Freeman Dyson Quote

Science is even more unpredictable than history. Every important discovery in science is by definition unpredictable. If it were predictable, it would not be an important discovery. The purpose of science is to create opportunities for unpredictable things to happen. When nature does something unexpected, we learn something about how nature works.

From Eros to Gaia, Chapter 6 (p. 68), Pantheon Books. 1992