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Home > Dictionary of Science Quotations > Scientist Names Index G > Celia Green Quotes

Celia Green
(26 Nov 1935 - )

English philosopher, psychologist and author who founded the Institute of Psychophysical Research, Oxford, England(1961) to undertake research in the field of parapsychology.

Science Quotes by Celia Green (29 quotes)

“Social justice”—the expression of universal hatred.
— Celia Green
In The Decline and Fall of Science (1976), 6.
Science quotes on:  |  Expression (181)  |  Hatred (21)  |  Justice (40)  |  Social (261)  |  Universal (198)

Astonishment is the only realistic emotion.
— Celia Green
In The Decline and Fall of Science (1976), 1.
Science quotes on:  |  Astonishment (30)  |  Emotion (106)  |  Realistic (6)

Democracy: everyone should have an equal opportunity to obstruct everybody else.
— Celia Green
In The Decline and Fall of Science (1976), 4.
Science quotes on:  |  Democracy (36)  |  Equal (88)  |  Everybody (72)  |  Everyone (35)  |  Obstruct (3)  |  Opportunity (95)

I cannot write long books; I leave that for those who have nothing to say.
— Celia Green
In The Decline and Fall of Science (1976), 6.
Science quotes on:  |  Book (413)  |  Leave (138)  |  Long (778)  |  Nothing (1000)  |  Say (989)  |  Write (250)

In an autocracy, one person has his way; in an aristocracy a few people have their way; in a democracy, no one has his way.
— Celia Green
In The Decline and Fall of Science (1976), 5.
Science quotes on:  |  Aristocracy (7)  |  Democracy (36)  |  People (1031)  |  Person (366)  |  Way (1214)

In an unenlightened society some people are forced to play degrading social roles; in an enlightened society, everyone is.
— Celia Green
In The Decline and Fall of Science (1976), 5.
Science quotes on:  |  Degrade (9)  |  Enlighten (32)  |  Enlightened (25)  |  Everyone (35)  |  Force (497)  |  People (1031)  |  Play (116)  |  Role (86)  |  Social (261)  |  Society (350)

In the country of the blind the one-eyed man is lucky to escape with his life.
— Celia Green
In The Decline and Fall of Science (1976), 171.
Science quotes on:  |  Blind (98)  |  Country (269)  |  Escape (85)  |  Life (1870)  |  Lucky (13)  |  Man (2252)

It is inconceivable that anything should be existing. It is not inconceivable that a lot of people should also be existing who are not interested in the fact that they exist. But it is certainly very odd.
— Celia Green
In The Decline and Fall of Science (1976), 2.
Science quotes on:  |  Certainly (185)  |  Exist (458)  |  Fact (1257)  |  Inconceivable (13)  |  Interest (416)  |  Lot (151)  |  Odd (15)  |  People (1031)

It is superfluous to be humble on one's own behalf; so many people are willing to do it for one.
— Celia Green
In The Decline and Fall of Science (1976), 4.
Science quotes on:  |  Behalf (4)  |  Do (1905)  |  Humble (54)  |  People (1031)  |  Superfluous (21)  |  Willing (44)

Lack of clarity is always a sign of dishonesty.
— Celia Green
In The Decline and Fall of Science (1976).
Science quotes on:  |  Clarity (49)  |  Dishonesty (9)  |  Lack (127)  |  Sign (63)

One of the greatest superstitions of our time is the belief that it has none.
— Celia Green
In The Decline and Fall of Science (1976).
Science quotes on:  |  Belief (615)  |  Great (1610)  |  Greatest (330)  |  Superstition (70)  |  Time (1911)

Only the impossible is worth attempting. In everything else one is sure to fail.
— Celia Green
In The Decline and Fall of Science (1976), 1.
Science quotes on:  |  Attempt (266)  |  Everything (489)  |  Fail (191)  |  Impossible (263)  |  Worth (172)

People accept their limitations so as to prevent themselves from wanting anything they might get.
— Celia Green
In The Decline and Fall of Science (1976), 2.
Science quotes on:  |  Accept (198)  |  Limitation (52)  |  People (1031)  |  Prevent (98)  |  Themselves (433)  |  Want (504)

Research is a way of taking calculated risks to bring about incalculable consequences.
— Celia Green
In The Decline and Fall of Science (1976), 1.
Science quotes on:  |  Bring (95)  |  Calculate (58)  |  Consequence (220)  |  Incalculable (4)  |  Research (753)  |  Risk (68)  |  Way (1214)

Society expresses its sympathy for the geniuses of the past to distract attention from the fact that it has no intention of being sympathetic to the geniuses of the present.
— Celia Green
In The Decline and Fall of Science (1976), 4.
Science quotes on:  |  Attention (196)  |  Being (1276)  |  Distract (6)  |  Express (192)  |  Fact (1257)  |  Genius (301)  |  Intention (46)  |  Past (355)  |  Present (630)  |  Society (350)  |  Sympathetic (10)  |  Sympathy (35)

Society is a self-regulating mechanism for preventing the fulfilment of its members.
— Celia Green
In The Decline and Fall of Science (1976), 6.
Science quotes on:  |  Fulfillment (20)  |  Mechanism (102)  |  Member (42)  |  Prevent (98)  |  Self (268)  |  Self-Regulating (3)  |  Society (350)

Society is everybody’s way of punishing one another because they daren’t take it out on the universe.
— Celia Green
In The Decline and Fall of Science (1976), 6.
Science quotes on:  |  Everybody (72)  |  Punish (8)  |  Society (350)  |  Universe (900)  |  Way (1214)

The fact that something is far-fetched is no reason why it should not be true; it cannot be as far-fetched as the fact that something exists.
— Celia Green
In The Decline and Fall of Science (1976), 1.
Science quotes on:  |  Exist (458)  |  Fact (1257)  |  Reason (766)  |  Something (718)  |  True (239)  |  Why (491)

The human race believes in not taking its problems seriously enough to solve them.
— Celia Green
In The Decline and Fall of Science (1976), 170.
Science quotes on:  |  Belief (615)  |  Enough (341)  |  Human (1512)  |  Human Race (104)  |  Problem (731)  |  Race (278)  |  Serious (98)  |  Solve (145)

The human race has to be bad at psychology; if it were not, it would understand why it is bad at everything else.
— Celia Green
In The Decline and Fall of Science (1976), 3.
Science quotes on:  |  Bad (185)  |  Everything (489)  |  Human (1512)  |  Human Race (104)  |  Psychology (166)  |  Race (278)  |  Understand (648)  |  Why (491)

The human race knows enough about thinking to prevent it.
— Celia Green
In The Decline and Fall of Science (1976).
Science quotes on:  |  Enough (341)  |  Human (1512)  |  Human Race (104)  |  Know (1538)  |  Prevent (98)  |  Race (278)  |  Think (1122)  |  Thinking (425)

The only important thing to realise about history is that it all took place in the last five minutes.
— Celia Green
In The Decline and Fall of Science (1976), 3.
Science quotes on:  |  History (716)  |  Important (229)  |  Last (425)  |  Minute (129)  |  Realize (157)  |  Thing (1914)

The psychology of committees is a special case of the psychology of mobs.
— Celia Green
In The Decline and Fall of Science (1976), 3.
Science quotes on:  |  Committee (16)  |  Mob (10)  |  Psychology (166)  |  Special (188)  |  Special Case (9)

The remarkable thing about the human mind is its range of limitations.
— Celia Green
In The Decline and Fall of Science (1976), 2.
Science quotes on:  |  Human (1512)  |  Human Mind (133)  |  Limitation (52)  |  Mind (1377)  |  Range (104)  |  Remarkable (50)  |  Thing (1914)

The way to do research is to attack the facts at the point of greatest astonishment.
— Celia Green
In The Decline and Fall of Science (1976), 1.
Science quotes on:  |  Astonishment (30)  |  Attack (86)  |  Do (1905)  |  Fact (1257)  |  Facts (553)  |  Great (1610)  |  Greatest (330)  |  Point (584)  |  Research (753)  |  Way (1214)

What appear to be the most valuable aspects of the theoretical physics we have are the mathematical descriptions which enable us to predict events. These equations are, we would argue, the only realities we can be certain of in physics; any other ways we have of thinking about the situation are visual aids or mnemonics which make it easier for beings with our sort of macroscopic experience to use and remember the equations.
— Celia Green
In The Lost Cause: Causation and the Mind-body Problem (2003).
Science quotes on:  |  Aid (101)  |  Appear (122)  |  Aspect (129)  |  Being (1276)  |  Certain (557)  |  Description (89)  |  Easier (53)  |  Enable (122)  |  Equation (138)  |  Event (222)  |  Experience (494)  |  Macroscopic (2)  |  Mathematics (1395)  |  Mnemonic (2)  |  Most (1728)  |  Other (2233)  |  Physic (515)  |  Physics (564)  |  Predict (86)  |  Reality (274)  |  Remember (189)  |  Situation (117)  |  Sort (50)  |  Theoretical Physics (26)  |  Thinking (425)  |  Use (771)  |  Value (393)  |  Way (1214)

What is scandalous is not that stupid people should sometimes inherit private incomes; but that clever people should sometimes not.
— Celia Green
In The Decline and Fall of Science (1976).
Science quotes on:  |  Clever (41)  |  Income (18)  |  Inherit (35)  |  People (1031)  |  Private (29)  |  Scandalous (3)  |  Sometimes (46)  |  Stupid (38)

When people talk about “the sanctity of the individual” they mean “the sanctity of the statistical norm”.
— Celia Green
In The Decline and Fall of Science (1976), 4.
Science quotes on:  |  Individual (420)  |  Mean (810)  |  Norm (5)  |  People (1031)  |  Sanctity (4)  |  Statistics (170)  |  Talk (108)

When someone says his conclusions are objective, he means that they are based on prejudices which many other people share.
— Celia Green
In The Decline and Fall of Science (1976), 3.
Science quotes on:  |  Base (120)  |  Conclusion (266)  |  Mean (810)  |  Means (587)  |  Objective (96)  |  Other (2233)  |  People (1031)  |  Prejudice (96)  |  Say (989)  |  Share (82)


Carl Sagan Thumbnail In science it often happens that scientists say, 'You know that's a really good argument; my position is mistaken,' and then they would actually change their minds and you never hear that old view from them again. They really do it. It doesn't happen as often as it should, because scientists are human and change is sometimes painful. But it happens every day. I cannot recall the last time something like that happened in politics or religion. (1987) -- Carl Sagan
Quotations by:Albert EinsteinIsaac NewtonLord KelvinCharles DarwinSrinivasa RamanujanCarl SaganFlorence NightingaleThomas EdisonAristotleMarie CurieBenjamin FranklinWinston ChurchillGalileo GalileiSigmund FreudRobert BunsenLouis PasteurTheodore RooseveltAbraham LincolnRonald ReaganLeonardo DaVinciMichio KakuKarl PopperJohann GoetheRobert OppenheimerCharles Kettering  ... (more people)

Quotations about:Atomic  BombBiologyChemistryDeforestationEngineeringAnatomyAstronomyBacteriaBiochemistryBotanyConservationDinosaurEnvironmentFractalGeneticsGeologyHistory of ScienceInventionJupiterKnowledgeLoveMathematicsMeasurementMedicineNatural ResourceOrganic ChemistryPhysicsPhysicianQuantum TheoryResearchScience and ArtTeacherTechnologyUniverseVolcanoVirusWind PowerWomen ScientistsX-RaysYouthZoology  ... (more topics)
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- 90 -
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- 40 -
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- 20 -
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