“When any good attitude or concept or system worked well, we hung onto it. We preserved representative democracy, intended for a time when only a few could get to the capital to speak for the many. Modern finance was designed in the 17th century. Literacy as a test of intelligence came in the 15th century. The idea of progress is 19th century. And yet, all of those things are part of our mental furniture today, because when the answer to a question -- a solution to a problem -- suits us, we kind of institutionalize it, so that it won't change even when we do. The business of questioning, itself, has been institutionalized like that, in the kind of place that Jodrell Bank telescope belongs to: a university.”

— James Burke (science historian)

The Day the Universe Changed (1985), 1 - The Way We Are

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

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James Burke (science historian) 39

British broadcaster, science historian, author, and televis… 1936

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