Lynn Margulis
A prominent evolutionary theorist who championed the endosymbiotic theory, explaining the origin of eukaryotic cells.
Most quoted
"Science is not about control. It is about cultivating a perpetual condition of wonder in the face of something that forever grows one step richer and subtler than our latest theory about it."
— from Essay
"Symbiosis is the driving force of evolution. It is the process by which different organisms come together to form new, more complex systems."
"Science is not just a collection of facts, but a way of understanding the world. It is a process of inquiry, discovery, and exploration."
All quotes by Lynn Margulis (395)
The idea that we can control nature is a dangerous illusion.
The scientific method is not a rigid set of rules, but a creative process of inquiry.
The greatest discoveries often come from outside the mainstream.
We are not separate from the environment; we are the environment.
The idea of a 'master gene' controlling development is a myth.
The origin of life was not a single event, but a continuous process of symbiotic association.
The human mind is a product of millions of years of microbial evolution.
We are walking communities of bacteria.
Symbiosis is not a marginal biological phenomenon; it is the dominant and most powerful force of evolution.
The idea that species are constant is wrong. They are not. They are fluid. They are dynamic.
The cell, the organism, is not a unitary entity. It is a consortium.
Gaia is a tough bitch.
Evolution is no linear family tree, but change in the single multidimensional being that has grown to cover the entire surface of Earth.
The appearance of new life forms is a result of symbiosis, not mutation.
The mitochondria in our cells were once free-living bacteria.
The planet is not a rock with life on it; it is a living system.
We are all symbionts on a symbiotic planet.
The modern evolutionary synthesis is incomplete because it ignores the symbiotic origin of cells.
The idea of the 'selfish gene' is a gross oversimplification. Genes are team players in a cellular consortium.
Bacteria are the world's greatest chemists.
Contemporaries of Lynn Margulis
Other Biologys born within 50 years of Lynn Margulis (1938–2011).