“For millions of years flowers have been producing thorns. For millions of years sheep have been eating them all the same. And its not serious, trying to understand why flowers go to such trouble to produce thorns that are good for nothing? Its not important, the war between the sheep and the flowers? Its no more serious and more important than the numbers that fat red gentleman is adding up? Suppose I happen to know a unique flower, one that exists nowhere in the world except on my planet, one that a little sheep can wipe out in a single bite one morning, just like that, without even realizing what hed doing - that isnt important? If someone loves a flower of which just one example exists among all the millions and millions of stars, thats enough to make him happy when he looks at the stars. He tells himself My flowers up there somewhere... But if the sheep eats the flower, then for him its as if, suddenly, all the stars went out. And that isnt important?” ~ Antoine de Saint-Exupery, The Little Prince At the heart of science is an essential balance between two seemingly contradictory attitudes--an openness to new ideas, no matter how bizarre or counterintuitive they may be, and the most ruthless skeptical scrutiny of all ideas, old and new. This is how deep truths are winnowed from deep nonsense. -- Carl Sagan
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