Scott L. Montgomery > Quotes

“Perhaps the most simple, and effective, way to initially judge a piece of writing is to ask yourself: is this something I wish I had done myself, or am I glad I didn't?”
― Scott L. Montgomery, The Chicago Guide to Communicating Science

“good communicators learn from others, by identifying and studying examples of successful expression in their chosen field.”
― Scott L. Montgomery, The Chicago Guide to Communicating Science

“If, however, you are terrified of writing, it is likely that your writing will terrify others (or worse, inspire humor).”
― Scott L. Montgomery, The Chicago Guide to Communicating Science

“Yet from his hands emerged a theory of the living world as an endless process of change and death, a theory that finally pulled down centuries of belief in a fixed, divinely ordained universe built by a benevolent God. Still more, the book that gained Darwin fame, Origin of Species, set the terms for a modern conflict over the meaning of existence that may never be resolved, while it also released into the world a set of ideas adapted by others to redefine the very aims of human society and the institutions that power it.”
― Scott L. Montgomery, The Shape of the New: Four Big Ideas and How They Made the Modern World

“Enlightenment is man’s exit from his self-incurred immaturity. Immaturity is the inability to make use of one’s intellect without the direction of another…. ‘Sapere aude! (Dare to know!)’ … ‘Have the courage to make use of your own intellect!’ is hence the motto of enlightenment” (Kant 1784/2006, 17).”
― Scott L. Montgomery, The Shape of the New: Four Big Ideas and How They Made the Modern World

“So was Margaret Sanger, founder of Planned Parenthood, whose dedication to women’s sexual freedom stemmed from her maxim: “more children from the fit, less from the unfit—that is the chief aim of birth control” (Gordon 1976, 72–85).”
― Scott L. Montgomery, The Shape of the New: Four Big Ideas and How They Made the Modern World

“Adopting tricks of the trade from colleagues is done everywhere else in research-why not in writing?”
― Scott L. Montgomery, The Chicago Guide to Communicating Science

“Laws that prohibit imports of foreign goods create monopolies at home and impoverish the public by condemning the country to restricted abundance, high prices, and, in Britain’s case, “the rude produce [of] its own soil.”
― Scott L. Montgomery, The Shape of the New: Four Big Ideas and How They Made the Modern World

“Formal talks are the special opportunity we give ourselves to discuss our private work in a public voice, to make the labor of our minds and hearts communal.”
― Scott L. Montgomery, The Chicago Guide to Communicating Science