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Contents
- 1 Isaac_Asimov
- 2 Claude_Bernard
- 3 Arthur_Bloch
- 4 David_Bohm
- 5 Robert_N_Britcher
- 6 Mihaly_Csikszentmihalyi
- 7 Paul_Dirac
- 8 David_Epstein
- 9 Stephen_Hawking
- 10 Robert_Heinlein
- 11 Donald_Hoffman
- 12 Grace_Hopper
- 13 David_E_Nye
- 14 Alan_Perlis
- 15 Daniel_H_Pink
- 16 Max_Planck
- 17 Karl_Popper
- 18 Rupert_Sheldrake
- 19 Alfred_P_Sloan
- 20 Solomon
- 21 Albert_Szent-Györgyi
- 22 Shoshana_Zuboff
Isaac_Asimov
Research
“‘Research’ means ‘to search again,’ Why not? Sometimes, a new interpretation emerges that is of vast importance.”
- Source: Isaac Asimov, chapter epigraph in Isaac Asimov’s Book of Science and Nature Quotations, edited by Isaac Asimov and Jason A. Shulman, published in 1988 by Weidenfeld and Nicolson, New York. Chapter 63, page 239. ISBN 1-555-84111-2.
- See Also:
Claude_Bernard
True Presentiment
“Men with a presentiment of new truths are rare in all the sciences; most men develop and follow the ideas of a few others.”
- Source: From the book "An Introduction to the Study of Experimental Medicine" written by Claude Bernard published in French in 1865 as "Introduction à l'étude de la médecine expérimentale". Translated to English by Henry Copley Greene in 1927 and republished by Henry Shuman, Inc. in 1949. Chapter II, page 34. Available online at https://archive.org/details/b21270557 retrieved 2024.
Alter Theory Not Nature
“The theories which embody our scientific ideas as a whole are, of course, indispensable as representations of science. They should also serve as a basis for new ideas. But as these theories and ideas are by no means immutable truth, one must always be ready to abandon them, to alter them or to exchange them as soon as they cease to represent the truth. In a word, we must alter theory to adapt it to nature, but not nature to adapt it to theory.”
- Source: From the book "An Introduction to the Study of Experimental Medicine" written by Claude Bernard published in French in 1865 as "Introduction à l'étude de la médecine expérimentale". Translated to English by Henry Copley Greene in 1927 and republished by Henry Shuman, Inc. in 1949. Chapter II, page 39. Available online at https://archive.org/details/b21270557 retrieved 2024.
- Keywords: Theory_quotes Embody_quotes Scientific_quotes Idea_quotes Whole_quotes Indispensable_quotes Representation_quotes Science_quotes Serve_quotes Basis_quotes New_quotes Immutable_quotes Truth_quotes Ready_quotes Abandon_quotes Alter_quotes Exchange_quotes Cease_quotes Adapt_quotes Nature_quotes
Arthur_Bloch
Murphy's Law Corollary 7
“Every solution breeds new problems.”
- Source: Attributed to Edward A Murphy, reported in the book “Murphy's Law and Other Reasons Why Things Go Wrong” written by Arthur Bloch, first edition published in 1977 by Price/Stern/Sloan, Los Angeles, California. ISBN-10: 0843104287. ISBN-13: 978-0843104288. Chapter Murphology, page 11.
- See Also:
- Keywords: Every_quotes Solution_quotes Breed_quotes New_quotes Problem_quotes Murphy(topic)_quotes Law_quotes
David_Bohm
Theory Purpose
“we must avoid postulating a new element for each new phenomenon. But an equally serious mistake is to admit into the theory only those elements which can now be observed. For the purpose of a theory is not only to correlate the results of observations that we already know how to make, but also to suggest the need for new kinds of observations and to predict their results. In fact, the better a theory is able to suggest the need for new kinds of observations and to predict their results correctly, the more confidence we have that this theory is likely to be good representation of the actual properties of matter and not simply an empirical system especially chosen in such a way as to correlate a group of already known facts.”
- Source: David Bohm in the paper “A Suggested Interpretation of the Quantum Theory in Terms of ‘Hidden’ Variables. II”. Published January 1952 in Physical Review volume 35 issue 2.
- Keywords: Avoid_quotes Postulate_quotes Element_quotes New_quotes Phenomenon_quotes Mistake_quotes Admit_quotes Theory_quotes Observation_quotes Purpose_quotes Correlation_quotes Result_quotes Already_quotes Make_quotes Suggest_quotes Need_quotes Kind_quotes Prediction_quotes Better_quotes Correct_quotes Confidence_quotes Good_quotes Represent_quotes Actual_quotes Property_quotes Matter_quotes Empirical_quotes System_quotes Choose_quotes Way_quotes Group_quotes Known_quotes Fact_quotes
Robert_N_Britcher
Software Transition Problem
“The biggest problem is creating a new version of an old system is the transition.”
- Source: Britcher, Robert N. (1999). The Limits of Software: People, Projects, and Perspectives. Reading, MA: Addison Wesley. ISBN 0-201-43323-0. Page 167.
Mihaly_Csikszentmihalyi
Idea Selection and Production
“External forces are very important in determining which new ideas will be selected from among the many available; but they cannot explain their production.”
- Source: Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi in the book “Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience“, chapter “The Rules of the Games of the Mind”, page 126. Original content published by Harper Perennial Modern Classics in 1990. Kindle edition published by Harper Collins in 2008. ISBN: 978-0061876721.
- See Also:
Paul_Dirac
Mathematics Will Lead
“If you are receptive and humble mathematics will lead you by the hand. Again and again, when I have been at a loss how to proceed, I have just had to wait until I have felt the mathematics led me by the hand. It has led me along an unexpected path, a path where new vistas open up, a path leading to new territory, where one can set up a base of operations, from which one can survey the surroundings and plan future progress.”
- Source: Paul Dirac As quoted in “The Strangest Man: The Hidden Life of Paul Dirac, Mystic of the Atom” (2009) by Graham Farmelo, p. 435.
- Keywords: Receptivity_quotes Humility_quotes Mathematics_quotes Guidance_quotes Leadership_quotes Hand_quotes Loss_quotes Proceed_quotes Wait_quotes Lead_quotes Unexpected_quotes Path_quotes Vista_quotes New_quotes Territory_quotes Base_quotes Operation_quotes Survey_quotes Plan_quotes Future_quotes Progress_quotes
David_Epstein
Analogical Thinking
“Analogical thinking takes the new and makes it familiar... It also allows us to understand that which we cannot see at all.”
- Source: David Epstein in the book “Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World”. Published 2019 by Riverhead Books. Chapter 5, page 103. ISBN 978-0735214484.
- Keywords: Analogy_quotes Thinking_quotes Take_quotes New_quotes Make_quotes Familiar_quotes Allow_quotes Understand_quotes See_quotes
Complete Freedom
“In other words, when anything is possible, it becomes nearly impossible to do anything new. Complete freedom, paradoxically, leads to conformity.”
- Source: David Epstein in the book “Inside the Box: How Constraints Make Us Better”. Published 2026 by Riverhead Books. Page 58. ISBN 978-0593715734 (Ebook).
The Box
“Sometimes new ideas require entirely new forms. It’s not that we need to ‘think outside the box,’ so to speak, as much as we need to craft a new box, for new ideas. Constraints can help with that.”
- Source: David Epstein in the book “Inside the Box: How Constraints Make Us Better”. Published 2026 by Riverhead Books. Page 70. ISBN 978-0593715734 (Ebook).
Stephen_Hawking
Zero Energy Matter
“The point is that the new raw material doesn't really have to come from anywhere.... The universe can start off with zero energy and still create matter.”
- Source: Stephen Hawking quoted in the book “Dialogues with Scientists and Sages: The Search for Unity” by Renée Weber. Published by Routledge & Kegan Paul in 1986, Page 51.
Robert_Heinlein
Delusions
“How can I possibly put a new idea into your heads, if I do not first remove your delusions?”.
- Source: Written by Robert A. Heinlein in the short story “Life-Line” originally published in the 1939-08 edition of “Astounding Science Fiction” magazine, page 83. Character: Dr. Pinero. Retrieved 2024-05-05 from https://www.luminist.org/archives/SF/AST.htm.
- Keywords: Possible_quotes New_quotes Idea_quotes Head_quotes Remove_quotes Delusion_quotes Learn_quotes
Donald_Hoffman
AI Computation
“If we look at an LLM [Large Language Model] or a future AI [Artificial Intelligence], it's going to be some kind of computational system. And computational systems have their limits. We have Gödel who said that at a minimum. I'm betting that you and I are avatars of an infinite intelligence that's the true source of all creativity and that Einstein or any scientist taps into when they come up with their truly original ideas. The first step would be to say, if it's just a computational bias, then it doesn't transcend. It doesn't get to this true originality. But then there's a deeper level... These are just avatars in a particular headset. So why can't we create a new avatar in our headset that looks like a computer that is actually an avatar of the deep intelligence? If we are only going to stick with the computational thing... But somehow the [human] avatar is a portal into the infinite consciousness... And we know one way of creating new portals into this infinite consciousness, and that is having kids. So that is one technology that allows us to do that. Once we understand spacetime as a headset, and we understand the headset and at least some layers of its relationship to the infinite reality, that's the source of true insight and true originality and creativity, could we figure out new ways to open up genuine new portals, and might that look like AI… The jury is out.”
- Source: Donald Hoffman, in the YouTube video entitled “Donald Hoffman's New Approach To Consciousness” channel “Dr Brian Keating”. Online at <https://youtu.be/mU_WBela71Y?si=fNfLLsOsUDRDC1XD> posted 2024-08, retrieved 2024-08. In video at 1:14:40.
- Keywords: Look_quotes LLM_quotes Large_quotes Language_quotes Model_quotes Future_quotes AI_quotes Artificial_quotes Intelligence_quotes Computation_quotes System_quotes Limit_quotes Gödel(topic)_quotes Minimum_quotes Bet_quotes Avatar_quotes Infinite_quotes True_quotes Source_quotes Creativity_quotes Einstein(topic)_quotes Scientist_quotes Tap_quotes Original_quotes Idea_quotes Bias_quotes Transcend_quotes Deep_quotes Level_quotes Particular_quotes Headset_quotes Create_quotes New_quotes Computer_quotes Actual_quotes Human_quotes Portal_quotes Consciousness_quotes Kid_quotes Technology_quotes Allow_quotes Understand_quotes Spacetime_quotes Relationship_quotes Reality_quotes Figure_quotes Way_quotes Open_quotes Genuine_quotes Jury_quotes
Grace_Hopper
Information Flood
“We're flooding people with information. We need to feed it through a processor. A human must turn information into intelligence or knowledge. We've tended to forget that no computer will ever ask a new question.”
- Source: Grace Hopper as quoted in "The Wit and Wisdom of Grace Hopper" by Philip Schieber in OCLC Newsletter, No. 167 (March/April 1987).
Never Take First No
“Never, never, never take the first no. There are a certain number of people in business, industry, and government who always say no the first time you suggest something new, because they're lazy. And if they say yes, they're going to have to do something about it. But there's another group, they are even more dangerous in a way, who always say no the first time you say something new or different because they want to see if you believe in it enough to come back and ask again. So never take the first no. Always go back and ask again. As a matter of fact, I take about four no's and then I figure out how to get around the guy, but that technique comes with age. I ran into one of these guys... I noticed he always said no to things the first time. So the next time I went in to suggest something I said ‘let's pretend this is the second time I'm presenting this’. I said, ‘you always say no the first time’. And he looked at me with the funniest expression. I had him over the barrel from then on because I'd just go and say, ‘this is the fourth time I'm requesting this, let's just say yes now’. So never, never, never take the first no on a new concept. It's terribly important that we listen to our youngsters.”
- Source: Grace Hopper in a lecture delivered 1982-08-19 at the NSA (National Security Agency). Video available at YouTube as “NSA Releases Internal 1982 Lecture by Computing Pioneer Rear Admiral Grace Hopper”, channel The Black Vault Originals, online at <https://youtu.be/_bP14OzIJWI?si=wcUTl04b4p4scY6k>, posted 2024-08, retrieved 2024-08. Quote in video at 26:28.
- Keywords: Never_quotes First_quotes Yes_quotes No_quotes Certain_quotes People_quotes Business_quotes Industry_quotes Government_quotes Always_quotes Say_quotes Time_quotes Suggest_quotes New_quotes Lazy_quotes Do_quotes Another_quotes Group_quotes Dangerous_quotes Different_quotes See_quotes Believe_quotes Enough_quotes Come_quotes Back_quotes Ask_quotes Figure_quotes Around_quotes Guy_quotes Technique_quotes Age_quotes Pretend_quotes Second_quotes Present_quotes Look_quotes Funny_quotes Expression_quotes Over_quotes Barrel_quotes Fourth_quotes Request_quotes Now_quotes Concept_quotes Terrible_quotes Important_quotes Listen_quotes Youngster_quotes
David_E_Nye
Technology Agent of Doom
“[An] apocalyptic narrative depicts new technologies (e.g., nuclear power) as agents of doom.”
- Source: A book. Written by David E. Nye. Entitled 'Narratives and Spaces'. Published in 1997 by Univerity of Exeter Press, Exeter, UK. Hardback ISBN 0-85989-555-6. Paperback ISBN 0-85989-556-4. Chapter 11, page 179.
Alan_Perlis
Computing Fun
“I think that it's extraordinarily important that we in computer science keep fun in computing. When it started out, it was an awful lot of fun. Of course, the paying customers got shafted every now and then, and after a while we began to take their complaints seriously. We began to feel as if we really were responsible for the successful, error-free perfect use of these machines. I don't think we are. I think we're responsible for stretching them, setting them off in new directions, and keeping fun in the house. I hope the field of computer science never loses its sense of fun. Above all, I hope we don't become missionaries. Don't feel as if you're Bible salesmen. The world has too many of those already. What you know about computing other people will learn. Don't feel as if the key to successful computing is only in your hands. What's in your hands, I think and hope, is intelligence: the ability to see the machine as more than when you were first led up to it, that you can make it more.”
- Source: Quoted in The Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs by Hal Abelson, Gerald Jay Sussman and Julie Sussman (McGraw-Hill, 2nd edition, 1996).
- Keywords: Thinking_quotes Importance_quotes Computer_Science_quotes Computing_quotes Fun_quotes Pay_quotes Customer_quotes Shaft_quotes Complaint_quotes Serious_quotes Responsibility_quotes Success_quotes Error_quotes Error-Free_quotes Perfect_quotes Machine_quotes Quality_quotes Defect_quotes Stretch_quotes Innovation_quotes New_quotes Direction_quotes House_quotes Field_quotes Loss_quotes Sense_quotes Missionary_quotes Evangelism_quotes Bible_quotes Salesman_quotes World_quotes Knowledge_quotes Learning_quotes Feel_quotes Key_quotes Hand_quotes Intelligence_quotes Ability_quotes Sight_quotes First_quotes Extraordinary_quotes Science_quotes Learn_quotes
Daniel_H_Pink
Motivation 2.0
“We also had a second drive — to seek reward and avoid punishment more broadly. And it was from this insight that a new operating system — call it Motivation 2.0 — arose.”
- Source: Daniel H. Pink (2009). Drive. New York, NY: Riverhead Books. ISBN 9781101524381. Chapter 1.
Max_Planck
Scientific Truth
“A new scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making them see the light, but rather because its opponents eventually die and a new generation grows up that is familiar with it.”
- Source: Max Planck, Scientific autobiography, 1950, p. 33
- Scientific Autobiography and Other Papers, 1949.
Karl_Popper
Explain Away
“Whenever the ‘classical’ system of the day is threatened by the results of new experiments which might be interpreted as falsifications according to my point of view, the system will appear unshaken to the conventionalist. He will explain away the inconsistencies which may have arisen; perhaps by blaming our inadequate mastery of the system.”
- Source: Popper, K. R. (2005). The Logic of Scientific Discovery | 1935 (1935/Epub ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.
- Keywords: Classical_quotes System_quotes Day_quotes Threat_quotes Result_quotes New_quotes Experiment_quotes Interpretation_quotes Falsification_quotes According_quotes Point_of_View_quotes Appearance_quotes Unshaken_quotes Convention_quotes Explanation_quotes Inconsistent_quotes Arise_quotes Blame_quotes Inadequate_quotes Mastery_quotes
Rupert_Sheldrake
Empirical Approach
“Science needs to be liberated from these constrictive dogmas of mechanistic materialism... If we go beyond those dogmas, science gets much more interesting. All sorts of new research become possible. New questions can be asked. We can find out more about nature and more about consciousness by doing science in a new more open way. But what remains part of science so crucial to it is the empirical approach. The putting forward of hypotheses, the critical discussion, and the testing of hypotheses by experiment, the scientific method.”
- Source: Rupert Sheldrake. The video “Nature's Hidden Intelligence: Morphic Fields”. Online at https://youtu.be/qrIlWrGe4w4?t=4894. Posted 2025-01-03. Video offset 1:21:34.
- Keywords: Need_quotes Liberate_quotes Constrict_quotes Dogma_quotes Mechanistic_quotes Materialism_quotes Interesting_quotes New_quotes Research_quotes Possible_quotes Question_quotes Ask_quotes Find_quotes Nature_quotes Consciousness_quotes Do_quotes Open_quotes Way_quotes Remain_quotes Part_quotes Science_quotes Crucial_quotes Empirical_quotes Approach_quotes Hypothesis_quotes Critical_quotes Discussion_quotes Test_quotes Experiment_quotes Scientific_Method_quotes Method_quotes
Alfred_P_Sloan
Greatest Thrill
“The greatest real thrill that life offers is to create, to construct, to develop something useful. Too often we fail to recognize and pay tribute to the creative spirit. It is that spirit that creates our jobs. There has to be this pioneer, the individual who has the courage, the ambition to overcome the obstacles that always develop when one tries to do something worthwhile, especially when it is new and different.”
- Source:
- Alfred P. Sloan in his book “Adventures of a White-Collar Man”, published in 1941 by Doubleday Press, New York, NY. First edition. Also quoted in: John Bourne (2000), Learning Effectiveness and Faculty Satisfaction. p. 11.
- Keywords: Thrill_quotes Life_quotes Offer_quotes Create_quotes Construct_quotes Develop_quotes Useful_quotes Fail_quotes Recognize_quotes Pay_quotes Tribute_quotes Creative_quotes Spirit_quotes Job_quotes Pioneer_quotes Individual_quotes Courage_quotes Ambition_quotes Overcome_quotes Obstacle_quotes Try_quotes Do_quotes Worthwhile_quotes New_quotes Different_quotes
Solomon
Nothing New Under the Sun
“...there is no new thing under the sun”
- Source: Solomon (or Kohelet). Ecclesiastes 1:9, King James Version of the Bible
- Keywords: New_quotes Sun_quotes Under_quotes Status_Quo_quotes Innovation_quotes Creativity_quotes
Albert_Szent-Györgyi
Greatest Mistake
“There is but one safe way to avoid mistakes: to do nothing or, at least, to avoid doing something new. This, however, in itself, may be the greatest mistake of all.”
- Source: Szent-Györgyi, A. (1957). Bioenergetics. New York, NY: Academic Press.
- Keywords: Safe_quotes Way_quotes Avoidance_quotes Mistake_quotes New_quotes Do_quotes Nothing_quotes
Shoshana_Zuboff
Technology Leadership
“The questions that we face today are finally about leadership. Will there be leaders who are able to recognize the historical moment and the choices it presents? Will they find ways to create the organizational conditions in which new visions, new concepts, and a new language of workplace relations can emerge? Will they be able to create organizational innovations that can exploit the unique capacities of the new technology and thus mobilize their organization's productive potential to meet the heightened rigors of global competition? Will there be leaders who understand the crucial role that human beings from each organizational stratum can play in adding value to the production of goods and services? If not, we will be stranded in a new world with old solutions. We will suffer through the unintended consequences of change, because we have failed to understand this technology and how it differs from what came before.”
- Source: Zuboff, S. (1988). In The Age Of The Smart Machine: The Future Of Work And Power. New York, NY: Basic Books, p. 12. ISBN:0465032125.
- Keywords: Technology_quotes Leadership_quotes History_quotes Choice_quotes Organization_quotes Vision_quotes Innovation_quotes Workplace_quotes Language_quotes Exploitation_quotes Potential_quotes Competition_quotes Global_quotes Human_Resources_quotes Production_quotes Goods_quotes Services_quotes World_quotes Obsolescence_quotes Change_quotes Suffering_quotes Stranded_quotes Consequence_quotes Unintentional_quotes Failure_quotes Understanding_quotes Differences_quotes Question_quotes Today_quotes Present_quotes Find_quotes Create_quotes Condition_quotes Concept_quotes Relation_quotes Emerge_quotes Unique_quotes Capability_quotes New_quotes Mobilize_quotes Height_quotes Rigor_quotes Leader_quotes Crucial_quotes Role_quotes Human_quotes Stratum_quotes Play_quotes Add_quotes Value_quotes Old_quotes Solution_quotes
Technological Innovations
“History reveals the power of certain technological innovations to transform the mental life of an era -- the feelings, sensibilities, perceptions, expectations, assumptions, and, above all, possibilities that define a community. From the social influence of the medieval castle,' to the coming of the printed book, to the social and physical upheaval associated with the rise of the automobile -- each specific example serves to drive home a similar message. An important technological innovation is not usefully thought of as a unitary cause eliciting a series of discrete effects. Instead, it can be seen as an alteration of the material horizon of our world, with transformative implications for both the contours and the interior texture of our lives. Technology makes the world a new place...”
- Source: Zuboff, S. (1988). In The Age Of The Smart Machine: The Future Of Work And Power. New York, NY: Basic Books, p. 388. ISBN:0465032125.
- Keywords: History_quotes Power_quotes Technology_quotes Innovation_quotes Transformation_quotes Feeling_quotes Sensibility_quotes Perception_quotes Expectation_quotes Assumption_quotes Possibility_quotes Community_quotes Society_quotes Influence_quotes Castle_quotes Medieval_quotes Printing_quotes Book_quotes Physical_quotes Upheaval_quotes Automobile_quotes Thinking_quotes Causality_quotes Effect_quotes Alteration_quotes Material_quotes Life_quotes World_quotes Change_quotes Mental_quotes Life_quotes Message_quotes Unitary_quotes Elicit_quotes Series_quotes Discrete_quotes Horizon_quotes Transform_quotes Implication_quotes Contour_quotes Interior_quotes Texture_quotes New_quotes Place_quotes
Technology Change
“To fully grasp the way in which a major new technology can change the world... it is necessary to consider both the manner in which it creates intrinsically new qualities of experience and the way in which new possibilities are engaged by the often-conflicting demands of social, political, and economic interests in order to produce a 'choice.' To concentrate only on intrinsic change and the texture of an emergent mentality is to ignore the real weight of history and the diversity of interests that pervade collective behavior. However, to narrow all discussion of technological change to the play of these interests overlooks the essential power of technology to reorder the rules of the game and thus our experience as players. Moreover, these two dimensions of technological change, the intrinsic and the contingent, need to be understood, not separately, but in relation to one another. The same innovation that abstracts work and increases its intellectual content, thus enhancing the learning of lower level employees... can also, within the context of the choices by which it is adapted, be experienced as a new source of divisiveness and control.”
- Source: Zuboff, S. (1988). In The Age Of The Smart Machine: The Future Of Work And Power. New York, NY: Basic Books, p. 389. ISBN:0465032125.
- Keywords: Technology_quotes Change_quotes World_quotes Consideration_quotes Intrinsic_quotes Quality_quotes Experience_quotes Possibility_quotes Conflict_quotes Demand_quotes Society_quotes Political_quotes Economics_quotes Interest_quotes Choice_quotes Concentration_quotes Emergence_quotes Thinking_quotes Mental_quotes History_quotes Diversity_quotes Collectivism_quotes Behavior_quotes Discussion_quotes Power_quotes Rule_quotes Game_quotes Play_quotes Contingent_quotes Understanding_quotes Relationship_quotes Innovation_quotes Abstraction_quotes Work_quotes Intellectualism_quotes Learning_quotes Employee_quotes Divisiveness_quotes Control_quotes Grasp_quotes Way_quotes Major_quotes New_quotes Manner_quotes Create_quotes Engage_quotes Texture_quotes Real_quotes Weight_quotes Pervade_quotes Narrow_quotes Overlook_quotes Reorder_quotes Player_quotes Dimension_quotes Increase_quotes Enhance_quotes Lower_quotes Level_quotes Context_quotes Adapt_quotes Source_quotes
