Creativity In Science Could Be Described As

History Had A Slow Pulse; Man Counted In Years, History In Generations

In The Index To The Six Hundred Odd Pages Of Arnold Toynbee's A Study Of History, Abridged Version, The Names Of Copernicus, Galileo, Descartes And Newton Do Not Occur Yet Their Cosmic Quest Destroyed The Medieval Vision Of An Immutable Social Order In A Walled-in Universe And Transformed The European Landscape, Society, Culture, Habits And General Outlook, As Thoroughly As If A New Species Had Arisen On This Planet.

I Profoundly Admire Aldous Huxley, Both For His Philosophy And Uncompromising Sincerity. But I Disagree With His Advocacy Of 'the Chemical Opening Of Doors Into The Other World', And With His Belief That Drugs Can Procure 'what Catholic Theologians Call A Gratuitous Grace'. Chemically Induced Hallucinations, Delusions And Raptures May Be Frightening Or Wonderfully Gratifying; In Either Case They Are In The Nature Of Confidence Tricks Played On One's Own Nervous System.

If There Is A Lesson In Our Story It Is That The Manipulation, According To Strictly Self-consistent Rules, Of A Set Of Symbols Representing One Single Aspect Of The Phenomena May Produce Correct, Verifiable Predictions, And Yet Completely Ignore All Other Aspects Whose Ensemble Constitutes Reality.

Death Tripped Down The Corridor, Changing Step, Struck Out Here And There, Danced Pirouettes; Often I Felt His Breath On My Face When He Was Miles Away; Often I Fell Asleep And Dreamed While He Stood Leaning Over My Bed.