Talk:Francis Collins

Quote without context

The first quote is: "I don't see that as necessary at all and I think it is deeply disappointing that the shrill voices that occupy the extremes of this spectrum have dominated the stage for the past 20 years." What is this referring to? What is "not necessary at all"? This is an example of a quote which doesn't make sense by itself. - InvisibleSun 16:53, 13 June 2006 (UTC)

Re-organisation

Made a few layout changes. Some of the quotes still require some context --SolarBreeze 09:18, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

It will be great if you add context. The way to make remarks, please see Wikiquote:Templates.

And I am sorry to say, I changed your layout back to the previous. We have a rule for formatting regarding citation and verification, so your removal of "unsourced" section isn't simply acceptable. For theme-specific sectionizing, our current conseusus is it should be discouraged in relation to WQ:NPOV policy. You are invited WQ:VP to discuss this issue further. --Aphaia 19:11, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

Unsourced

Wikiquote no longer allows unsourced quotations, and they are in process of being removed from our pages (see Wikiquote:Limits on quotations); but if you can provide a reliable and precise source for any quote on this list please move it to Francis Collins.

• The tragedy of young-earth creationism is that it takes a relatively recent and extreme view of Genesis, applies to it an unjustified scientific gloss, and then asks sincere and well-meaning seekers to swallow this whole, despite the massive discordance with decades of scientific evidence from multiple disciplines. Is it any wonder that many sadly turn away from faith concluding that they cannot believe in a God who asks for an abandonment of logic and reason?

• I see God's hand at work through the mechanism of evolution. If God chose to create human beings in his image and decided that the mechanism of evolution was an elegant way to accomplish that goal, who are we to say that is not the way.

• Scientifically, the forces of evolution by natural selection have been profoundly affected for humankind by the changes in culture and environment and the expansion of the human species to 6 billion members. So what you see is pretty much what you get.

• One of the great tragedies of our time is this impression that has been created that science and religion have to be at war.

• I don't see that as necessary [that they are in conflict] at all and I think it is deeply disappointing that the shrill voices that occupy the extremes of this spectrum have dominated the stage for the past 20 years.

• I want to know His thoughts; the rest are details.

• I was very happy with the idea that God didn't exist, and had no interest in me. And yet at the same time, I could not turn away.

• If one is willing to accept the existence of God or some supernatural force outside nature then it is not a logical problem to admit that, occasionally, a supernatural force might stage an invasion.

• It was a beautiful afternoon and suddenly the remarkable beauty of creation around me was so overwhelming, I felt, 'I cannot resist this another moment'.

• They had terrible diseases from which they were probably not going to escape, and yet instead of railing at God they seemed to lean on their faith as a source of great comfort and reassurance. That was interesting, puzzling and unsettling.

• This most beautiful system could only proceed from the dominion of an intelligent and powerful being.

• When you have for the first time in front of you this 3.1 billion-letter instruction book that conveys all kinds of information and all kinds of mystery about humankind, you can't survey that going through page after page without a sense of awe. I can't help but look at those pages and have a vague sense that this is giving me a glimpse of God's mind.

• When you make a breakthrough it is a moment of scientific exhilaration because you have been on this search and seem to have found it, But it is also a moment where I at least feel closeness to the creator in the sense of having now perceived something that no human knew before but God knew all along.

About Collins (unsourced)

• “Francis Collins is an extraordinary scientist and one of the nicest guys you could ever meet,”
  • Dr. Otis W. Brawley, chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society.

• "He is upbeat, optimistic and highly addicted to all aspects of science … an important leader in moving from sequencing the genome to thinking about how the genetics of various diseases might be pursued,"

• "This is a guy of tremendous creativity, vision and enough charisma to mobilize large segments of the scientific community."
  • Alan I. Leshner, CEO of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a former head of the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

• "You think of scientists as more controlled and dour; he is outgoing and personable."
  • David Baltimore, a professor of biology and 1975 Nobel Laureate for Medicine

Sourced

• "We'll get closer to perfect kids from caring families and good education than we'll ever get from genetics." 2005 National DNA Day Online Chatroom Transcript, https://www.genome.gov/DNADay/q.cfm?aid=5419&year=2005