<p>Well, I managed to contact the person I heard this from.</p>

<p>Apparently it was <strong>Walter Baade</strong> who was asked:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>If you had your life to live over, would you be an astronomer again?</p>
</blockquote>

<p>To which he answered:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Only if the ratio of total to selective absorption is everywhere the same.</p>
</blockquote>

<hr>

<p>I will not accept this answer as I have not been able to find a source yet. If anyone can find one, feel free to answer and I'll accept.</p>

<hr>

<p><strong>EDIT</strong>: Decided to accept after all, since apparently no one here knows a source. Follow up question regarding the source <a href="https://hsm.stackexchange.com/q/11567/11237">here</a>.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-03-21T03:11:22.090Z
find "only if" in https://pages.astronomy.ua.edu/keel/galaxies/dust.html I think that's close enough :-)
uhoh
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-03-21T10:44:17.980Z
@uhoh thanks! Unfortunately, they also don't provide an authoritative source. If it even exists...
user35915
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-03-21T12:40:27.327Z
Walter Baade (March 24, 1893 – June 25, 1960) can probably be considered a historical figure in science, and so questions about verification of something he may have said might also be on-topic in [History of Science and Math SE](https://hsm.stackexchange.com/). I don't know if it's possible to ask a related question there different-enough from this one so as not to be cross-posting. Sometimes I will just paste a link to a question in their chat room if it seems that it might be of interest, but I don't know if anyone reads those.
uhoh
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-03-21T14:17:40.533Z
@uhoh I didn't that SE site, thanks. Let me see if I can come up with something or maybe I'll just post in their chat as you suggest.
user35915
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-03-21T14:45:42.540Z
@uhoh https://hsm.stackexchange.com/q/11567/11237 Let's see whether it'll be closed.
user35915
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-03-20T16:38:30.143Z
2020-03-22T21:00:27.763Z
2020-03-22T21:00:27.763Z
user35915
<p>I remember hearing a quote or maybe rather an anecdote about a famous astronomer but I can't recall the exact wording and I also forgot who allegedly said it. Unfortunately, that has thwarted all my googling attempts.</p>

<p>It goes like this:</p>

<p>The retired astronomer gets asked by a journalist if he would do it all again and he replies something along the lines of:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Only if selective to total extinction were constant.</p>
</blockquote>

<p><strong>Is this something that really happened? If so, who said it and what is the exact wording?</strong></p>

<p>Please also provide a source if possible.</p>

<history><dust>
Tongue-in-cheek quote on dust extinction
user35915
# Tongue-in-cheek quote on dust extinction

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-03-17)

I remember hearing a quote or maybe rather an anecdote about a famous astronomer but I can't recall the exact wording and I also forgot who allegedly said it. Unfortunately, that has thwarted all my googling attempts.

It goes like this:

The retired astronomer gets asked by a journalist if he would do it all again and he replies something along the lines of:

> Only if selective to total extinction were constant.

**Is this something that really happened? If so, who said it and what is the exact wording?**

Please also provide a source if possible.

**Tags:** history, dust

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_0 on 2020-03-20. Score: 4 | Accepted answer

Well, I managed to contact the person I heard this from.

Apparently it was **Walter Baade** who was asked:

> If you had your life to live over, would you be an astronomer again?

To which he answered:

> Only if the ratio of total to selective absorption is everywhere the same.

---

I will not accept this answer as I have not been able to find a source yet. If anyone can find one, feel free to answer and I'll accept.

---

**EDIT**: Decided to accept after all, since apparently no one here knows a source. Follow up question regarding the source [here](https://hsm.stackexchange.com/q/11567/11237).

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: find "only if" in https://pages.astronomy.ua.edu/keel/galaxies/dust.html I think that's close enough :-)  
> **username_0**: @uhoh thanks! Unfortunately, they also don't provide an authoritative source. If it even exists...  
> **username_1**: Walter Baade (March 24, 1893 – June 25, 1960) can probably be considered a historical figure in science, and so questions about verification of something he may have said might also be on-topic in [History of Science and Math SE](https://hsm.stackexchange.com/). I don't know if it's possible to ask a related question there different-enough from this one so as not to be cross-posting. Sometimes I will just paste a link to a question in their chat room if it seems that it might be of interest, but I don't know if anyone reads those.  
> **username_0**: @uhoh I didn't that SE site, thanks. Let me see if I can come up with something or maybe I'll just post in their chat as you suggest.  
> **username_0**: @uhoh https://hsm.stackexchange.com/q/11567/11237 Let's see whether it'll be closed.  

---

