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As 2015 Begins, Some Ruminations On Science And Life

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Over the years, I've been collecting thought fragments and sentences that come to me during the day or in the course of my writing books and essays.

Since this is a time of introspection and self-analysis, I wanted to share some of them with the 13.7 readers — along with my wishes for a creative and healthy 2015. I hope these may be useful to you in one way or another. Here it goes:

Limits are not obstacles but triggers that expand your boundaries.

Boundaries can be jails or invitations — it all depends on how you see them.

Even if my vision is blurred, I'd much rather see little than live in darkness.

The day we become too afraid to step into the unknown is the day we stop growing.

The new exists at every moment. All it takes is to look at the world with enchantment.

Knowledge is meaningful information.

We erect walls between reality and imagination, become sensible and forget to keep the mind open to contemplate the impossible.

Doubt drives change.

The search for knowledge is an insatiable flirt with the unknown.

The meaning of life is to find meaning in life.

The future belongs to those who make it happen.

Where you are depends on how far you want to get.

Be the future of your planet.


Marcelo Gleiser, a world-renowned theoretical physicist and cosmologist, is professor of natural philosophy, physics and astronomy at Dartmouth College. He has published over 100 peer-reviewed papers and is the author of dozens of essays and four books, including The Island of Knowledge: The Limits of Science and the Search for Meaning. You can keep up with Marcelo on Facebook and Twitter: @mgleiser

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Marcelo Gleiser is a contributor to the NPR blog 13.7: Cosmos & Culture. He is the Appleton Professor of Natural Philosophy and a professor of physics and astronomy at Dartmouth College.