Category: Science

Charles Darwin on grandeur

“Thus, from the war of nature, from famine and death, the most exalted object which we are capable of conceiving, namely, the production of the higher animals, directly follows. There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been originally breathed into a few forms or into one; and that, whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved.” – final paragraph of The Origin Of Species

Swans in St. Stephen's Green

These swans in St. Stephen’s Green are of course just one form “most beautiful and most wonderful” descended from dinosaurs.

Abraham Maslow on mystery

“Science at its highest level is ultimately the organization of, the systematic pursuit of, and the enjoyment of wonder, awe, and mystery.”

Eyjafjöll / Eyjafjallajokull Volcano - Iceland

My personal contribution to volcanology: A “before” shot of Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull in August 2008, from a Boeing 777 at 37,000 feet