11 Michael Dickinson Quotes for You to Enjoy

Michael Dickinson

American Scientist

Born: 1963

Eyes Fly Fruit Great World You

Related authors: Ben Carson Carl Sagan E. O. Wilson George Washington Carver Isaac Asimov Margaret Mead Neil deGrasse Tyson W. Edwards Deming

I'm obsessed with insects, particularly insect flight. I think the evolution of insect flight is perhaps one of the most important events in the history of life. Without insects, there'd be no flowering plants. Without flowering plants, there would be no clever, fruit-eating primates giving TED Talks. Michael Dickinson

Life History Events Plants Insects Giving Important Clever Think Evolution Insect Would Would-Be Obsessed Perhaps Most Particularly Talks Without The History Of The Most Important Flight Ted Flowering

The genus Drosophila is one of the great success stories. There's hundreds of species within the genus. They're on every continent except Antarctica, they're in tropical rain forests, they're in deserts, they've evolved many exotic mating behaviors, and they're capable of incredibly long-distance flights. Michael Dickinson

Success Great Rain Every Incredibly Hundreds Evolved Except Tropical Long-Distance Great Success Within Continent Antarctica Mating Exotic Forests Behaviors Stories Capable Success Stories Flights Many Deserts Species

Although their maneuverability is limited, blind flies can fly remarkably well. Michael Dickinson

Fly Remarkably Blind Well Although Limited Flies

I grew up watching 'Star Trek.' I love 'Star Trek.' 'Star Trek' made me want to see alien creatures, creatures from a far-distant world. But basically, I figured out that I could find those alien creatures right on Earth. And what I do is I study insects. Michael Dickinson

Love Me World Alien Insects Made Trek Earth Those Out Find See Could Study Up Want Grew Figured Star Star Trek Creatures Right Watching Basically

If flies are a great model, they're a great model for flies. These animals, you know, they're not like us. We don't fly. We don't have a compound eye. I don't think we process sensory information the same way. The muscles that they use are just incredibly much more sophisticated and interesting than the muscles we use. Michael Dickinson

Great You Fly Animals Think Incredibly Way Eye Compound More Like Sophisticated Know Than Model Same Just Information Process Interesting Sensory Us Much Use Flies Muscles

Fly flight is just a great phenomenon to study. It has everything - from the most sophisticated sensory biology; really, really interesting physics; really interesting muscle physiology; really interesting neural computations. Michael Dickinson

Great Physics Fly Biology Everything Neural Computation Physiology Study Sophisticated Most Just Interesting Sensory Really Flight Muscle Phenomenon

The robotic fly that we actually make the most use of in our laboratory is actually not a small thing, it's a giant thing. It has about a meter wing span, and it flaps in three metric tons of mineral oil. And it is a so-called dynamically scaled fly. Michael Dickinson

There's so many mysteries related to how flies are able to make their way through the world. I'd certainly like to know a lot more about how their brain works. I'd certainly like to know a lot more about just how they're put together. I mean, these animals are basically, topologically, spheres. They don't have bones as we do, of course. Michael Dickinson

Together World Mysteries Animals Related Way Spheres Able About More Through Put Like Know Make Course How Brain Lot Just Mean Certainly Flies Many Works Basically Bones

We discovered that fruit flies alter course in less than one one-hundredth of a second, 50 times faster than we blink our eyes, which is faster than we ever imagined. Michael Dickinson

Fruit Eyes Faster Our Alter Course Blink Discovered Times Than Which Flies Less Ever Second Imagined

One of the fastest things a fruit fly does is take information from its eyes and react accordingly. Michael Dickinson

Fruit Eyes Fly Take React Does Accordingly Information Things Fastest

Michael Dickinson Quotes

No more Michael Dickinson quotes