16+ Donald Johanson Quotes On Education, Success And World

Donald Johanson is an American paleoanthropologist and one of the world's leading experts on human evolution. He is best known for his discovery of the fossilized remains of the 3.2 million year old hominid "Lucy" in Ethiopia in 1974. He is currently the director of the Institute of Human Origins at Arizona State University. Following is our collection on famous quotes by Donald Johanson on education, life, success.

Commitment, belief and positive attitude are all important if you're going to be a success, whether you're in sports, in business or, as in my case, anthropology. — Donald Johanson

As an undergraduate, I had an opportunity to go on a number of archeological digs. So I had experience excavating, digging up remains of ancient Indian villages in the Midwest and in the Southwest. — Donald Johanson

When the first fossils began to be found in eastern Africa, in the late 1950s, I thought, what a wonderful marriage this was, biology and anthropology. I was around 16 years old when I made this particular choice of academic pursuit. — Donald Johanson

One has to devote oneself to a particular pursuit. To be successful at anything, you have to make a total commitment to it. — Donald Johanson

Evolution explains our biological evolution, but human beings are very unique creatures. As the Dobzhansky said, all animals are unique; humans are the uniquest. And that uniqueness of being human, language, art, culture, our dependency on culture for survival, comes from the combination of traditional biological evolution. — Donald Johanson

One has to take initiative in life to achieve what he or she wants. — Donald Johanson

My real father died when I was two years old, so I never knew him. He was a barber in Chicago. — Donald Johanson

But what really excited me was the idea that humans had a tremendous pre-history that went back millions of years. I wanted to go to Africa to find some of these creatures. — Donald Johanson

Most Achievers I Know Are People Who Have Made A Strong And Deep Dedication to Pursuing A Particular Goal. That Dedication Took A Tremendous Amount Of Effort. — Donald Johanson

I think that many of my ideas are correct, but I'll bet you, before my death other discoveries will be made that will prompt me to alter various ideas I have about human evolution. — Donald Johanson

Lucy brought with her an image of our human ancestors that you don't get when you find a jaw or an arm bone or a leg bone. Here was 40 percent of a single skeleton. — Donald Johanson

Normally, we are happy to find a fragment of jaw, a few isolated teeth, a bit of an arm, a bit of a skull. But to find associated body parts is extremely rare. — Donald Johanson

Scientists are very afraid of being proven wrong. — Donald Johanson

And what I wanted to do was, I wanted to explore problems and areas where we didn't have answers. In fact, where we didn't even know the right questions to ask. — Donald Johanson

In our case, finding a Lucy is unique. No one will ever find another Lucy. You can't order one from a biological supply house. It's a unique discovery, a unique specimen. — Donald Johanson

The right question to ask from a Darwinian prospective is what was it about bipedalism that was so advantageous? Why did it lead to a - why did that adaptation ultimately lead to a species Homo sapiens that has come to dominate the planet today with six and a half billion people? — Donald Johanson

Life Lessons by Donald Johanson

1. Donald Johanson's work has taught us the importance of understanding the evolutionary history of humanity and the need to research and explore the past.
2. His research has also shown us the power of collaboration and the importance of working with others to make significant discoveries.
3. Lastly, Johanson's work has demonstrated the need to be open-minded and to challenge traditional beliefs in order to make progress in the field of anthropology.