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I think it's important for scientists to be a bit less arrogant, a bit more humble, recognising we are capable of making mistakes and being fallacious - which is increasingly serious in a society where our work may have unpredictable consequences.

Robert Winston

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Robert Winston
Age: 84
Born: 1940
Born: July 15
Academic
Physician
Politician
Professor
Scientist
Surgeon
Television Presenter
Inner and Outer London
Robert Maurice Lipson Winston
The Lord Winston
Lord Winston
Baron Winston
Professor Robert Maurice Lipson Winston
Baron Winston
Society
Humble
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Scientist
Recognising
Making
Mistakes
Fallacious
May
Consequence
Unpredictable
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Increasingly
Work
Serious
Arrogant
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Scientists
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More quotes by Robert Winston

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I think that good parenting should allow children to be children. That naivety and slightly open way of looking at the world is very valuable.
Robert Winston
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I remember eating in school in the years after the Second World War. Most of my friends had miserable portions of Spam with an inedible, glutinous pudding served in containers we called 'coffins.' As a vegetarian, I had a lump of loathsome cheese and some bread.
Robert Winston
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While nobody has identified any gene for religion, there are certainly some candidate genes that may influence human personality and confer a tendency to religious feelings. Some of the genes likely to be involved are those which control levels of different chemicals called neurotransmitters in the brain.
Robert Winston
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I've been all over the world on my own because, as a scientist, you travel a great deal if your work is reasonably successful or published. I get invitations to go to all sorts of strange countries where I would mostly be by myself and just meet other people there, instead of having travelling companions.
Robert Winston
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Religion has endured since the dawn of human consciousness precisely because it encompasses so much of being human. No idea has endured so long, gathered up so many disparate needs and wants and feelings, and inspired so many different paths towards understanding it.
Robert Winston
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However pragmatic you are, it is very demanding being a new parent.
Robert Winston
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You can now modify the genes of large animals, and the largest animal we are concerned with is the human.
Robert Winston
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Our aggression is a deep instinct which survives in all kinds of manifestations in modern man.
Robert Winston
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Women of child-bearing age steadily run out of eggs by the continuous process of cell death. While reading a copy of the Guardian carefully from cover to cover, a normal woman will have lost on average two eggs - while, typically, a normal man will have made 70,000 new sperm.
Robert Winston
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I used to work for the World Health Organisation in poor countries all over the world - Bangladesh, Korea, the Philippines and India. You learn a whole range of things about how other people are living and try to connect with them to gain an understanding of where they're coming from.
Robert Winston
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By discovering how our minds work, we can improve our learning power and unlock our true potential.
Robert Winston
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People think I appear on television to promote my image. That's not fair. I hate filming. I turned down 'Strictly Come Dancing.' But television is a wonderful opportunity to promote scientific ideas. 'Super Doctors' is a very thoughtful piece.
Robert Winston
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We must not fail to recognise that television can be a hugely positive influence in children's lives, one of the greatest educators in contemporary society and an increasing influence on all the children followed in 'Child of Our Time.'
Robert Winston
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My own field, the prevention of genetic disorders in babies, has been possible only because of humane work on animals.
Robert Winston
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Animal rights activists talk about cruelty and torture, some backing their assertions by publishing out-of-date photographs of experiments banned long ago. This is a misrepresentation. The work we do is performed with compassion, care, humanity and humility. I have never seen an animal suffer pain.
Robert Winston
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Whether you're religious or not, there is a real need for other people's religious positions to be treated with the upmost respect.
Robert Winston
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Robots may cut down on infection and mean a consultant can see more patients, but wouldn't you rather meet the doctor than a machine?
Robert Winston
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Man is a competitive creature, and the seeds of conflict are built deep into our genes. We fought each other on the savannah and only survived against great odds by organising ourselves into groups which would have had a common purpose, giving morale and fortitude.
Robert Winston
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It is important that legislation keeps pace with scientific progress.
Robert Winston
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Both in Britain and America, huge publicity has been given to stem cells, particularly embryonic stem cells, and the potential they offer. Of course, the study of stem cells is one of the most exciting areas in biology, but I think it is unlikely that embryonic stem cells are likely to be useful in healthcare for a long time.
Robert Winston