--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I happen to be a kind of monkey. I have a…" description: "\"I happen to be a kind of monkey. I have a monkeylike curiosity that makes me want to feel, smell, and taste things which arouse my curiosity, then to t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e4/willis-r-whitney-41381_birth_i-happen-to-be-a-kind-of-monkey-i-have-a_2086669.png" --- # I happen to be a kind of monkey. I have a monkeylike… ![“I happen to be a kind of monkey. I have a monkeylike curiosity that makes me want to feel, smell, and taste things which arouse my curiosity, then to take them apart. It was born in me. Not everybody is like that, but a scientific researchist should be. Any fool can show me an experiment is…” quote by Willis R. Whitney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e4/willis-r-whitney-41381_birth_i-happen-to-be-a-kind-of-monkey-i-have-a_2086669.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e4/willis-r-whitney-41381_birth_i-happen-to-be-a-kind-of-monkey-i-have-a_2086669.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e4/willis-r-whitney-41381_birth_i-happen-to-be-a-kind-of-monkey-i-have-a_2086669.png) > “I happen to be a kind of monkey. I have a monkeylike curiosity that makes me want to feel, smell, and taste things which arouse my curiosity, then to take them apart. It was born in me. Not everybody is like that, but a scientific researchist should be. Any fool can show me an experiment is useless. I want a man who will try it and get something out of it.” [Willis R. Whitney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willis-r-whitney/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A scientist should possess an innate, child‑like curiosity that drives them to explore, dissect, and learn from the world, despite others dismissing experiments as useless. **In simple terms:** Scientists need playful curiosity to experiment. Key Takeaway Cultivate relentless curiosity. Themes science curiosity experimentation mindset Mood inquisitive determined Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - lab research - field studies - product development - educational workshops Key Concepts empiricism exploratory mindset innovation Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance curiosity with methodological rigor? - What experiments have you dismissed that later proved valuable? A Different Perspective Curiosity alone may not guarantee practical results without discipline. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Birth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birth/) [Curiosity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/curiosity/) [Experiments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experiments/) [Fool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fool/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Monkeys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/monkeys/) [Research](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/research/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Scientific research](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scientific-research/) [Smell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smell/) ## Related quotes > [“Do we arouse our curiosity or does our curiosity arouse us?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-martin/do-we-arouse-our-curiosity-or-does-our-curiosity-arouse-us/) [Henry Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-martin/) > [What we do, if we are successful, is to stir interest in the matter at hand, awaken enthusiasm for it, arouse a curiosity, kindle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julius-sumner-miller/what-we-do-if-we-are-successful-is-to-stir-interest-in-the-matter-at/) [Julius Sumner Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julius-sumner-miller/) > [Each individual fact, taken by itself, can indeed arouse our curiosity or our astonishment, or be useful to us in its practical applications.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-von-helmholtz/each-individual-fact-taken-by-itself-can-indeed-arouse-our-curiosity/) [Hermann von Helmholtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-von-helmholtz/) > [We should always keep an open mind about any new phenomenon in nature. To merely say that's impossible, therefore it doesn't exist, is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-stein/we-should-always-keep-an-open-mind-about-any-new-phenomenon-in-nature/) [Gordon Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-stein/) > [Scientific research can reduce superstition by encouraging people to think and view things in terms of cause and effect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/scientific-research-can-reduce-superstition-by-encouraging-people-to/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [“The world’s military forces initiate, fund and steer a large part of humanity’s scientific research and technological development.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/the-world-s-military-forces-initiate-fund-and-steer-a-large-part-of/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“I stopped doubting her predication after she told me I'd be allergic to guava juice, which was something I'd never tried. I drank a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cath-crowley/i-stopped-doubting-her-predication-after-she-told-me-i-d-be-allergic/) [Cath Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cath-crowley/) > [“Without government planning, economic resources and scientific research, individuals will not get far in their quest for happiness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/without-government-planning-economic-resources-and-scientific/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [Race and gender quotas, whether in publishing, the media, or scientific research labs, are becoming more extreme and more ineluctable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-mac-donald/race-and-gender-quotas-whether-in-publishing-the-media-or-scientific/) [Heather Mac Donald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-mac-donald/) > [All the classical meditation traditions, in one way or another, stress nonattachment to the self as a goal of practice. Oddly, this dimension is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-goleman/all-the-classical-meditation-traditions-in-one-way-or-another-stress/) [Daniel Goleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-goleman/) > [“Scientific research is based on the idea that everything that takes place is determined by laws of nature, and therefore this holds for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/scientific-research-is-based-on-the-idea-that-everything-that-takes/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Is it necessary to practice all these asanas, further and further? Is it necessary to develop scientific researches further and further? To a yogi,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-k-s-iyengar/is-it-necessary-to-practice-all-these-asanas-further-and-further-is/) [B.K.S. Iyengar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-k-s-iyengar/) > [Public and private funds have been thrown around like confetti at a country fair, to close up and destroy clinics, hospitals, and scientific research…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benedict-fitzgerald/public-and-private-funds-have-been-thrown-around-like-confetti-at-a/) Benedict Fitzgerald > [Combining the experience of a seasoned university president with the analysis of a respected legal scholar, Derek Bok explores what he concludes are 'signs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-h-t-rhodes/combining-the-experience-of-a-seasoned-university-president-with-the/) Frank H. T. Rhodes > [It's wonderful to see more of my colleagues recognizing the importance of investing in STEM education and scientific research and development.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-foster/it-s-wonderful-to-see-more-of-my-colleagues-recognizing-the/) [Bill Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-foster/) ## More by Willis R. Whitney > [“Some men have thousands of reasons why they cannot do something, when all they need is one reason why they can.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willis-r-whitney/some-men-have-thousands-of-reasons-why-they-cannot-do-something-when/) [Willis R. Whitney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willis-r-whitney/) > [Research is appreciation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willis-r-whitney/research-is-appreciation/) [Willis R. Whitney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willis-r-whitney/) > [Somebody is always reflectively monkeying with some of the parts of an infinite universe - monkeying as distinct from aping.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willis-r-whitney/somebody-is-always-reflectively-monkeying-with-some-of-the-parts-of/) [Willis R. Whitney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willis-r-whitney/) > [In the advance of civilization, it is new knowledge which paves the way, and the pavement is eternal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willis-r-whitney/in-the-advance-of-civilization-it-is-new-knowledge-which-paves-the/) [Willis R. Whitney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willis-r-whitney/) > [The regularity with which we conclude that further advances in a particular field are impossible seems equaled only by the regularity with which events…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willis-r-whitney/the-regularity-with-which-we-conclude-that-further-advances-in-a/) [Willis R. Whitney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willis-r-whitney/) > [Necessity is not the mother of invention. Knowledge and experiment are its parents. It sometimes happens that successful search is made for unknown materials…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willis-r-whitney/necessity-is-not-the-mother-of-invention-knowledge-and-experiment-are/) [Willis R. Whitney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willis-r-whitney/) > [Our immediate interests are after all of but small moment. It is what we do for the future, what we add to the sum…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willis-r-whitney/our-immediate-interests-are-after-all-of-but-small-moment-it-is-what/) [Willis R. Whitney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willis-r-whitney/) > [The valuable attributes of research men are conscious ignorance and active curiosity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willis-r-whitney/the-valuable-attributes-of-research-men-are-conscious-ignorance-and/) [Willis R. Whitney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willis-r-whitney/) > [A persistent and age-old instinct makes us want to wander Into regions yet untrod And read what is still unread In the manuscripts of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willis-r-whitney/a-persistent-and-age-old-instinct-makes-us-want-to-wander-into/) [Willis R. Whitney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willis-r-whitney/) [Explore all 10 Willis R. Whitney quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willis-r-whitney/) ## More Birth quotes > [“Conception is the beginning of human life. From the time that an ovum is fertilized a new life begins that is neither that of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/declaration-on-procured-abortion-congregation-for-the-doctrine-of-the-faith-1974/conception-is-the-beginning-of-human-life-from-the-time-that-an-ovum/) Declaration on Procured Abortion Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith 1974 > [In the entire history of the universe, let alone in your own history, there has never been another day just like today, and there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/in-the-entire-history-of-the-universe-let-alone-in-your-own-history/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [The greatest mystery in life is not life itself, but death. Death is the culmination of life, the ultimate blossoming of life. In death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/the-greatest-mystery-in-life-is-not-life-itself-but-death-death-is/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [Guns have little or nothing to do with juvenile violence. The causes of youth violence are working parents who put their kids into daycare,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-delay/guns-have-little-or-nothing-to-do-with-juvenile-violence-the-causes/) [Tom DeLay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-delay/) > [“Every child is born as angel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/every-child-is-born-as-angel/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [Nirvana is a word that means enlightenment, being beyond the illusion of birth and death, the illusion of pain, the illusion of love, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/nirvana-is-a-word-that-means-enlightenment-being-beyond-the-illusion/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [It was no accident, no coincidence, that the seasons came round and round year after year. It was the Lord speaking to us all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francine-rivers/it-was-no-accident-no-coincidence-that-the-seasons-came-round-and/) [Francine Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francine-rivers/) > [We do not want to be reminded that it is we, the indigenous people, who are poor and exploited in the land of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-biko/we-do-not-want-to-be-reminded-that-it-is-we-the-indigenous-people-who/) [Steven Biko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-biko/) > [There are two kinds of beauty; there is a beauty which God gives at birth, and which withers as a flower. And there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-kuyper/there-are-two-kinds-of-beauty-there-is-a-beauty-which-god-gives-at/) [Abraham Kuyper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-kuyper/) > [Always keep the smile, because the smile is the beginning of love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-imad/always-keep-the-smile-because-the-smile-is-the-beginning-of-love/) Adam Imad > [The wailing of the newborn infant is mingled with the dirge for the dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucretius/the-wailing-of-the-newborn-infant-is-mingled-with-the-dirge-for-the/) [Lucretius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucretius/) > [I gave birth to most of them MC's... So when it comes around to the month of May, Send me your royalty check for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxanne-shante/i-gave-birth-to-most-of-them-mc-s-so-when-it-comes-around-to-the/) Roxanne Shante > [“A Beautiful verse takes birth when "U"n"I" VERSE.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajesh-walecha/a-beautiful-verse-takes-birth-when-u-n-i-verse/) [Rajesh Walecha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajesh-walecha/) > [“There is no born evil, only a corruptible canvas darkened by a formidable perpetrator.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yefon-isabelle/there-is-no-born-evil-only-a-corruptible-canvas-darkened-by-a/) [Yefon Isabelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yefon-isabelle/) > [I've always thought that the most extraordinary special effect you could do is to buy a child at the moment of its birth, sit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/i-ve-always-thought-that-the-most-extraordinary-special-effect-you/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) [Browse all 6,183 Birth quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birth/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I happen to be a kind of monkey. 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