Chapter 11 (p. 146)
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“Over most of human history science did a vastly better job of locating the truth—by burning down the alternatives—than did religion’s wild stabs in the dark. And eventually, thanks to science, there wasn’t much darkness left. And—to no great surprise—in the small patch of darkness where science had cornered truth, there wasn’t a single traditional religion left.
“Yes, most religions claimed they fit in with modern science, but it was usually science that they were warping to fit their religion.”
— Ken Wharton
What It Means
This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "“Over most of human history science did a vastly better job of locating the truth—by burning down the alternatives—than did religion’s wild stabs in the dark. And eventually, thanks to science, there wasn’t much darkness left. And—to no great surprise—in the small patch of darkness where science had cornered truth, there wasn’t a single traditional religion left.
“Yes, most religions claimed they fit in with modern science, but it was usually science that they were warping to fit their religion.”" in the context of "Chapter 11 (p. 146)" to mean that wisdom is timeless.
Source: Wikiquote: "Ken Wharton" (Quotes, Divine Intervention (2001): All page numbers are from the mass market first edition published by Ace Books
Nominated for the 2001 Philip K. Dick Award Award
All dashes, ellipses, and italics as in the book )
The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
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About Ken Wharton
Ken Wharton is a physics professor at San Jose State University and science fiction writer.
About Ken Wharton
Ken Wharton is a physics professor at San Jose State University and science fiction writer.
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