Top 50 Ed Yong Quotes (2026 Update) [Page 2]

51. “A moth will never know what a zebra finch hears in its song, a zebra finch will never feel the electric buzz of a black ghost knifefish, a knifefish will never see through the eyes of a mantis shrimp, a mantis shrimp will never smell the way a dog can, and a dog will never understand what it is to be a bat. We will never fully do any of these things either, but we are the only animal that can try.”

— Ed Yong

52. “If you’re slow enough, you’re just part of the background.”

— Ed Yong

53. “To microbes, every host is effectively an island – a world surrounded by void.”

— Ed Yong

54. “But personal responsibility cannot compensate for societal irresponsibility. To truly make a dent in sensory pollution, bigger steps are needed.”

— Ed Yong

55. “The brutal contract of natural selection ensures that if one partner is unnecessary, it gets dumped.”

— Ed Yong

56. “We are closer than ever to understanding what it is like to be another animal, but we have made it harder than ever for other animals to be.”

— Ed Yong

$Ed Yong Quote: “Here is a strange but critical sentiment to introduce in a book about the benefits of living with microbes: there is no such thing as a “good microbe” or a “bad microbe”. These terms belong in children’s stories. They are ill-suited for describing the messy, fractious, contextual relationships of the natural world.”$

57. “Here is a strange but critical sentiment to introduce in a book about the benefits of living with microbes: there is no such thing as a “good microbe” or a “bad microbe”. These terms belong in children’s stories. They are ill-suited for describing the messy, fractious, contextual relationships of the natural world.”

— Ed Yong