sexual-plight-of-these-children-those-adolescents-experimenting/) [Paul Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-goodman/) > [“Bertrand Russell:   The expression “free thought” is often used as if it meant merely opposition to the prevailing orthodoxy. But this is only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-m-s-pearce/bertrand-russell-the-expression-free-thought-is-often-used-as-if-it/) Jonathan M.S. 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For me this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/we-have-finally-found-something-that-doesn-t-have-a-cause-because/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [ \[On President Bush's plan to get to Mars in 10 years\] Stupid. Robots would do a better job and be much cheaper because you… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/on-president-bush-s-plan-to-get-to-mars-in-10-years-stupid-robots/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [I believe the simplest explanation is, there is no God. No one created the universe and no one directs our fate. 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Science will win…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/there-is-a-fundamental-difference-between-religion-which-is-based-on/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [“In the eighteenth century, philosophers considered the whole of human knowledge, including science, to be their field and discussed questions such as: Did the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/in-the-eighteenth-century-philosophers-considered-the-whole-of-human/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [A model is a good model if first it interprets a wide range of observations in terms of a simple and elegant model, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/a-model-is-a-good-model-if-first-it-interprets-a-wide-range-of/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [“Empedocles noticed that if you cover the neck before you immerse it, a clepsydra does not fill. He reasoned that something invisible must be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/empedocles-noticed-that-if-you-cover-the-neck-before-you-immerse-it-a/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [The human race shouldn't have all its eggs in one basket, or on one planet. Let's hope we can avoid dropping the basket until…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/the-human-race-shouldn-t-have-all-its-eggs-in-one-basket-or-on-one/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [I hope I have helped to raise the profile of science and to show that physics is not a mystery but can be understood…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/i-hope-i-have-helped-to-raise-the-profile-of-science-and-to-show-that/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) [Explore all 601 Stephen Hawking quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) ## More Astronomy quotes > [I have inside me the winds, the deserts, the oceans, the stars, and everything created in the universe. We were all made by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/i-have-inside-me-the-winds-the-deserts-the-oceans-the-stars-and/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [Mankind have been slow to believe that order reigns in the universe-that the world is a cosmos and a chaos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/mankind-have-been-slow-to-believe-that-order-reigns-in-the-universe/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [Wen daylight turns to a darkened hue, D lovely stars hinting at u, ur heart beat tells u something true, That some 1 badly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/butterfly-kisses/wen-daylight-turns-to-a-darkened-hue-d-lovely-stars-hinting-at-u-ur/) Butterfly\_Kisses > [Home is behind, the world ahead, And there are many paths to tread Through shadows to the edge of night, Until the stars are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/home-is-behind-the-world-ahead-and-there-are-many-paths-to-tread/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [In the movie, the stars above the ship bear no correspondence to any constellations in a real sky. 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The world is really a flat plate supported on the back of a giant tortoise.\" The scientist gave a superior smile before replying, \"What is the tortoise standing on?\" \"You're very clever, young man, very clever, \" said the old lady. \"But it turtles all the way down!”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Stephen Hawking" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/a-well-known-scientist-some-say-it-was-bertrand-russell-once-gave-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Astronomy" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/a-well-known-scientist-some-say-it-was-bertrand-russell-once-gave-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e19/stephen-hawking-389_astronomy_a-well-known-scientist-some-say-it-was-b_903581.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e19/stephen-hawking-389_astronomy_a-well-known-scientist-some-say-it-was-b_903581.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e19/stephen-hawking-389_astronomy_a-well-known-scientist-some-say-it-was-b_903581.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A well-known scientist (some say it was Bertrand Russell) once gave a public lecture on astronomy. 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