--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In general, scientific progress calls for…" description: "\"In general, scientific progress calls for no more than the absorption and elaboration of new ideas- and this is a call most scientists are happy to hee..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c51/werner-heisenberg-4501_absorption_in-general-scientific-progress-calls-for_3118679.jpg" --- # In general, scientific progress calls for no more than the… ![“In general, scientific progress calls for no more than the absorption and elaboration of new ideas- and this is a call most scientists are happy to heed.” quote by Werner Heisenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c51/werner-heisenberg-4501_absorption_in-general-scientific-progress-calls-for_3118679.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c51/werner-heisenberg-4501_absorption_in-general-scientific-progress-calls-for_3118679.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c51/werner-heisenberg-4501_absorption_in-general-scientific-progress-calls-for_3118679.jpg) > “In general, scientific progress calls for no more than the absorption and elaboration of new ideas- and this is a call most scientists are happy to heed.” [Werner Heisenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-heisenberg/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Scientific progress is mainly about absorbing and expanding new ideas, a task most scientists willingly accept. **In simple terms:** Science advances by building on new ideas. Key Takeaway Embrace new ideas openly. Themes science progress ideas learning collaboration Mood reflective analytical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - academic research - technology development - education curricula - industry innovation Key Concepts intellectual curiosity knowledge diffusion research methodology Questions to Reflect On - What safeguards ensure ideas are critically evaluated? - How to balance novelty with validation? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on novelty can neglect rigorous testing. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absorption](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absorption/) [Growth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growth/) [Heed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heed/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Ideas Scientists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas-scientists-5466466/) [New ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-ideas/) [Progress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/progress/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Scientific progress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scientific-progress/) [Scientist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scientist/) [Scientists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scientists/) [Scientists Happy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scientists-happy-5466465/) ## Related quotes > [Humanism is a philosophy of joyous service for the greater good of all humanity, of application of new ideas of scientific progress for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linus-pauling/humanism-is-a-philosophy-of-joyous-service-for-the-greater-good-of/) [Linus Pauling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linus-pauling/) > [I have suggested that scientific progress requires a favorable environment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-lawrence/i-have-suggested-that-scientific-progress-requires-a-favorable/) [Ernest Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-lawrence/) > [“Freedom from labor itself is not new; it once belonged among the most firmly established privileges of the few. In this instance, it seems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/freedom-from-labor-itself-is-not-new-it-once-belonged-among-the-most/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [Scientific Progress goes boink?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/scientific-progress-goes-boink/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Scientific progress makes moral progress a necessity; for if man's power is increased, the checks that restrain him from abusing it must be strengthened.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madame-de-stael/scientific-progress-makes-moral-progress-a-necessity-for-if-man-s/) [Madame de Stael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madame-de-stael/) > [“how tragic it was that so many Americans pictured Baghdad simply as one of those many dusty, war-torn Middle Eastern cities in the news,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/how-tragic-it-was-that-so-many-americans-pictured-baghdad-simply-as/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [Contrary to what I once thought, scientific progress did not consist simply in observing, in accurately formulating experimental facts and drawing up a theory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-jacob/contrary-to-what-i-once-thought-scientific-progress-did-not-consist/) [Francois Jacob](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-jacob/) > [“Those societies in which seriousness, tradition, conformity and adherence to long-established - often god-prescribed - ways of doing things are the strictly enforced rule,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kriwaczek/those-societies-in-which-seriousness-tradition-conformity-and/) [Paul Kriwaczek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kriwaczek/) > [Concepts which have proved useful for ordering things easily assume so great an authority over us, that we forget their terrestrial origin and accept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/concepts-which-have-proved-useful-for-ordering-things-easily-assume/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [What happens then is like what happens when we separate a jigsaw puzzle into its fuve hundred pieces: The over-all picture disappears. This is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tournier/what-happens-then-is-like-what-happens-when-we-separate-a-jigsaw/) [Paul Tournier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tournier/) > [In honoring the Wright Brothers, it is customary and proper to recognize their contribution to scientific progress. But I believe it is equally important…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-honoring-the-wright-brothers-it-is-customary-and-proper-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“They seemed to have imagined that scientific progress could be allowed to go on indefinitely, regardless of everything else. Knowledge was the highest good,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/they-seemed-to-have-imagined-that-scientific-progress-could-be/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [I am among those who think that science has great beauty. A scientist in his laboratory is not only a technician: he is also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-curie/i-am-among-those-who-think-that-science-has-great-beauty-a-scientist-2/) [Marie Curie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-curie/) > [I think it is time we learned the lesson of our century: that the progress of the human spirit must keep pace with technological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-bernstein/i-think-it-is-time-we-learned-the-lesson-of-our-century-that-the/) [Leonard Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-bernstein/) > [I think mistakes are the essence of science and law. It's impossible to conceive of either scientific progress or legal progress without understanding the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-dershowitz/i-think-mistakes-are-the-essence-of-science-and-law-it-s-impossible/) [Alan Dershowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-dershowitz/) ## More by Werner Heisenberg > [“Revere those things beyond science which really matter and about which it is so difficult to speak.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-heisenberg/revere-those-things-beyond-science-which-really-matter-and-about/) [Werner Heisenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-heisenberg/) > [“In the history of science, ever since the famous trial of Galileo, it has repeatedly been claimed that scientific truth cannot be reconciled with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-heisenberg/in-the-history-of-science-ever-since-the-famous-trial-of-galileo-it/) [Werner Heisenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-heisenberg/) > [The more closely you look at one thing, the less closely can you see something else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-heisenberg/the-more-closely-you-look-at-one-thing-the-less-closely-can-you-see/) [Werner Heisenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-heisenberg/) > [I think that if a United States of Europe were to be formed, it would be in our interests to fight for it, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-heisenberg/i-think-that-if-a-united-states-of-europe-were-to-be-formed-it-would/) [Werner Heisenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-heisenberg/) > [Whether we electrons, light quanta, benzol molecules, or stones, we shall always come up against these two characteristics, the corpuscular and the undular.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-heisenberg/whether-we-electrons-light-quanta-benzol-molecules-or-stones-we-shall/) [Werner Heisenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-heisenberg/) > [It is probably true quite generally that in the history of human thinking the most fruitful developments frequently take place at those points where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-heisenberg/it-is-probably-true-quite-generally-that-in-the-history-of-human/) [Werner Heisenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-heisenberg/) > [If we made atomic bombs, we would bring about a terrible change in the world. Who knows what would happen from this?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-heisenberg/if-we-made-atomic-bombs-we-would-bring-about-a-terrible-change-in-the/) [Werner Heisenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-heisenberg/) > [The positivists have a simple solution: the world must be divided into that which we can say clearly and the rest, which we had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-heisenberg/the-positivists-have-a-simple-solution-the-world-must-be-divided-into/) [Werner Heisenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-heisenberg/) > [“what we observe is not nature itself, but nature exposed to our method of questioning’.77”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-heisenberg/what-we-observe-is-not-nature-itself-but-nature-exposed-to-our-method/) [Werner Heisenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-heisenberg/) > [A consistent pursuit of classical physics forces a transformation in the very heart of that physics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-heisenberg/a-consistent-pursuit-of-classical-physics-forces-a-transformation-in/) [Werner Heisenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-heisenberg/) > [ It was about three o'clock at night when the final result of the calculation \[which gave birth to quantum mechanics\] lay before me ...… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-heisenberg/it-was-about-three-o-clock-at-night-when-the-final-result-of-the/) [Werner Heisenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-heisenberg/) > [Only a few know, how much one must know to know how little one knows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-heisenberg/only-a-few-know-how-much-one-must-know-to-know-how-little-one-knows/) [Werner Heisenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-heisenberg/) > [“We have to remember that what we observe is not nature in itself but nature exposed to our method of questioning. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-heisenberg/we-have-to-remember-that-what-we-observe-is-not-nature-in-itself-but/) [Werner Heisenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-heisenberg/) > [I think that modern physics has definitely decided in favor of Plato. In fact the smallest units of matter are not physical objects in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-heisenberg/i-think-that-modern-physics-has-definitely-decided-in-favor-of-plato/) [Werner Heisenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-heisenberg/) > [The end of the First World War had thrown Germany's youth into great turmoil. The reins of power had fallen from the hands of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-heisenberg/the-end-of-the-first-world-war-had-thrown-germany-s-youth-into-great/) [Werner Heisenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-heisenberg/) [Explore all 109 Werner Heisenberg quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-heisenberg/) ## More Absorption quotes > [In fact, studies show that vegans tend to get more iron than meat eaters. Vitamin C from fruits and vegetables increases iron absorption. Meanwhile,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-gannon/in-fact-studies-show-that-vegans-tend-to-get-more-iron-than-meat/) [Sharon Gannon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-gannon/) > [I am not the center of the universe. And it's a lesson that I keep having to learn; it's my ongoing work, I'd say.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-fabian/i-am-not-the-center-of-the-universe-and-it-s-a-lesson-that-i-keep/) [Patrick Fabian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-fabian/) > [The greatness of peoples springs from their ability to grasp the grand conceptions of being. It is the absorption of a people, of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-crummell/the-greatness-of-peoples-springs-from-their-ability-to-grasp-the/) [Alexander Crummell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-crummell/) > [Melancholy betrays the world for the sake of knowledge. But in its tenacious self-absorption it embraces dead objects in its contemplation, in order to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-benjamin/melancholy-betrays-the-world-for-the-sake-of-knowledge-but-in-its/) [Walter Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-benjamin/) > [I was in a garden at the Rodin Museum. For a few minutes I was alone, sitting on a bench between two long hedges…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-howe/i-was-in-a-garden-at-the-rodin-museum-for-a-few-minutes-i-was-alone/) [Irving Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-howe/) > [Those who work at a thing heart and soul not only achieve success in it but through their absorption in that they also realize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/those-who-work-at-a-thing-heart-and-soul-not-only-achieve-success-in/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [Self-absorption intensifies isolation, but permits it to go unnoticed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/self-absorption-intensifies-isolation-but-permits-it-to-go-unnoticed/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Life is a state of constant radiation and absorption; to exist is to radiate; to exist is to be the recipient of radiations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-george-jordan/life-is-a-state-of-constant-radiation-and-absorption-to-exist-is-to/) [William George Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-george-jordan/) > [I had learned that science is a rewarding, active process of discovery, not the passive absorption of what others had discovered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-e-varmus/i-had-learned-that-science-is-a-rewarding-active-process-of-discovery/) [Harold E. Varmus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-e-varmus/) > [Selfishness and self-absorption are deadly charm-exterminators.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loretta-young/selfishness-and-self-absorption-are-deadly-charm-exterminators/) [Loretta Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loretta-young/) > [Prayer gives us relief from the melancholy burden of self-absorption .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/prayer-gives-us-relief-from-the-melancholy-burden-of-self-absorption/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [ \[Pope Francis\]sees a world in need of the Gospel, and of friendship with Jesus Christ, as an antidote to the self-absorption and loneliness that… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-weigel/pope-francis-sees-a-world-in-need-of-the-gospel-and-of-friendship/) [George Weigel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-weigel/) > [The ecstasy and completion of absorption in God is so fantastic that you can't possibly have lost anything because all the things you've always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/the-ecstasy-and-completion-of-absorption-in-god-is-so-fantastic-that/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [ \[T\]he mass-man sees in the State an anonymous power, and feeling himself, like it, anonymous, he believes that the State is something of his… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/t-he-mass-man-sees-in-the-state-an-anonymous-power-and-feeling/) [Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) > [“But the work had told upon the Editor. Work of that sort carries its penalties with it. Success means absorption, and absorption spells softening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-g-wodehouse/but-the-work-had-told-upon-the-editor-work-of-that-sort-carries-its/) [P.G. Wodehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-g-wodehouse/) [Browse all 118 Absorption quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absorption/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In general, scientific progress calls for no more than the absorption and elaboration of new ideas- and this is a call most scientists are happy to heed.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Werner Heisenberg" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-heisenberg/in-general-scientific-progress-calls-for-no-more-than-the-absorption/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Absorption" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-heisenberg/in-general-scientific-progress-calls-for-no-more-than-the-absorption/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c51/werner-heisenberg-4501_absorption_in-general-scientific-progress-calls-for_3118679.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c51/werner-heisenberg-4501_absorption_in-general-scientific-progress-calls-for_3118679.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c51/werner-heisenberg-4501_absorption_in-general-scientific-progress-calls-for_3118679.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In general, scientific progress calls for no more than the absorption and elaboration of new ideas- and this…” — Werner Heisenberg", "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": "Werner Heisenberg", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-heisenberg/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "In general, scientific progress calls for...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-heisenberg/in-general-scientific-progress-calls-for-no-more-than-the-absorption/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-heisenberg/in-general-scientific-progress-calls-for-no-more-than-the-absorption/#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 } } ] } ```