Lynn Margulis

Biology American 1938 – 2011 395 quotes

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)

Competition is overrated; cooperation built the biosphere.

Interview 2002

I learned more from my critics than from my supporters.

Speech 2010

Mitochondria are former bacteria that joined forces with host cells.

Paper 1967

Life on Earth is a symbiosis of symbioses.

Book 1998

Women in science face barriers, but persistence wins.

Interview 1995

The universe is not hostile; it's indifferent, but life persists.

Book 2004

Chloroplasts were once free-living cyanobacteria.

Book 1970

Teaching is the real thrill; discovery is solitary.

Speech 1985

Reductionism misses the forest for the trees in biology.

Book 1992

I married Carl Sagan, but science was my true partner.

Memoir 2000

Microbes run the world; we just live in it.

Book 2009

Doubt is the engine of science.

Interview 1975

Endosymbiosis explains the complexity of eukaryotes.

Book 1981

Nature doesn't waste; symbiosis recycles.

Book 1998

I was called crazy for my ideas, but time proved me right.

Interview 2011

The Gaia hypothesis is about feedback, not mysticism.

Book 1992

Biology is history written in cells.

Speech 2002

Sex is a microbial invention for genetic mixing.

Book 1998

Curiosity killed the cat, but saved the biologist.

Interview 1980

We are all walking ecosystems.

Book 2009