---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Modern-day science is a unique tradition…"
description: "\"“Modern-day science is a unique tradition of knowledge, inasmuch as it openly admits collective ignorance regarding the most important questions.”\" — Y..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee2/yuval-noah-harari-100_ignorance_modern-day-science-is-a-unique-tradition_795081.jpg"
---

#  Modern-day science is a unique tradition of knowledge…

![“Modern-day science is a unique tradition of knowledge, inasmuch as it openly admits collective ignorance regarding the most important questions.” quote by Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee2/yuval-noah-harari-100_ignorance_modern-day-science-is-a-unique-tradition_795081.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee2/yuval-noah-harari-100_ignorance_modern-day-science-is-a-unique-tradition_795081.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee2/yuval-noah-harari-100_ignorance_modern-day-science-is-a-unique-tradition_795081.jpg)

> ““Modern-day science is a unique tradition of knowledge, inasmuch as it openly admits collective ignorance regarding the most important questions.””

[Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Science openly acknowledges its limits, fostering humility and collective inquiry into humanity’s biggest mysteries.

**In simple terms:** Science admits what it doesn’t know.

Key Takeaway

Embrace scientific humility.

Themes

humility knowledge collective inquiry

Mood

thoughtful inquisitive

Type

philosophical educational

When to use this quote

- research
- policy making
- education
- public discourse

Key Concepts

epistemology philosophy of science

Questions to Reflect On

- How does humility shape scientific progress?
- What questions should we ask together?

A Different Perspective

Admitting ignorance may weaken authority.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Ignorance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorance/) [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/)

## Related quotes

> [The population at large is neither 'ordinary' or 'normal'. They seem to be bound together by a collective ignorance of themselves and what they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-nilsen/the-population-at-large-is-neither-ordinary-or-normal-they-seem-to-be/)

[Dennis Nilsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-nilsen/)

> [It seems plain and self-evident, yet it needs to be said: the isolated knowledge obtained by a group of specialists in a narrow field…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-schrodinger/it-seems-plain-and-self-evident-yet-it-needs-to-be-said-the-isolated/)

[Erwin Schrodinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-schrodinger/)

> [If we depart form tradition, it is out of knowledge, not innocence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolph-gottlieb/if-we-depart-form-tradition-it-is-out-of-knowledge-not-innocence/)

[Adolph Gottlieb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolph-gottlieb/)

> [Beware of ignorance when in motion; look out for inexperience when in action, and beware of the majority when mentally poisoned with misinformation, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-h-boetcker/beware-of-ignorance-when-in-motion-look-out-for-inexperience-when-in/)

[William J. H. Boetcker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-h-boetcker/)

> [Knowledge forbidden? Suspicious, reasonless. Why should their Lord Envy them that? Can it be sin to know, Can it be death? And do they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/knowledge-forbidden-suspicious-reasonless-why-should-their-lord-envy/)

[John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/)

> [Suppose that we are wise enough to learn and know-and yet not wise enough to control our learning and knowledge, so that we use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/suppose-that-we-are-wise-enough-to-learn-and-know-and-yet-not-wise/)

[Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/)

> [“Knowledge is wealth, wisdom is treasure, understanding is riches, and ignorance is poverty.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matshona-dhliwayo/knowledge-is-wealth-wisdom-is-treasure-understanding-is-riches-and/)

[Matshona Dhliwayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matshona-dhliwayo/)

> [“If there is anything the leaders in the society or the nations must take note of is to know the importance of justice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/if-there-is-anything-the-leaders-in-the-society-or-the-nations-must/)

[Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/)

> [The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/the-strain-of-anti-intellectualism-has-been-a-constant-thread-winding/)

[Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/)

> [Remember my friend, that knowledge is stronger than memory, and we should not trust the weaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bram-stoker/remember-my-friend-that-knowledge-is-stronger-than-memory-and-we/)

[Bram Stoker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bram-stoker/)

> [“You are a lawmaker in your own right.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/you-are-a-lawmaker-in-your-own-right/)

[Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/)

> [“Knowledge will forever govern ignorance, and a people who mean to be their own governors, must arm themselves with the power knowledge gives. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/knowledge-will-forever-govern-ignorance-and-a-people-who-mean-to-be/)

[James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/)

> [“If knowledge does not liberate the self from the self, then ignorance is better than such knowledge.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hakim-sanai/if-knowledge-does-not-liberate-the-self-from-the-self-then-ignorance/)

[Hakim Sanai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hakim-sanai/)

> [... informed ignorance provides the natural state of mind for research scientists at the ever-shifting frontiers of knowledge. People who believe themselves ignorant of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/informed-ignorance-provides-the-natural-state-of-mind-for-research/)

[Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/)

> [One of the deepest and strangest of all human moods is the mood which will suddenly strike us perhaps in a garden at night,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-of-the-deepest-and-strangest-of-all-human-moods-is-the-mood-which/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

## More by Yuval Noah Harari

> [“For similar reasons, archaic humans did not initiate any revolutions. As far as we can tell, changes in social patterns, the invention of new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/for-similar-reasons-archaic-humans-did-not-initiate-any-revolutions/)

[Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/)

> [“Today the main source of wealth is knowledge. And whereas you can conquer oil fields through war, you cannot acquire knowledge that way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/today-the-main-source-of-wealth-is-knowledge-and-whereas-you-can/)

[Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/)

> [“How do you cause people to believe in an imagined order such as Christianity, democracy or capitalism? First, you never admit that the order…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/how-do-you-cause-people-to-believe-in-an-imagined-order-such-as/)

[Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/)

> [I think the basic thing that happened is we have lost our story. Humans think in stories, and we try to make sense of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/i-think-the-basic-thing-that-happened-is-we-have-lost-our-story/)

[Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/)

> [“Whereas chimpanzees spend five hours a day chewing raw food, a single hour suffices for people eating cooked food. The advent of cooking enabled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/whereas-chimpanzees-spend-five-hours-a-day-chewing-raw-food-a-single/)

[Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/)

> [“the Chinese air-purification market is booming.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/the-chinese-air-purification-market-is-booming/)

[Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/)

> [“Whereas liberalism merged with the milder versions of nationalism to protect the unique experiences of each human community, evolutionary humanists such as Hitler identified…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/whereas-liberalism-merged-with-the-milder-versions-of-nationalism-to/)

[Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/)

> [“Corporations, money and nations exist only in our imagination. We invented them to serve us; why do we find ourselves sacrificing our lives in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/corporations-money-and-nations-exist-only-in-our-imagination-we/)

[Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/)

> [“Small children in affluent societies often dislike showering, and it takes them years of education and parental discipline to adopt this supposedly attractive custom.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/small-children-in-affluent-societies-often-dislike-showering-and-it/)

[Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/)

> [“Ever more scholars see cultures as a kind of mental infection or parasite, with humans as its unwitting host. Organic parasites, such as viruses,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/ever-more-scholars-see-cultures-as-a-kind-of-mental-infection-or/)

[Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/)

> [“Soviet Communism was a fanatical and missionary religion. A devout Communist could not be a Christian or a Buddhist, and was expected to spread…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/soviet-communism-was-a-fanatical-and-missionary-religion-a-devout/)

[Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/)

> [“Whereas religion asks us to believe in something, money asks us to believe that other people believe in something”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/whereas-religion-asks-us-to-believe-in-something-money-asks-us-to/)

[Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/)

> [“Terrorists are like a fly that tries to destroy a china shop. The fly is so weak that it cannot budge even a single…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/terrorists-are-like-a-fly-that-tries-to-destroy-a-china-shop-the-fly/)

[Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/)

> [“Yet what happens if the greedy shoemaker increases his profits by paying employees less and increasing their work hours? The standard answer is that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/yet-what-happens-if-the-greedy-shoemaker-increases-his-profits-by/)

[Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/)

> [“A natural order is a stable order. There is no chance that gravity will cease to function tomorrow, even if people stop believing in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/a-natural-order-is-a-stable-order-there-is-no-chance-that-gravity/)

[Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/)

[Explore all 1,200 Yuval Noah Harari quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/)

## More Ignorance quotes

> [My folks tried to make a preacher of me and missed by a narrow margin… I would have made a good one if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/my-folks-tried-to-make-a-preacher-of-me-and-missed-by-a-narrow-margin/)

[Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/)

> [If you had made the acquiring of ignorance the study of your life, you could not have graduated with higher honor than you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-you-had-made-the-acquiring-of-ignorance-the-study-of-your-life-you/)

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

> [One of the deepest and strangest of all human moods is the mood which will suddenly strike us perhaps in a garden at night,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-of-the-deepest-and-strangest-of-all-human-moods-is-the-mood-which/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Ignorance is not bliss — it is oblivion. Determined ignorance is the hastiest kind of oblivion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-wylie/ignorance-is-not-bliss-it-is-oblivion-determined-ignorance-is-the/)

[Philip Wylie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-wylie/)

> [... informed ignorance provides the natural state of mind for research scientists at the ever-shifting frontiers of knowledge. People who believe themselves ignorant of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/informed-ignorance-provides-the-natural-state-of-mind-for-research/)

[Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/)

> [“If knowledge does not liberate the self from the self, then ignorance is better than such knowledge.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hakim-sanai/if-knowledge-does-not-liberate-the-self-from-the-self-then-ignorance/)

[Hakim Sanai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hakim-sanai/)

> [You are senile old fool, and because of your impudence, I cannot fathom how you still live!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-are-senile-old-fool-and-because-of-your-impudence-i-cannot-fathom/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Surely, God could have caused birds to fly with their bones made of solid gold, with their veins full of quicksilver, with their flesh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galileo-galilei/surely-god-could-have-caused-birds-to-fly-with-their-bones-made-of/)

[Galileo Galilei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galileo-galilei/)

> [“Knowledge will forever govern ignorance, and a people who mean to be their own governors, must arm themselves with the power knowledge gives. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/knowledge-will-forever-govern-ignorance-and-a-people-who-mean-to-be/)

[James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/)

> [“Don’t turn your face away. Once you’ve seen, you can no longer act like you don’t know. Open your eyes to the truth. It’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vashti-quiroz-vega/don-t-turn-your-face-away-once-you-ve-seen-you-can-no-longer-act-like/)

Vashti Quiroz-Vega

> [Nothing is worse than active ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/nothing-is-worse-than-active-ignorance/)

[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/)

> [The only victories which leave no regret are those which are gained over ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/the-only-victories-which-leave-no-regret-are-those-which-are-gained/)

[Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/)

> [“Those who embrace prejudice doom themselves to live in ignorance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-p-lintz-sr/those-who-embrace-prejudice-doom-themselves-to-live-in-ignorance/)

John P Lintz Sr

> [“You are a lawmaker in your own right.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/you-are-a-lawmaker-in-your-own-right/)

[Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/)

> [Sanity can take one of only two forms: that of ignorance, or denial.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-r-audette/sanity-can-take-one-of-only-two-forms-that-of-ignorance-or-denial/)

[Derek R. Audette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-r-audette/)

[Browse all 5,657 Ignorance quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorance/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“Modern-day science is a unique tradition of knowledge, inasmuch as it openly admits collective ignorance regarding the most important questions.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Yuval Noah Harari"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/modern-day-science-is-a-unique-tradition-of-knowledge-inasmuch-as-it/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Ignorance"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/modern-day-science-is-a-unique-tradition-of-knowledge-inasmuch-as-it/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee2/yuval-noah-harari-100_ignorance_modern-day-science-is-a-unique-tradition_795081.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee2/yuval-noah-harari-100_ignorance_modern-day-science-is-a-unique-tradition_795081.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee2/yuval-noah-harari-100_ignorance_modern-day-science-is-a-unique-tradition_795081.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Modern-day science is a unique tradition of knowledge, inasmuch as it openly admits collective ignorance…” — Yuval Noah Harari",
                "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": "Yuval Noah Harari",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“Modern-day science is a unique tradition...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/modern-day-science-is-a-unique-tradition-of-knowledge-inasmuch-as-it/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/modern-day-science-is-a-unique-tradition-of-knowledge-inasmuch-as-it/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
