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About this quote

What does it mean?
The author argues that science has saved more lives than it has endangered, despite risks like nuclear weapons.
In plain terms
Science does more good than harm overall.
What can you take from it?
Trust science's net positive impact on humanity.

Where it applies

  • debates on technology
  • ethical discussions
  • future planning

Putting it to work

  • evaluate tech risks
  • support scientific research
  • weigh pros and cons

Questions to consider

  • What counts as a net positive in science?
  • How do we measure life saved versus life lost?

Another view

It may overlook long-term existential threats from advanced tech.

More from Philip Kindred Dick

  1. In one of the most brilliant papers in the English language [David] Hume made it clear that what we speak of as 'causality' is nothing more than the phenomenon…

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  2. Spinoza saw ... that if a falling stone could reason, it would think, 'I want to fall at the rate of thirty-two feet per second per second.'

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  3. Don't try to solve serious matters in the middle of the night.

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