If we are to be destroyed we will do it ourselves by warfare with thermonuclear weaponry. Lewis Thomas destroythermonuclearwarfare Change image and share on social
The great secret of doctors, known only to their wives, but still hidden from the public, is that most things get better by themselves; most things, in fact, are better in the morning. Lewis Thomas doctorfactgreat Change image and share on social
Ants are so much like human beings as to be an embarrassment. They farm fungi, raise aphids as livestock, launch armies into war, use chemical sprays to alarm and confuse enemies, capture slaves, engage in child labour, exchange information ceaselessly. They do everything but watch television. Lewis Thomas antaphidarmy share on social
A multitude of bees can tell the time of day, calculate the geometry of the sun's position, argue about the best location for the next swarm. Bees do a lot of close observing of other bees; maybe they know what follows stinging and do it anyway. Lewis Thomas arguebeecalculate share on social
We are told that the trouble with modern man is that he has been trying to detach himself from nature... In this scenario, Man comes on as a stupendous lethal force, and the Earth is pictured as something delicate, like rising bubbles at the surface of a country pond, or flights of fragile birds. Lewis Thomas birdbubblecountry share on social
The most solid piece of scientific truth I know of is that we are profoundly ignorant about nature. Lewis Thomas ignorantnaturepiece Change image and share on social
Music is the effort we make to explain to ourselves how our brains work. We listen to Bach transfixed because this is listening to a human mind. Lewis Thomas bachbraineffort Change image and share on social
We're as clever as we think we are, but we'll be a lot cleverer when we learn to use not just one brain but to pool huge numbers of brains. We're at a level technologically where we can share information and think collectively about our problems. We do it in science all the time - there's no reason why we can't do it in other endeavors. Lewis Thomas brainclevercollectively share on social
Our behavior toward each other is the strangest, most unpredictable, and most unaccountable of all the phenomena with which we are obliged to live. In all of nature, there is nothing so threatening to humanity as humanity itself. Lewis Thomas behaviorhumanitylive share on social
Much of today's public anxiety about science is the apprehension that we may forever be overlooking the whole by an endless, obsessive preoccupation with the parts. Lewis Thomas anxietyapprehensionendless Change image and share on social