--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: How did scientists get money in the past?…" description: "\"How did scientists get money in the past? They were either lucky and independently wealthy, like Darwin, or they had patrons, like Galileo. Universitie..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/412/stephen-jay-gould-885_get-money_how-did-scientists-get-money-in-the-past_581303.jpg" --- # How did scientists get money in the past? They were either… ![“How did scientists get money in the past? They were either lucky and independently wealthy, like Darwin, or they had patrons, like Galileo. Universities or governments have become patrons only in the last few generations. Many of the great scientists of the past were in debt to their patrons in…” quote by Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/412/stephen-jay-gould-885_get-money_how-did-scientists-get-money-in-the-past_581303.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/412/stephen-jay-gould-885_get-money_how-did-scientists-get-money-in-the-past_581303.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/412/stephen-jay-gould-885_get-money_how-did-scientists-get-money-in-the-past_581303.jpg) > “How did scientists get money in the past? They were either lucky and independently wealthy, like Darwin, or they had patrons, like Galileo. Universities or governments have become patrons only in the last few generations. Many of the great scientists of the past were in debt to their patrons in the same sense that modern scientists are influenced by what their granting agencies want.” [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Science funding historically relied on wealthy patrons; modern research depends on agencies, creating similar dependencies and potential bias. **In simple terms:** Patrons shape science then and now. Key Takeaway Seek diverse funding, guard against bias. Themes science funding bias Mood reflective critical Type analytical informative When to use this quote - research grants - academic careers - policy making - public outreach Key Concepts Patronage dependency Questions to Reflect On - How can scientists diversify support? - What safeguards reduce funding bias? A Different Perspective Relying on few sponsors can limit independence. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Great scientist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-scientist/) [Lucky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lucky/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Scientist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scientist/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [Science will always raise philosophical questions like, is any scientific theory or model correct? How do we know? 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After information theory, what… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-hamming/when-you-are-famous-it-is-hard-to-work-on-small-problems-this-is-what/) [Richard Hamming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-hamming/) > [The books of the great scientists are gathering dust on the shelves of learned libraries. And rightly so. 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While the artist's communication is linked forever with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-delbruck/the-books-of-the-great-scientists-are-gathering-dust-on-the-shelves/) [Max Delbruck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-delbruck/) > [Both Newton and Darwin were driven by the data and were forced to recognize that they couldn't explain everything. It may be a characteristic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-wolpert/both-newton-and-darwin-were-driven-by-the-data-and-were-forced-to/) [Lewis Wolpert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-wolpert/) > [ \[Great scientists\] are men of bold ideas, but highly critical of their own ideas: they try to find whether their ideas are right by… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-popper/great-scientists-are-men-of-bold-ideas-but-highly-critical-of-their/) [Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/) > [They're a lot of great scientists and their mission is to protect people. It's the Environmental Protection Agency, but it's really a people protection…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-fox/they-re-a-lot-of-great-scientists-and-their-mission-is-to-protect/) [Josh Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-fox/) > [When kids look up to great scientists the way they do to great musicians and actors, civilization will jump to the next level](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-greene/when-kids-look-up-to-great-scientists-the-way-they-do-to-great/) [Brian Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-greene/) > [When it was suggested to Pasteur that many of his great achievements depended on luck, he replied - I'm sure with more than a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-wolpert/when-it-was-suggested-to-pasteur-that-many-of-his-great-achievements/) [Lewis Wolpert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-wolpert/) > [The Nobel Prize, so long regarded in our science as the highest reward a man's work can earn, must bring to its recipient a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-nobel-prize-so-long-regarded-in-our-science-as-the-highest-reward/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It is clear that we cannot go up another two orders of magnitude as we have climbed the last five. If we did, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-j-de-solla-price/it-is-clear-that-we-cannot-go-up-another-two-orders-of-magnitude-as/) Derek J. de Solla Price ## More by Stephen Jay Gould > [I strongly reject any conceptual scheme that places our options on a line, and holds that the only alternative to a pair of extreme…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/i-strongly-reject-any-conceptual-scheme-that-places-our-options-on-a/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [History employs evolution to structure biological events in time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/history-employs-evolution-to-structure-biological-events-in-time/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [In his anti-Darwinian book... (and eponymously named The Neck of the Giraffe ), Francis Hitching tells the story... "The need to survive by reaching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/in-his-anti-darwinian-book-and-eponymously-named-the-neck-of-the/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [... many folks take them seriously because they just 'know' that evolution can never be seen in the immediate here and now. In fact,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/many-folks-take-them-seriously-because-they-just-know-that-evolution/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [Charles Darwin viewed the fossil record more as an embarrassment than as an aid to his theory ...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/charles-darwin-viewed-the-fossil-record-more-as-an-embarrassment-than/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [Zoocentrism is the primary fallacy of human sociobiology, for this view of human behavior rests on the argument that if the actions of "lower"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/zoocentrism-is-the-primary-fallacy-of-human-sociobiology-for-this/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [The world, unfortunately, rarely matches our hopes and consistently refuses to behave in a reasonable manner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/the-world-unfortunately-rarely-matches-our-hopes-and-consistently/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [The true beauty of nature is her amplitude; she exists neither for nor because of us, and possesses a staying power that all our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/the-true-beauty-of-nature-is-her-amplitude-she-exists-neither-for-nor/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [With copious evidence ranging from Plato's haughtiness to Beethoven's tirades, we may conclude that the most brilliant people of history tend to be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/with-copious-evidence-ranging-from-plato-s-haughtiness-to-beethoven-s/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [When scientists need to explain difficult points of theory, illustration by hypothetical example - rather than by total abstraction - works well (perhaps indispensably)…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/when-scientists-need-to-explain-difficult-points-of-theory/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [The truly awesome intellectuals in our history have not merely made discoveries; they have woven variegated, but firm, tapestries of comprehensive coverage. The tapestries…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/the-truly-awesome-intellectuals-in-our-history-have-not-merely-made/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [I believe that we can still have a genre of scientific books suitable for and accessible alike to professionals and interested laypeople. The concepts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/i-believe-that-we-can-still-have-a-genre-of-scientific-books-suitable/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [Science simply cannot adjudicate the issue of God's possible superintendence of nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/science-simply-cannot-adjudicate-the-issue-of-god-s-possible/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [But if we laugh with derision, we will never understand. Human intellectual capacity has not altered for thousands of years so far as we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/but-if-we-laugh-with-derision-we-will-never-understand-human/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [We debase the richness of both nature and our own minds if we view the great pageant of our intellectual history as a compendium…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/we-debase-the-richness-of-both-nature-and-our-own-minds-if-we-view/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) [Explore all 341 Stephen Jay Gould quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) ## More Get money quotes > [If you're a generous person, when you get money and fame, you're going to be more generous. If you're a sharer, you're going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-harvey/if-you-re-a-generous-person-when-you-get-money-and-fame-you-re-going/) [Steve Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-harvey/) > [Then they're like addicts; they can't help themselves... They will steal, cheat, embezzle and commit other crimes just to get money to gamble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-warren-kindt/then-they-re-like-addicts-they-can-t-help-themselves-they-will-steal/) [John Warren Kindt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-warren-kindt/) > [What we really want to do is what we are really meant to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-cameron/what-we-really-want-to-do-is-what-we-are-really-meant-to-do/) [Julia Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-cameron/) > [Whither am I going? To the New World. What to do? To gain honor? No, if I know my own heart. To get money?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-asbury/whither-am-i-going-to-the-new-world-what-to-do-to-gain-honor-no-if-i/) [Francis Asbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-asbury/) > [You must get money to chase you, but never let it catch up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-waitley/you-must-get-money-to-chase-you-but-never-let-it-catch-up/) [Denis Waitley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-waitley/) > [When I left university I was sure that I was going to be a painter. Then I had a crisis, a revelation. I saw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-miller/when-i-left-university-i-was-sure-that-i-was-going-to-be-a-painter/) [Rebecca Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-miller/) > [Underground is underground, commercial is commercial. There's market for both, and both get money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/u-god/underground-is-underground-commercial-is-commercial-there-s-market/) [U-God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/u-god/) > [We're more concerned about climate or economic equality or racial justice or anything else that is good for people and the planet, we simply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-leonard/we-re-more-concerned-about-climate-or-economic-equality-or-racial/) [Annie Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-leonard/) > [First you get the sugar, then you get the power, then you get the women.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-groening/first-you-get-the-sugar-then-you-get-the-power-then-you-get-the-women/) [Matt Groening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-groening/) > [Money is of a prolific generating nature. Money can beget money, and its offspring can beget more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/money-is-of-a-prolific-generating-nature-money-can-beget-money-and/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [The art of getting riches consists very much in thrift. All men are not equally qualified for getting money, but it is in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin/the-art-of-getting-riches-consists-very-much-in-thrift-all-men-are/) [Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin/) > [Addicts have incredible energy, it's just all directed toward one goal. But what incredible luck and grace addicts have. You hear about it all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bucky-sinister/addicts-have-incredible-energy-it-s-just-all-directed-toward-one-goal/) [Bucky Sinister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bucky-sinister/) > [This is an industry that generates addicted gamblers and they are desperate to get money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-warren-kindt/this-is-an-industry-that-generates-addicted-gamblers-and-they-are/) [John Warren Kindt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-warren-kindt/) > [Money is not a factor of production. But in order to have access to credit, in order to get money, in order to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hudson/money-is-not-a-factor-of-production-but-in-order-to-have-access-to/) [Michael Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hudson/) > [I always have to presume that each movie is my last movie because I never know if I'll get money again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-solondz/i-always-have-to-presume-that-each-movie-is-my-last-movie-because-i/) [Todd Solondz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-solondz/) Browse all 148 Get money quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "How did scientists get money in the past? They were either lucky and independently wealthy, like Darwin, or they had patrons, like Galileo. Universities or governments have become patrons only in the last few generations. 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