Quotes About Evolution

Das Wunderbare am Menschen ist, daß er wohl derselbe bleibt, aber nicht der gleiche.

All growth toward perfection is but a returning to original existence.

All modern men are descended from wormlike creatures, but it shows more on some people.

The pre-frontal region of the Peking man resembles that found in some parts of the Middle West.

Every science begins as philosophy and ends as art.

Civilization exists by geological consent, subject to change without notice.

Every science begins as philosophy and ends as art; it arises in hypothesis and flows into achievement.

To think clearly about the future, we need to clean up the language that we use in labeling the beliefs we had in the past.

The third principle is loss aversion. When directly compared or weighted against each other, losses loom larger than gains. This asymmetry between the power of positive and negative expectations or experiences has an evolutionary history. Organisms that treat threats as more urgent than opportunities have a better chance to survive and reproduce.

But our memory, a function of System 1, has evolved to represent the most intense moment of an episode of pain or pleasure (the peak) and the feelings when the episode was at its end.

We have strong preferences about the duration of our experiences of pain and pleasure. We want pain to be brief and pleasure to last. But our memory, a function of System 1, has evolved to represent the most intense moment of an episode of pain or pleasure (the peak) and the feelings when the episode was at its end. A memory that neglects duration will not serve our preference for long pleasure and short pains.

The sophisticated allocation of attention has been honed by a long evolutionary history. Orienting and responding quickly to the gravest threats or most promising opportunities improved the chance of survival

Organisms that treat threats as more urgent than opportunities have a better chance to survive and reproduce.

We had progressed from "completely useless" to "moderately useful.

Once you adopt a new view of the world (or of any part of it), you immediately lose much of your ability to recall what you used to believe before your mind changed.

Zajonc argued that the effect of repetition on liking is a profoundly im- portant biological fact, and that it extends to all animals.

Psychology has come a long way.

to put it differently, you are not always the same person, and you are less consistent over time than you think. But somewhat reassuringly, you are more similar to yourself yesterday than you are to another person today.

We have inherited from our ancestors a great facility to learn when to be afraid. Indeed, one experience is often sufficient to establish a long term aversion and fear.

I see now that the path I choose through the maze makes me what I am. I am not only a thing, but also a way of being—one of many ways—and knowing the paths I have followed and the ones left to take will help me understand what I am becoming.

No one really starts anything new, Mrs. Nemur. Everyone builds on other men's failures. There is nothing really original in science. What each man contributes to the sum of knowledge is what counts.

It's very strange writing science fiction in a world that moves as fast as ours does.

First, we exist, and next, we create ourselves.

Your job next year will not resemble your job this year. If it does, either your employer is not thriving or your position in the company is not secure.