Quotations Collected by David Moursund





Last updated January, 2017.

Readers interested in this page may also be interested in David Moursund's IAE-pedia collection of Math Education Quotations available at http://iae-pedia.org/Math_Education_Quotations.

Introduction

 * “Nothing gives an author so much pleasure as to find his works respectfully quoted by other learned authors.” (Benjamin Franklin; American author, inventor, printer, statesman, and one of the founding fathers; 1706-1790.)

For many years I have been collecting quotations that resonate with my views. Each conveys a message that seems important to me. I think of each of these quotations as a very short story and I often make use of the quotations in my writing. I hope that you will enjoy this IAE-pedia collection as much as I do. If you have suggestions for possible addition to this list, please send them to me via email at moursund@uoregon.edu.

Unattributed
“No one gets rich teaching, but no one lives a richer life.” (Adage, unattributed.)

“Spoken words fly away, written words remain.” (Adage, unattributed.)

“When you are up to your neck in alligators, it's hard to remember the original objective was to drain the swamp.” (Adage, unattributed.)

“It takes a whole village to raise a child.” (African proverb.)

“Smooth seas do not make skillful sailors.” (African proverb.)

“A clever person turns great troubles into little ones and little ones into none at all.” (Chinese proverb.)

“A man grows most tired when standing still.” (Chinese proverb.)

“A single conversation across the table with a wise man is worth a month's study of books.” (Chinese proverb.)

“Do not fear going forward slowly; fear only to stand still.” (Chinese proverb.)

“Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” (Chinese proverb.)

“Learning without thinking is labor lost; thinking without learning is dangerous.” (Chinese proverb.)

“One good teacher outweighs a ton of books.” (Chinese proverb.)

“The first step to wisdom is silence. The second is listening.” (Chinese proverb.)

“The longest journey begins with the first step.” (Chinese proverb.)

"Think globally, act locally." (Multiple sources.)

“Ignorance is merely a condition of lacking knowledge. It is cured by education.” (Unknown.)

“You can lead a human to knowledge but you can't make him think.” (Unknown.)

Authors A to C
“A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.” (Henry B. Adams; American novelist, journalist, and historian; 1838–1918.)

“They know enough who know how to learn.” (Henry B. Adams; American novelist, journalist, and historian; 1838–1918.)

“Education is a human right with immense power to transform. On its foundation rest the cornerstones of freedom, democracy and sustainable human development.” (Kofi Annan; Ghanaian diplomat, seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations, winner of 2001 Peace Prize; 1938–.)

“Never let the future disturb you. You will meet it, if you have to, with the same weapons of reason which today arm you against the present.” (Antoninus, Marcus Aurelius; Roman Emperor; 121–180 A.D.)

“It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.” (Aristotle; Greek philosopher; 384 BC–322 BC.)

“Speech is the representation of the mind, and writing is the representation of speech.” (Aristotle; Greek philosopher; 384 BC–322 BC.)

“Those who educate children well are more to be honored than they who produce them; for these only gave them life, those the art of living well.” (Aristotle; Greek philosopher; 384 BC–322 BC.)

"To give away money is an easy matter and in any man's power. But to decide to whom to give it, and how large and when, and for what purpose and how, is neither in every man's power nor an easy matter." (Aristotle; Greek philosopher; 384 BC–322 BC.)

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit.” (Aristotle; Greek philosopher; 384 BC–322 BC.)

“It is change, continuing change, inevitable change, that is the dominant factor in society today. No sensible decision can be made any longer without taking into account not only the world as it is, but the world as it will be.” – Isaac Asimov” (Isaac Asimov; Russian-born American science fiction author and biochemist; 1920–1992.)

“The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom.” (Isaac Asimov; Russian-born American science fiction author and biochemist; 1920–1992.)

“Knowledge is power.” (Francis Bacon; English philosopher, statesman, scientist, author, and father of the scientific method; 1561-1626.)

“The purpose of education, finally, is to create in a person the ability to look at the world for him/herself.” (James Baldwin; American novelist, playwright, and civil rights activist; 1924–1987.)

“SAT tests are designed by huge panels of experts in education and psychology who work for years to design tests in which not one single question measures any bit of knowledge that anyone might actually need in the real world. We should applaud kids for getting lower scores.” (Dave Barry; American humor columnist and author; 1947–.)

“It isn't enough just to learn—one must learn how to learn, how to learn without classrooms, without teachers, without textbooks. Learn, in short, how to think and analyze and decide and discover and create.” (Michael Bassis; American educator and author; 1946–.)

“When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened.” (Alexander Graham Bell; American inventor; 1847–1922.)

“To achieve great things, two things are needed: a plan, and not quite enough time.” (Leonard Bernstein; American conductor and composer; 1918–1990.)

"If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is. ” A catch phrase used by the Better Business Bureau in 1954 to alert the public to shady business practices. The "probably true" refers to "it sounds to be too good to be true."

“A brand for a company is like a reputation for a person. You earn reputation by trying to do hard things well.” (Jeff Bezos; American founder and CEO of Amazon.com; 1964–.)

“After 40 years of intensive research on school learning in the United States as well as abroad, my major conclusion is: What any person in the world can learn, almost all persons can learn, if provided with the appropriate prior and current conditions of learning.” (Benjamin S. Bloom; American educational psychologist; 1913–1999.)

“Education must be increasingly concerned about the fullest development of all children and youth, and it will be the responsibility of the school to seek learning conditions that enable each individual to reach the highest level of learning possible for her or him.” (Benjamin S. Bloom; American educational psychologist; 1913–1999.)

“We need to be much clearer about what we do and do not know so that we don’t continually confuse the two. If I could have one wish for education, it would be the systematic ordering of our basic knowledge in such a way that what is known and true can be acted on, while what is superstition, fad, and myth can be recognized as such and used only when there is nothing else to support us in our frustration and despair.” (Benjamin S. Bloom; American educational psychologist; 1913–1999.)

“An expert is a person who has made all the mistakes that can be made in a very narrow field.” (Niels Bohr; Danish physicist who made fundamental contributions to understanding atomic structure and quantum mechanics, for which he received the Nobel Prize in physics in 1922; 1885–1962.)

“The important thing in science is not so much to obtain new facts as to discover new ways of thinking about them.” (William Henry Bragg; British physicist and chemist who uniquely shared the Nobel Prize in physics with his son, William Lawrence Bragg, in 1915; 1862–1942.)

“When people cannot see the need for what’s being taught, they ignore it, reject it, or fail to assimilate it in any meaningful way. Conversely, when they have a need, then, if the resources for learning are available, people learn effectively and quickly.” (John Seely Brown, researcher in business innovation, and Paul Duguid, multidisciplinary researcher; from The Social Life of Bees, Harvard Business School Press, 2000.)

“Less is more.” (Robert Browning; English poet and playwright, in a 1855 poem Andrea del Sarto; 1812–1889.)

“In short, learning is the process by which novices become experts.” (John T. Bruer; American psychologists and cognitive neuroscientist; from Schools for Thought: A Science of Learning in the Classroom, MIT Press, 1993.)

“Your work is to discover your work and then with all your heart to give yourself to it.” (Gautama Buddha; Indian spiritual leader, founder of Buddhism; circa 563 BC–483 BC.)

“The life I touch for good or ill will touch another life, and in turn another, until who knows where the trembling stops or in what far place my touch will be felt.” (Frederick Buechner; American writer and theologian; 1926–.)

“Never invest in a business you cannot understand.” (Warren Buffett; American businessman; 1930–.)

“Someone's sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.” (Warren Buffett; American businessman; 1930–.)

"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing (Edmund Burke; Irish statesman, author, orator, and philosopher; 1729-1797.)

"Those who don't know history are destined to repeat it." (Edmund Burke; Irish statesman, author, orator, and philosopher; 1729-1797.)

“Consider a future device for individual use, which is a sort of mechanized private file and library. It needs a name, and, to coin one at random, 'memex' will do. A memex is a device in which an individual stores all his books, records, and communications, and which is mechanized so that it may be consulted with exceeding speed and flexibility. It is an enlarged intimate supplement to his memory.” (Vannevar Bush; American engineer and science administrator known for his work on analog computing, his political role in the development of the atomic bomb, and the idea of the memex, which was seen decades later as a pioneering concept for the World Wide Web; from “As We May Think,” The Atlantic, July 1945; 1890–1974.)

“The biggest problem in the world could have been solved when it was small.” (Witter Bynner; American poet, scholar, and writer; 1881–1968.)

“An intellectual is someone whose mind watches itself.” (Albert Camus; French novelist, essayist, and playwright who received the 1957 Nobel Prize for literature; 1913–1960.)

"Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain—and most fools do. But it takes character and self-control to be understanding and forgiving." (Dale Carnegie; American writer and lecturer; 1888–1995.) “People rarely succeed unless they have fun in what they are doing.” (Dale Carnegie; American writer and lecturer; 1888–1995.)

“If you don’t care much about where you want to get to, then it doesn’t much matter which way you go.” (Lewis Carroll, pen name for Charles Lutwidge Dodgson; English author and mathematician; 1832–1898.)

“Now here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!” (Lewis Carroll, pen name for Charles Lutwidge Dodgson; English author and mathematician; 1832–1898.)

"You are old, Father Williams," the young man said, "And your hair has become very white; and yet you incessantly stand on your head. Do you think, at your age it is right?”  "In my youth," Father Williams replied to his son, "I feared it might injure the brain; But, now that I'm perfectly sure I have none, Why, I do it again and again." (Lewis Carroll, pen name for Charles Lutwidge Dodgson; English author and mathematician; 1832–1898.)

“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” (Winston Churchill; British statesman, Prime Minister, and historian; 1874–1965.)

“However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results.” (Winston Churchill; British statesman, Prime Minister, and historian; 1874–1965.)

“Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing ever happened.” (Winston Churchill; British statesman, Prime Minister, and historian; 1874–1965.)

“The empires of the future are the empires of the mind.” (Winston Churchill; British statesman, Prime Minister, and historian; 1874–1965.)

“The price of greatness is responsibility.” (Winston Churchill; British statesman, Prime Minister, and historian; 1874–1965.)

“We make a living by what we do, but we make a life by what we give.” (Winston Churchill; British statesman, Prime Minister, and historian; 1874–1965.)

“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” (Arthur C. Clarke; British science fiction author, inventor, and futurist; 1917–2008.)

“Any teacher that can be replaced by technology—should be.” (Arthur C. Clarke; British science fiction author, inventor, and futurist; 1917–2008.)

“Before you become too entranced with gorgeous gadgets and mesmerizing video displays, let me remind you that information is not knowledge, knowledge is not wisdom, and wisdom is not foresight. Each grows out of the other, and we need them all.” (Arthur C. Clarke; British science fiction author, inventor, and futurist; 1917–2008.)

“If an elderly but distinguished scientist says that something is possible he is almost certainly right, but if he says that it is impossible he is very probably wrong.” (Arthur C. Clarke; British science fiction author, inventor, and futurist; 1917–2008.)

“I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.” (Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known by his pen name Mark Twain; American author and humorist; 1835–1910. See additional Mark Twain quotations at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/m/mark_twain.html.)

“To be good is noble, but to teach others how to be good is nobler, and less trouble.” (Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known by his pen name Mark Twain; American author and humorist; 1835–1910. See additional Mark Twain quotations at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/m/mark_twain.html.)

“Imagine a school with children that can read or write, but with teachers who cannot, and you have a metaphor of the Information Age in which we live.” (Peter Cochrane; United Kingdom engineer, technologist, and entrepreneur; 1950–.)

“Ability will never catch up with the demand for it.” (Confucius; Chinese thinker and social philosopher, whose teachings and philosophy have deeply influenced Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Taiwanese and Vietnamese thought and life; 551 BC–479 BC.)

“He who asks a question is a fool for five minutes; he who does not ask a question remains a fool forever.” (Confucius; Chinese thinker and social philosopher, whose teachings and philosophy have deeply influenced Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Taiwanese and Vietnamese thought and life; 551 BC–479 BC.)

"I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand." (Confucius; Chinese thinker and social philosopher, whose teachings and philosophy have deeply influenced Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Taiwanese and Vietnamese thought and life; 551 BC–479 BC.)

“Learning without thought is labor lost.” (Confucius; Chinese thinker and social philosopher, whose teachings and philosophy have deeply influenced Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Taiwanese and Vietnamese thought and life; 551 BC–479 BC.)

“Tell me, and I will forget. Show me, and I may remember. Involve me, and I will understand.” (Confucius; Chinese thinker and social philosopher, whose teachings and philosophy have deeply influenced Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Taiwanese and Vietnamese thought and life; 551 BC–479 BC.)

“The strongest memory is not as strong as the weakest ink.” (Confucius; Chinese thinker and social philosopher, whose teachings and philosophy have deeply influenced Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Taiwanese and Vietnamese thought and life; 551 BC–479 BC.)

“The superior man understands what is right; the inferior man understands what will sell.” (Confucius; Chinese thinker and social philosopher, whose teachings and philosophy have deeply influenced Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Taiwanese and Vietnamese thought and life; 551 BC–479 BC.)

“I never see what has been done; I only see what remains to be done.” (Marie Curie; French physicist and chemist of Polish upbringing, a pioneer in the field of radioactivity, the first person honored with two Nobel Prizes, and the first woman professor at the University of Paris; 1867–1934.)

Authors D to F
“It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” (Charles Darwin; English scientist and naturalist; 1809–1882.)

“Anyone who conducts an argument by appealing to authority is not using his intelligence; he is just using his memory.” (Leonardo da Vinci; Italian Renaissance scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, painter, sculptor, architect, botanist, musician, and writer, quoted in Concepts of Mathematical Modeling by Walter J. Meyer; 1452–1519.)

“No human investigation can claim to be scientific if it doesn't pass the test of mathematical proof.” (Leonardo da Vinci; Italian Renaissance scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, painter, sculptor, architect, botanist, musician, and writer, quoted in Concepts of Mathematical Modeling by Walter J. Meyer; 1452–1519.)

“The most dangerous experiment we can conduct with our children is to keep schooling the same at a time when every other aspect of our society is dramatically changing.” (Chris Dede; American computer educator and futurist; from written statement to the PCAST panel, 1997.)

“You don't just learn knowledge; you have to create it. Get in the driver's seat, don't just be a passenger. You have to contribute to it or you don't understand it.” (W. Edwards Deming; American international business consultant and statistician; 1900–1993.)

“Each problem that I solved became a rule which served afterwards to solve other problems.” (René Descartes, French philosopher, mathematician, scientist, and writer; 1596–1650.)

“Any genuine teaching will result, if successful, in someone's knowing how to bring about a better condition of things than existed earlier.” (John Dewey; American philosopher, psychologist, and educational reformer; 1859–1952.)

“Education is not a preparation for life; education is life itself.” (John Dewey; American philosopher, psychologist, and educational reformer; 1859–1952.)

“A loving heart is the truest wisdom.” (Charles Dickens; most popular English novelist of the Victorian era and a vigorous social campaigner; 1818–1870.)

“Computation is the principle; the computer is the tool.” (Edsger Dijkstra; Dutch computer scientist; 1930–2002.)

“Computer Science is no more about computers than astronomy is about telescopes.” (Edsger Dijkstra; Dutch computer scientist; 1930–2002.)

“In their capacity as a tool, computers will be but a ripple on the surface of our culture. In their capacity as intellectual challenge, they are without precedent in the cultural history of mankind.” (Edsger Dijkstra; Dutch computer scientist; 1930–2002.)

“Too often we forget that genius, too, depends upon the data within its reach, that even Archimedes could not have devised Edison's inventions.” (Ernest Dimnet; French priest, writer and lecturer, author of The Art of Thinking, a popular book on thinking and reasoning during the 1930s; 1866–1954.)

“A billion here, a billion there, pretty soon you’re talking real money.” (Everett Dirksen; American Senator; 1896–1969.)

“Our greatest natural resource is the minds of our children.” (Walt Disney; American film producer, animator, entertainer, international icon; 1901–1966.)

“If there is no struggle, there is no progress.” (Frederick Douglass; American freed slave who became an ardent abolitionist, orator, and writer; 1818–1895.)

"It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men." (Frederick Douglass; American freed slave who became an ardent abolitionist, orator, and writer; 1818–1895.)

“Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.” (Frederick Douglass; American freed slave who became an ardent abolitionist, orator, and writer; 1818–1895.)

“Historically, the elementary school has been totally labor-intensive. Tomorrow's elementary school will be heavily capital-intensive.” (Peter Drucker; Austrian writer and management consultant, and self-described social ecologist; 1909–2005.)

"Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things." (Peter Drucker; Austrian writer and management consultant, and self-described social ecologist; 1909–2005.)

“Students cannot possibly learn everything of value by the time they leave school, but we can instill in them the desire to keep questioning throughout their lives…” (Peter Drucker; Austrian writer and management consultant, and self-described social ecologist; 1909–2005.)

“There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all.” (Peter Drucker; Austrian writer and management consultant, and self-described social ecologist; 1909–2005.)

“What do you want to contribute?” (Peter Drucker; Austrian writer and management consultant, and self-described social ecologist; 1909–2005.)

"When a subject becomes totally obsolete we make it a required course." (Peter Drucker; Austrian writer and management consultant, and self-described social ecologist; 1909–2005.)

“A good scientist is a person with original ideas. A good engineer is a person who makes a design that works with as few original ideas as possible. There are no prima donnas in engineering.” (Freeman Dyson; British-born American theoretical physicist and mathematician; 1923–.)

“Technology is a gift of God. After the gift of life it is perhaps the greatest of God's gifts. It is the mother of civilizations, of arts and of sciences.” (Freeman Dyson; British-born American theoretical physicist and mathematician; 1923–.)

“Books will soon be obsolete in the schools.... Scholars will soon be able to instruct through the eye. It is possible to touch every branch of human knowledge with the motion picture.” (Thomas A. Edison; American inventor and businessman; quotation from 1913; 1847–1931.)

“Genius is one per cent inspiration, ninety-nine per cent perspiration.” (Thomas Alva Edison; American inventor and businessman; 1847–1931.)

“I believe that the motion picture is destined to revolutionize our educational system and that in a few years it will supplant largely, if not entirely, the use of textbooks.” (Thomas Alva Edison; American inventor and businessman; quotation from 1922; 1847–1931.)

“I have more respect for the fellow with a single idea who gets there than for the fellow with a thousand ideas who does nothing.” (Thomas Alva Edison; American inventor and businessman; 1847–1931.)

“It has been just so in all my inventions. The first step is an intuition— and comes with a burst, then difficulties arise. This thing gives out and then that—‘Bugs’—as such little faults and difficulties are called—show themselves and months of anxious watching,studying, and labor are requisite before commercial successor failure is certainly reached.” (Thomas Alva Edison used the term bugs in 1876; American inventor and businessman; 1847–1931.)

“Just because something doesn't do what you planned it to do in the first place doesn't mean it's useless.” (Thomas Alva Edison; American inventor and businessman; 1847–1931.)

“We don't know a millionth of one percent about anything.” (Thomas Alva Edison; American inventor and businessman; 1847–1931.)

“A hundred times every day I remind myself that my inner and outer life are based on the labors of other men, living and dead, and that I must exert myself in order to give in the same measure as I have received and am still receiving.” (Albert Einstein; German-born theoretical physicist and 1921 Nobel Prize winner; 1879–1955.)

“Bureaucracy is the death of all sound work.” (Albert Einstein; German-born theoretical physicist and 1921 Nobel Prize winner; 1879–1955.)

“Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen.” (Albert Einstein; German-born theoretical physicist and 1921 Nobel Prize winner; 1879–1955.)

“Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school.” (Albert Einstein; German-born theoretical physicist and 1921 Nobel Prize winner; 1879–1955.)

“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” (Albert Einstein; German-born theoretical physicist and 1921 Nobel Prize winner; 1879–1955.)

“Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.” (Albert Einstein; German-born theoretical physicist and 1921 Nobel Prize winner; 1879–1955.)

"I fear the day that technology will surpass our human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots." (Albert Einstein; German-born theoretical physicist and 1921 Nobel Prize winner; 1879–1955.)

“I never teach my pupils; I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn.” (Albert Einstein; German-born theoretical physicist and 1921 Nobel Prize winner; 1879–1955.)

“If I had an hour to solve a problem and my life depended on the solution, I would spend the first 55 minutes determining the proper question to ask, for once I know the proper question, I could solve the problem in less than five minutes.” (Albert Einstein; German-born theoretical physicist and 1921 Nobel Prize winner; 1879–1955.)

“If we knew what we were doing, we wouldn't call it research.” (Albert Einstein; German-born theoretical physicist and 1921 Nobel Prize winner; 1879–1955.)

"Imagination is more important than knowledge." (Albert Einstein; German-born theoretical physicist and 1921 Nobel Prize winner; 1879–1955.)

“Intellectuals solve problems; geniuses prevent them.” (Albert Einstein; German-born theoretical physicist and 1921 Nobel Prize winner; 1879–1955.)

“It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education.” (Albert Einstein; German-born theoretical physicist and 1921 Nobel Prize winner; 1879–1955.)

“It is every man's obligation to put back into the world at least the equivalent of what he takes out of it.” (Albert Einstein; German-born theoretical physicist and 1921 Nobel Prize winner; 1879–1955.)

"It is not enough that you should understand about applied science in order that your work may increase man's blessings. Concern for man himself and his fate must always form the chief interest of all technical endeavors, concern for the great unsolved problems of the organization of labor and the distribution of goods–in order that the creations of our mind shall be a blessing and not a curse to mankind." (Albert Einstein; German-born theoretical physicist and 1921 Nobel Prize winner; 1879–1955.)

"Logic will get you from A to B. Imaginations will get you everywhere." (Albert Einstein; German-born theoretical physicist and 1921 Nobel Prize winner; 1879–1955.)

“Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.” (Albert Einstein; German-born theoretical physicist and 1921 Nobel Prize winner; 1879–1955.)

“The aim [of education] must be the training of independently acting and thinking individuals who, however, can see in the service to the community their highest life achievement.” (Albert Einstein; German-born theoretical physicist and 1921 Nobel Prize winner; 1879–1955.)

“The formulation of a problem is often more essential than its solution, which may be merely a matter of mathematical or experimental skill.” (Albert Einstein; German-born theoretical physicist and 1921 Nobel Prize winner; 1879–1955.)

“The grand aim of all science is to cover the greatest number of empirical facts by logical deduction from the smallest number of hypotheses or axioms.” (Albert Einstein; German-born theoretical physicist and 1921 Nobel Prize winner; 1879–1955.)

“We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” (Albert Einstein; German-born theoretical physicist and 1921 Nobel Prize winner; 1879–1955.)

“When I examine myself and my methods of thought, I come to the conclusion that the gift of fantasy has meant more to me than my talent for absorbing positive knowledge.” (Albert Einstein; German-born theoretical physicist and 1921 Nobel Prize winner; 1879–1955.)

“Wisdom is not a product of schooling, but of the life-long attempt to acquire it.” (Albert Einstein; German-born theoretical physicist and 1921 Nobel Prize winner; 1879–1955.)

“Leadership: The art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it.” (Dwight D. Eisenhower; 34th President of the United States and World War II General; 1890–1969)

“Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.” (Thomas Stearns Eliot; American poet; 1888-1965.)

"Where is the Life we have lost in living? Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?" (Thomas Stearns Eliot; American poet; 1888-1965.)

“A great teacher makes hard things easy.” (Ralph Waldo Emerson; American essayist, philosopher, and poet; 1803–1882.)

"Do not go where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." (Ralph Waldo Emerson; American essayist, philosopher, and poet; 1803–1882.)

“Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen.” (Ralph Waldo Emerson; American essayist, philosopher, and poet; 1803–1882.)

"Every artist was first an amateur." (Ralph Waldo Emerson; American essayist, philosopher, and poet; 1803–1882.)

“First say to yourself what you would be, and then do what you have to do.” (Epictetus; Greek philosopher; 55 AD –135 AD.)

"As for the future, your task is not to see it, but to enable it." (Antoine de Saint Exupéry; French aristocrat, writer, and poet; 1900-1944.)

“I believe that a scientist looking at nonscientific problems is just as dumb as the next guy.” (Richard Feynman; American physicist; 1918–1988.)

“Science is the belief in the ignorance of the experts.” (Richard Feynman; American physicist; 1918–1988.

“There is a computer disease that anybody who works with computers knows about. It's a very serious disease and it interferes completely with the work. The trouble with computers is that you ‘play’ with them!” (Richard Feynman; American physicist; 1918–1988.)

“If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. Then quit. There's no use being a damn fool about it.” (W.C. Fields; American comedian and actor; 1880–1946.)

“An educated mind is, as it were, composed of all the minds of preceding ages.” (Bernard Le Bovier de Fontenelle; French scientist, philosopher, mathematician, and writer; 1657-1757.)

“Chop your own wood, and it will warm you twice.” (Henry Ford; American founder of the Ford Motor Company; 1863–1947.)

“Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal.” (Henry Ford; American founder of the Ford Motor Company; 1863–1947.)

“The world is moving so fast these days that the one who says it can’t be done is generally interrupted by someone doing it.” (Harry Emerson Fosdick; American clergyman; 1878-1969.)

“The whole art of teaching is only the art of awakening the natural curiosity of young minds for the purpose of satisfying it afterwards.” (Anatole France; French novelist and poet; 1844–1924.)

“How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” (Anne Frank; German-Dutch diarist and Holocaust victim; 1929–1945.)

“At twenty years of age the will reigns; at thirty, the wit; and at forty, the judgment.” (Benjamin Franklin; American author, inventor, printer, statesman, and one of the founding fathers; 1706–1790.)

“If you would not be forgotten, as soon as you are dead and rotten, either write things worth reading, or do things worth the writing.” (Benjamin Franklin; American author, inventor, printer, statesman, and one of the founding fathers; 1706–1790.)

“Life's tragedy is that we get old too soon and wise too late.” (Benjamin Franklin; American author, inventor, printer, statesman, and one of the founding fathers; 1706–1790.)

“Never confuse motion with action.” (Benjamin Franklin; American author, inventor, printer, statesman, and one of the founding fathers; 1706–1790.)

“Nothing gives an author so much pleasure as to find his works respectfully quoted by other learned authors.” (Benjamin Franklin; American author, inventor, printer, statesman, and one of the founding fathers; 1706–1790.)

“The things which hurt, instruct.” (Benjamin Franklin; American author, inventor, printer, statesman, and one of the founding fathers; 1706–1790.)

“What science can there be more noble, more excellent, more useful for men, more admirable high and demonstrative, than this of mathematics?” (Benjamin Franklin; American author, inventor, printer, statesman and one of the founding fathers; 1706–1790.)

“When you're finished changing, you're finished.” (Benjamin Franklin; American author, inventor, printer, statesman, and one of the founding fathers; 1706–1790.)

“I am not a teacher…. I am an awakener.” (Robert Frost; American poet; 1874–1963.)

“A proverb is much matter distilled into few words.” (Richard Buckminster Fuller; American engineer, author, designer, inventor, and futurist; 1895–1983.)

“Everyone is born a genius, but the process of living de-geniuses them.” (Richard Buckminster Fuller; American engineer, author, designer, inventor, and futurist; 1895–1983.)

"If you want to teach people a new way of thinking, don't bother trying to teach them. Instead give them a tool, the use of which will lead to new ways of thinking." (Richard Buckminster Fuller; American engineer, author, designer, inventor, and futurist; 1895–1983.)

“The one common experience of all humanity is the challenge of problems.” (Richard Buckminster Fuller; American engineer, author, designer, inventor, and futurist; 1895–1983.)

“All things are difficult before they are easy.” (Thomas Fuller; English churchman and historian; 1654-1734.)

Authors G to I
“Unfortunately what is little recognized is that the most worthwhile scientific books are those in which the author clearly indicates what he does not know; for an author most hurts his readers by concealing his difficulties.” (Evariste Galois; French mathematician; 1811-1832.)

“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.” (Mahatma Gandhi; Indian spiritual and political leader of India and the Indian independence movement; 1869–1948.)

“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” (Mahatma Gandhi; Indian spiritual and political leader of India and the Indian independence movement; 1869–1948.)

“The future depends on what we do in the present.” (Mahatma Gandhi; Indian spiritual and political leader of India and the Indian independence movement; 1869–1948.)

“You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” (Mahatma Gandhi; Indian spiritual and political leader of India and the Indian independence movement; 1869–1948.)

“An individual understands a concept, skill, theory, or domain of knowledge to the extent that he or she can apply it appropriately in a new situation.” (Howard Gardner; American psychologist and educator; 1943–.)

“Mathematics is the queen of the sciences and number theory is the queen of mathematics. She often condescends to render service to astronomy and other natural sciences, but in all relations she is entitled to the first rank.” (Carl Friedrich Gauss; German mathematician, physicist, and prodigy; 1777–1855.)

“Pedagogy is what our species does best. We are teachers, and we want to teach while sitting around the campfire rather than being continually present during our offspring's trial-and-error experiences.” (Michael S. Gazzaniga; American professor of psychology at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he heads the new SAGE Center for the Study of the Mind; 1939–.)

“Adults are obsolete children.” (Theodor Seuss Geisel; American writer and cartoonist, better known as Dr. Seuss; 1994–1991.)

"In times of rapid changes, experience could be your worst enemy." (J. Paul Getty; Anglo-American industrialist; 1892–1976.)

“The future is here. It's just not widely distributed yet.” (William Gibson; American-Canadian writer who coined the term “cyberspace” in his short story “Burning Chrome” and later popularized the concept in his debut novel, Neuromancer; 1948–.)

“Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do.” (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe; German writer and polymath; 1749–1832.)

“Whatever you do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius and power and magic in it.” (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe; German writer and polymath; 1749–1832.)

“A mathematician, like a painter or poet, is a maker of patterns. If his patterns are more permanent than theirs, it is because they are made with ideas.” (Godfrey H. Hardy; English mathematician known for his achievements in number theory and mathematical analysis; 1877–1947.)

“A cynic is not merely one who reads bitter lessons from the past, he is one who is prematurely disappointed in the future.” (Sidney J. Harris; American journalist; 1917–1986.)

“Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change.” (Stephen W. Hawking; British theoretical physicist and cosmologist; 1942–.)

“Do not handicap your children by making their lives easy.” (Robert A Heinlein; American science fiction writer; 1907–1988.)

“Even for the physicist the description in plain language will be a criterion of the degree of understanding that has been reached.” (Werner Karl Heisenberg; German theoretical physicist; 1901–1976.)

"The valid test of a student is his ability to ask the right questions. I would suggest that we evolve a new type of examination paper, one in which the answers are given–the questions to be supplied by the student." (Abraham Joshua Heschel; Polish-American scholar, Jewish philosopher and rabbi; 1907–1972.)

"No two minds ever come together without thereby creating a third, invisible, intangible force, which may be likened to a third mind." (Napoleon Hill; American author; 1883–1970.)

“In times of change, the learner will inherit the earth while the learned are beautifully equipped for a world that no longer exists.” (Eric Hoffer; American social writer and philosopher; 1902–1983.)

“Man's mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions.” (Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.; American jurist and Supreme Court justice; 1841–1935.)

“Change is not made without inconvenience, even from worse to better.” (Richard Hooker; American Anglican priest and influential theologian; 1554–1600.)

Grace Hopper gets credit for coining the name of a ubiquitous computer phenomenon: the bug. In August 1945, while she and some associates were working at Harvard on an experimental machine called the Mark I, a circuit malfunctioned. A researcher using tweezers located and removed the problem: a 2-in. long moth. Hopper taped the offending insect into her logbook. Says she: “From then on, when anything went wrong with a computer, we said it had bugs in it.” The moth is still under tape along with records of the experiment at the U.S. Naval Surface Weapons Center in Dahlgren, Va. (Grace Hopper; American computer scientist, co-developer of binary to machine code and of COBOL, and first woman to attain naval rank of Rear Admiral; 1906–1992.)


 * However, note the following quote from Thomas Edison:


 * “It has been just so in all my inventions. The first step is an intuition— and comes with a burst, then difficulties arise. This thing gives out and then that—‘Bugs’—as such little faults and difficulties are called—show themselves and months of anxious watching,studying, and labor are requisite before commercial successor failure is certainly reached.” (Thomas Alva Edison used the term bugs in 1876; American inventor and businessman; 1847–1931.)

“Humans are allergic to change. They love to say, ‘We've always done it this way.’ I try to fight that. That's why I have a clock on my wall that runs counter-clockwise.” (Grace Hopper; American computer scientist, co-developer of binary to machine code and of COBOL, and first woman to attain naval rank of Rear Admiral; 1906–1992.)

“The most damaging phrase in the language is, ‘We’ve always done it this way.’” (Grace Hopper; American computer scientist, co-developer of binary to machine code and of COBOL, and first woman to attain naval rank of Rear Admiral; 1906–1992.)

"Good judgment comes from experience, experience comes from bad judgment. " (James "Jim" Horning; American computer scientist; 1942–2013.)

"One machine can do the work of fifty ordinary men. No machine can do the work of one extraordinary man. (Elbert G. Hubbard; American writer, publisher, artist, and philosopher; 1856–1915.)

“Research is formalized curiosity. It is poking and prying with a purpose.” (Zora Neale Hurston; American folklorist and writer; 1903–1960.)

“There's only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that's your own self.” (Aldous Huxley; British writer, author of Brave New World; 1894–1963.

“Perhaps the most valuable result of all education is the ability to make yourself do the thing you have to do, when it ought to be done, whether you like it or not.” (Thomas H. Huxley; English writer; 1825–1895.)

“Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” (Thomas H. Huxley; English writer; 1825–1895.)

Authors J to L
“It is our attitude at the beginning of a difficult task which, more than anything else, will affect its successful outcome.” (William James; American philosopher and psychologist; 1842-1910.)

"The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another." (William James; American philosopher and psychologist; 1842-1910.)

“I was bold in the pursuit of knowledge, never fearing to follow truth and reason to whatever results they led.” (Thomas Jefferson; 3rd President of the United States; 1743–1826.)

"It is amazing how much can be done if we are always doing." (Thomas Jefferson; 3rd President of the United States; 1743–1826.)

"In this work, when it shall be found that much is omitted, let it not be forgotten that much likewise is performed." In Preface to The Dictionary of the English Language, 1755. (Samuel Johnson; British author and father of the English dictionary; 1709–1784.)

“Knowledge is of two kinds. We know a subject ourselves, or we know where we can find information upon it.” (Samuel Johnson; British author and father of the English dictionary; 1709–1784.)

“What is written without effort is in general read without pleasure.” (Samuel Johnson; British author and father of the English dictionary; 1709–1784.)

“It is better to debate a question without settling it than to settle a question without debating it.” (Joseph Joubert; French moralist and essayist; 1754–1824.)

“One looks back with appreciation to the brilliant teachers, but with gratitude to those who touched our human feelings. The curriculum is so much necessary raw material, but warmth is the vital element for the growing plant and for the soul of the child.” (Carl Gustav Jung; Swiss psychotherapist; 1875-1961.)

"A general 'law of least effort' applies to cognitive as well as physical exertion. The law asserts that If there are several ways of achieving the same goal, people will eventually gravitate to the least demanding course of action. In the economy of action, effort is a cost, and the acquisition of skill is driven by the balance of benefits and costs. Laziness is built deep into our nature." (Daniel Kahneman; Israeli-American psychologist and winner of the 2002 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences; 1934–.)

“Don't worry about what anybody else is going to do…. The best way to predict the future is to invent it. Really smart people with reasonable funding can do just about anything that doesn't violate too many of Newton's Laws.” (Alan Kay; American computer scientist; 1940–.) See http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/a/alankay160916.html.

“Simple things should be simple. Complex things should be possible.” (Alan Kay; American computer scientist; 1940–.)

For additional Alan Kay quotations see http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/a/alan_kay.html. For example, "If you don't fail at least 90 percent of the time, you're not aiming high enough."

“Defeat is simply a signal to press onward.” (Helen Keller; American author and lecturer, the first deaf-blind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree; 1880–1968.)

“I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something. And because I can not do everything, I will not refuse to do something I can do.” (Helen Keller; American author and lecturer, the first deaf-blind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree; 1880–1968.)

"To measure is to know. If you can not measure it, you can not improve it." (Lord Kelvin; William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin; Scots-Irish mathematical physicist and engineer; 1824-1907.

“Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.” (John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy; 35th President of the United States; May 29, 1917–November 22, 1963.)

"The Gross National Product does not include the beauty of our poetry or the intelligence of our public debate. It measures neither our wit nor our courage, neither our wisdom nor our learning, neither our compassion nor our devotion. It measures everything, in short, except that which makes life worthwhile. (Robert F. Kennedy; American statesman; 1925-1968.)

"The Moving Finger writes, and, having writ, Moves on: Nor all thy Piety nor Wit Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line, Nor all your Tears wash out a Word of it." (Omar Khayyam; Persian [now Iran] mathematician and poet; 1048–1131.) (Note: translation by Edward FitzGerald, 1889.)


 * Witty remark by David Moursund. The above statement was made before the invention of the word processor.

“All progress is precarious, and the solution of one problem brings us face to face with another problem.” (Martin Luther King, Jr.; American minister, civil rights activist, and Nobel Peace Prize winner; 1926–1968.)

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” (Martin Luther King, Jr.; American minister, civil rights activist, and Nobel Peace Prize winner; 1926–1968.)

“The time is always right to do what is right.” (Martin Luther King, Jr.; American minister, civil rights activist, and Nobel Peace Prize winner; 1926–1968.)

"You don't have to see the whole staircase to take the first step." (Martin Luther King, Jr.; American minister, civil rights activist, and Nobel Peace Prize winner; 1926–1968.)

“A proof tells us where to concentrate our doubts.” (Morris Kline; American mathematician and a writer on the history, philosophy, and teaching of mathematics; 1908–1992.)

“Logic is the art of going wrong with confidence.” (Morris Kline; American mathematician and a writer on the history, philosophy, and teaching of mathematics; 1908–1992.)

“Statistics: the mathematical theory of ignorance.” (Morris Kline; American mathematician and a writer on the history, philosophy, and teaching of mathematics; 1908–1992.)

“I have been a happy man ever since January 1, 1990, when I no longer had an email address. I'd used email since about 1975, and it seems to me that 15 years of email is plenty for one lifetime.” (Donald Knuth; American computer scientist.; 1938–.)

“God created the natural numbers. All the rest is the work of man.” (Leopold Kronecker; German mathematician; 1823-1891.)

“It is a poor carpenter who blames his tools.” (Thomas Kuhn; American scientist and author; 1922–1996.)

“In the final analysis it is not what you do for your children but what you have taught them to do for themselves that will make them successful human beings.” (Ann Landers was a pen name created by Chicago Sun-Times advice columnist Ruth Crowley in 1943 and taken over by Eppie Lederer in 1955. For 56 years, the Ask Ann Landers syndicated advice column was a regular feature in many newspapers across North America. Due to this popularity, Ann Landers, though fictional, became something of a national institution and cultural icon.)

“Life is like a piano. What you get out of it depends on how you play it.” (Tom Lehrer; American songwriter, satirist, mathematician; 1928–.)

"Look for a way to lift someone up. If that's all you do, it's enough." (Elizabeth Lesser; American entrepreneur; co-founder and senior adviser of Omega Institute.)

“It is unworthy of excellent men to lose hours like slaves in the labor of calculation which could be safely relegated to anyone else if machines were used.” (Gottfried Leibniz; German philosopher and mathematician; 1646–1716.)

"Lecturing is the best way to get information from teacher's notebook to student's notebook without touching the student's mind." (George Leonard; American Writer, Educator; 1923-2010.)

“Children are the message we send to the future.” (Abraham Lincoln; 16th President of the United States; 1809–1865.) Note: Also attributed to others, including Marshall McLuhan, Canadian educator, philosopher, and scholar; 1911–1980.

“If I had eight hours to chop down a tree, I'd spend six sharpening my axe.” (Abraham Lincoln; 16th President of the United States; 1809–1865.)

“In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years.” (Abraham Lincoln; 16th President of the United States; 1809–1865.)

“To sin by silence when they should protest makes cowards of men.” (Abraham Lincoln; 16th President of the United States; 1809–1865.)

“The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather in a lack of will.” (Vince Lombardi; American football coach; 1913–1970.)

Authors M to O
“One change leaves the way open for the introduction of others.” (Niccolò Machiavelli; Italian philosopher/writer, considered to be one of the main founders of modern political science; 1469–1527.)

"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." (Nelson Mandela; South African anti-apartheid revolutionary and politician who served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999;1918-2013.)

"In this Commonwealth, there are 3,000 public schools, in all of which the rudiments of knowledge are taught. These schools, at the present time, are so many distinct independent communities; each being governed by its own habits, traditions, and local customs. There is no common, superintending power over them; there is no bond of brotherhood or family between them. They are strangers and aliens to each other. As the system is now administered, if any improvement in principles or modes of teaching is discovered by talent or accident, in one school, instead of being published to the world, it dies with the discoverer. No means exist for multiplying new truths, or preserving old ones." (Horace Mann; American politician and educational reformer arguing for universal public education, known as “Father of the Common School Movement”; 1796–1859.)

"What we do in life echoes through eternity." (Maximus Decimus Meridius; Roman General and gladiator; 152–192.)

“I don't know who discovered water but it wasn't a fish!” (Marshall McLuhan; Canadian educator, philosopher, and scholar; 1911–1980.)

“On Spaceship Earth there are no passengers; everybody is a member of the crew. We have moved into an age in which everybody's activities affect everybody else.” (Marshall McLuhan; Canadian educator, philosopher, and scholar; 1911–1980.)

“The medium is the message. This is merely to say that the personal and social consequences of any medium—that is, of any extension of ourselves—result from the new scale that is introduced into our affairs by each extension of ourselves, or by any new technology.” (Marshall McLuhan; Canadian educator, philosopher, and scholar; 1911–1980.)

“Always remember that you are absolutely unique. Just like everyone else.” (Margaret Mead; American cultural anthropologist; 1901–1978.)

“If one cannot state a matter clearly enough so that even an intelligent twelve-year-old can understand it, one should remain within the cloistered walls of the university and laboratory until one gets a better grasp of one’s subject matter.” (Margaret Mead; American cultural anthropologist; 1901–1978.)

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.” (Margaret Mead; American cultural anthropologist; 1901–1978.)

“There is always an easy solution to every human problem—neat, plausible, and wrong.” (Henry Louis “H.L.” Mencken; American journalist, essayist, editor; 1880–1956.)

“And still I am learning!” (Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti, known as Michelangelo; Italian Renaissance painter, sculptor, architect, poet, and engineer; 1475–1564.)

“Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that's creativity.” (Charles Mingus; American jazz musician, composer, bandleader, and civil rights activist; 1922–1979.)

“No computer has ever been designed that is ever aware of what it's doing; but most of the time, we aren't either.” (Marvin Minsky; American cognitive scientist in the field of artificial intelligence; 1927–2016.)

“We discovered that education is not something which the teacher does, but that it is a natural process which develops spontaneously in the human being. It is not acquired by listening to words, but in virtue of experiences in which the child acts on his environment. The teacher's task is not to talk, but to prepare and arrange a series of motives for cultural activity in a special environment made for the child.” (Maria Montessori; Italian physician, educator, philosopher, humanitarian, and devout Catholic; 1870–1952.)

“The real purpose of books is to trap the mind into doing its own thinking.” (Christopher Morley; American journalist, novelist, and poet; 1890–1957.)

“One striking fact is that the complex world of education—unlike defense, health care, or industrial production—does not rest on a strong research base. In no other field are personal experience and ideology so frequently relied on to make policy choices, and in no other field is the research base so inadequate and little used.” (Improving Student Learning. National Research Council, 1999.)

“If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” (Isaac Newton; English mathematician and physicist; 1642 –1726.)

“A book is made better by good readers and clearer by good opponents.” (Friedrich W. Nietzsche; German philosopher; 1844–1900.)

“A good author possesses not only his own intellect, but also that of his friends.” (Friedrich W. Nietzsche; German philosopher; 1844–1900.)

“Rule No. 1: Use your own good judgment in all situations. There will be no additional rules.” (Bruce, Jim, and John Nordstrom, co-presidents of Nordstrom department stores, in the employee handbook.

Authors P to R
“Nothing could be more absurd than an experiment in which computers are placed in a classroom where nothing else is changed.” (Seymour Papert; South African/American mathematician, computer scientist, and educator; 1928-2016.)

“The reason most kids don't like school is not that the work is too hard, but that it is utterly boring.” (Seymour Papert; South African/American mathematician, computer scientist, and educator; 1928-2016.)

“There won’t be schools in the future…. I think the computer will blow up the school. That is, the school defined as something where there are classes, teachers running exams, people structured in groups by age, following a curriculum—all of that....” (Seymour Papert; South African/American mathematician, computer scientist, and educator; 1928-2016.)

“I have made this letter longer than usual, only because I have not had the time to make it shorter.” (Blaise Pascal; French mathematician, physicist, and religious philosopher; 1623-1662.)

“Chance favors only the prepared mind.” (Louis Pasteur; French chemist and microbiologist; 1822-1895.)

“Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.” (George S. Patton, Jr.; American World War II general; 1885-1945.)

“The best way to have a good idea is to have lots of ideas.” (Linus Pauling; American scientist; 1901-1994.)

“If a problem has no solution, it may not be a problem, but a fact—not to be solved, but to be coped with over time.” (Shimon Peres; Israeli political leader, Prime Minister, and President; 1923–.)

“My familiarity with various software programs is part of my intelligence if I have access to those tools.” (David Perkins; American Professor, Harvard Graduate School of Education.)

“If you don't know where you are going, you're likely to end up somewhere else.” (Lawrence J. Peter; American educator of “Peter's Principles” fame; 1919-1990.)

“The man who makes no mistakes does not usually make anything.” (John Edward Phelps; American lawyer and diplomat; 1822-1900.)

“If we desire to form individuals capable of inventive thought and of helping the society of tomorrow to achieve progress, then it is clear that an education which is an active discovery of reality is superior to one that consists merely in providing the young with ready-made wills to will with and ready-made truths to know with.” (Jean Piaget; Swiss philosopher, natural scientist, and educator, well known for his work studying children and his 4-stage theory of cognitive development; 1896-1980.)

“It is with children that we have the best chance of studying the development of logical knowledge, mathematical knowledge, physical knowledge, and so forth.” (Jean Piaget; Swiss philosopher, natural scientist, and educator, well known for his work studying children and his 4-stage theory of cognitive development; 1896-1980.)

“The principal goal of education in the schools should be creating men and women who are capable of doing new things, not simply repeating what other generations have done.” (Jean Piaget; Swiss philosopher, natural scientist, and educator, well known for his work studying children and his 4-stage theory of cognitive development; 1896-1980.)

“Elements of instruction...should be presented to the mind in childhood; not, however, under any notion of forcing education. A freeman ought not to be a slave in the acquisition of knowledge of any kind. Bodily exercise, when compulsory, does no harm to the body; but knowledge which is acquired under compulsion obtains no hold on the mind.” (Plato; Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the western world; 428/427 BC-348/347 BC.)

“If women are to do the same work as men, we must teach them the same things.” (Plato; Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the western world; 428/427 BC-348/347 BC.)

“Necessity is the mother of invention.” (Plato; Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the western world; 428/427 BC-348/347 BC.)

“When you spoke of a nature gifted or not gifted in any respect, did you mean to say that one man may acquire a thing easily, another with difficulty; a little learning will lead the one to discover a great deal; whereas the other, after much study and application no sooner learns then he forgets.” (Plato; Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the western world; 428/427 BC-348/347 BC.)

“The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled.” (Plutarch; Roman historian; 46-120.)

"A great discovery solves a great problem but there is a grain of discovery in the solution of any problem. Your problem may be modest; but if it brings into play your inventive faculties, and if you solve it by your own means, you may experience the tension and enjoy the triumph of discovery." (George Polya; Hungarian and American math researcher and educator; 1887-1985.)

“Mathematics consists of content and know-how. What is know-how in mathematics? The ability to solve problems.” (George Polya; Hungarian math researcher and educator; 1887–1985.)

“It's not only what we do, but what we fail to do, for which we are accountable.” (Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, stage name Molière; French playwright; 1622-1673.)

"A new technology does not add something, it changes everything.” (Neil Postman; American author, educator, media theorist and cultural critic; 1931-2003.)

“Once you have learned how to ask relevant and appropriate questions, you have learned how to learn and no one can keep you from learning whatever you want or need to know.” (Neil Postman, 1931-2003, and Charles Weingartner; from Teaching as a Subversive Activity, Dell, 1969.)

“Every act of communication is, in some way, an act of translation.” (Gregory Rabassa; American translator of Gabriel García Márquez and other South American authors; 1922-.) (Note: Comedy in Translation, a TED video by Chris Bliss, discusses Gregory Rabassa's insight before explaining how great comedy can translate deep truths for a mass audience.)

“Failure is not the only punishment for laziness; there is also the success of others.” (Jules Renard; French author; 1864-1910.)

“Good ideas and innovations must be driven into existence by courageous patience.” (Hyman George Rickover; American four-star Naval Admiral who directed original development of naval nuclear propulsion; 1900–1986.)

“The ability to deal with people is as purchasable a commodity as sugar or coffee and I will pay more for that ability than for any other under the sun.” (John D. Rockefeller; American industrialist and philanthropist; 1839–1937.)

"The only person who is educated is the one who has learned how to learn and change. (Carl Rogers; American psychologist; 1902-1987.)

“Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there.” (Will Rogers; American cowboy, humorist, and commentator; 1879-1935.)

“If you're riding' ahead of the herd, take a look back every now and then to make sure it's still there.” (Will Rogers; American cowboy, humorist, and commentator; 1879-1935.)

“It is common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something.” (Franklin D. Roosevelt; 32nd President of the United States; 1882­-1945.)

"The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have little." (Franklin D. Roosevelt; 32nd President of the United States; 1882-1945.)

"We may not be able to prepare the future for our children, but we can at least prepare our children for the future." (Franklin D. Roosevelt; 32nd President of the United States; 1882­1945.)

“A typical vice of American politics is the avoidance of saying anything real on real issues.” (Theodore Roosevelt; 26th President of the United States; 1858-1919.)

“I am a part of everything that I have read.” (Theodore Roosevelt; 26th President of the United States; 1858-1919.)

"We cannot hope that many children will learn mathematics unless we find a way to share our enjoyment and show them its beauty as well as its utility." (Mary Beth Ruskai; American mathematician; 1944-.

“One of the symptoms of an approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one's work is terribly important.” (Bertrand Russell; British philosopher, mathematician, historian, and pacifist; 1872–1970.)

“To be without some of the things you want is an indispensable part of happiness.” (Bertrand Russell; English philosopher, historian, logician, mathematician, and pacifist; 1872–1970)

Authors S to U
“Intelligence is quickness in seeing things as they are.” (George Santayana; Spanish citizen raised and educated in the United States, generally considered an American man of letters; 1863-1952.)

“The wisest mind has something yet to learn.” (George Santayana; Spanish citizen raised and educated in the United States, generally considered an American man of letters; 1863-1952.)

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” (George Santayana; Spanish citizen raised and educated in the United States, generally considered an American man of letters; 1863-1952.) See a somewhat similar statement by Edmund Burke, 1729-1797.

“We must welcome the future, remembering that soon it will be the past; and we must respect the past, remembering that it was once all that was humanly possible.” (George Santayana; Spanish citizen raised and educated in the United States, generally considered an American man of letters; 1863-1952.)

“Math is just logic with numbers attached.” (Marilyn vos Savant; American magazine columnist, author, lecturer, and playwright who rose to fame through her listing in the Guinness Book of World Records under "Highest IQ"; 1946-.)

“In the book of life, the answers aren’t in the back.” (Charles Schulz; American cartoonist speaking through the voice of his comic strip character Charlie Brown; 1922-2000.)

“The boss drives people; the leader coaches them. The boss depends on authority; the leader on good will. The boss inspires fear; the leader inspires enthusiasm. The boss says ‘I’; the leader says ‘we.’ The boss fixes the blame for the breakdown; the leader fixes the breakdown. The boss says ‘go’; the leader says ‘let’s go!’” (Harry Gordon Selfridge, Sr.; American-British retail magnate; 1864–1947.)

“Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.” (Seneca; Roman philosopher and advocate of cooperative learning; 4 BC–65 AD.)

“When you teach, you learn twice.” (Seneca; Roman philosopher and advocate of cooperative learning; 4 BC–65 AD.)

“Through learning we re-create ourselves. Through learning we become able to do something we never were able to do. Through learning we re-perceive the world and our relationship to it. Through learning we extend our capacity to create, to be part of the generative process of life. There is within each of us a deep hunger for this type of learning.” (Peter Senge; American scientist and director of the Center for Organizational Learning at the MIT Sloan School of Management; 1947-.)

“It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing." (William Shakespeare; English playwright; 1564-1616.)

“Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.” (George Bernard Shaw; Irish playwright; 1856-1950.)

“Few people think more than two or three times a year; I have made an international reputation for myself by thinking once or twice a week.” (George Bernard Shaw; Irish playwright; 1856-1950.)

“If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange these apples then you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas.” (George Bernard Shaw; Irish playwright; 1856-1950.)

“The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and if they can't find them, make them.” (George Bernard Shaw; Irish playwright; 1856-1950.)

“The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man.” (George Bernard Shaw; Irish playwright; 1856-1950.)

“Those who can, do; those who can’t, teach.” (George Bernard Shaw; Irish playwright; 1856-1950.)

“You see things and say, ‘Why?’ But I dream things that never were, and I say, ‘Why not?’” (George Bernard Shaw; Irish playwright; 1856-1950.)

“It is bad enough to reinvent the wheel. What really hurts is when they reinvent the flat tire.” (Lee S. Shulman; American educational psychologist.)

“Because education will be much more efficient, it will probably cost less than it does now. This is not a utopian dream. It is well within the range of an existing technology of teaching.” (B.F. Skinner; American psychologist, author, advocate for social reform; 1904-1990.)

“Education is what survives when what has been learned has been forgotten.” (B.F. Skinner; American psychologist, author, advocate for social reform; 1904-1990.)

“The real problem is not whether machines think but whether people do.” (B.F. Skinner; American psychologist, author, advocate for social reform; 1904-1990.)

“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you about our Civilization; that it’s based on the freedom of the individual to do pretty much as he pleases, as long as it is not to the public harm. And, as far as possible, equality of all the entities of Civilization.” (E.E. "Doc" Smith; American science fiction author; 1890-1965.) Quote from the 1941 book, Second Stage Lensman.

“Our youth now loves luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for authority, disrespect for older people. Children nowadays are tyrants. They no longer rise when their elders enter the room. They contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble their food and tyrannize their teachers.” (Socrates; Greek philosopher; circa 469 BC-399 BC.)

"The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new." (Socrates; Greek philosopher; circa 469 BC-399 BC.)

“Everybody gets so much information all day long that they lose their common sense.” (Gertrude Stein; American writer, poet, and feminist; 1874-1946.)

“On the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog.” (Two dogs talking to each other, in a New Yorker carton by Peter Steiner, July 5, 1993.) Accessed 10/29/05: http://www.unc.edu/depts/jomc/academics/dri/idog.html.

“Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant.” (Robert Louis Stevenson; Scots novelist, poet, and essayist; 1850-1894.)

"Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming, ‘Wow! What a ride!’” (Hunter S. Thompson; American journalist and author; 1937-2005).

“All education springs from some image of the future. If the image of the future held by a society is grossly inaccurate, its education system will betray its youth.” (Alvin Toffler; American writer and futurist; 1928-2016.)

“Future shock [is] the shattering stress and disorientation that we induce in individuals by subjecting them to too much change in too short a time.” (Alvin Toffler; American writer and futurist; 1928-2016.)

“The illiterate of the 21st century will not be the one who can not read and write, but the one who can not learn, unlearn, and relearn.” (Alvin Toffler; American writer and futurist; 1928-2016.)

“Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.” (Leo Tolstoy; Russian novelist and philosopher; 1828-1910.)

“Mankind owes to the child the best it has to give.” (United Nations Declaration of the Rights of the Child, 1959.)

Authors V to Z
"The trouble with our times is that the future is not what it used to be.“ (Paul Valery; French poet, essayist, and philosopher; 1871-1945.)

"It is the process of working and by watching yourself work that innovation occurs.” (J. Kirk T. Varnedoe; American world renowned artist and MacArthur award winner; 1946–2003.)

“Anything one man can imagine, other men can make real.” (Jules Verne; French science fiction pioneer; 1828–1905.)

“As the twig is bent the tree inclines.” (Virgil–Publius Vergilius Maro; Roman poet; 70 BC–19 BC.)

“Appreciation is a wonderful thing; it makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well.” (Voltaire; French writer and philosopher; 1694-1778.)

"Work saves a man from three great evils: boredom, vice, and need." (Voltaire; French writer and philosopher; 1694-1778.)

“I have learned to use the word 'impossible' with the greatest caution.” (Wernher von Braun; German-American rocket scientist; 1912–1977).

"Imagine a world in which every single person on the planet has free access to the sum of all human knowledge." (Jimmy Wales; American Founder of Wikipedia;1966-.)

"Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome." (Booker T. Washington; American educator, author and political leader; 1856–1915.)

“Human history becomes, more and more, a race between education and catastrophe.” (H.G. Wells; English science fiction author; 1866–1946.)

"A smart man makes a mistake, learns from it, and never makes that mistake again. But a wise man finds a smart man and learns from him how to avoid the mistake altogether." (Roy H. Williams; a best selling author and marketing consultant best known for his Wizard of Ads trilogy; 1955-.)

“The time may not be very remote when it will be understood that for complete initiation as an efficient citizen of one of the great complex world states that are now developing, it is as necessary to be able to compute, to think in averages and maxima and minima, as it is now to be able to read and to write.” (H.G. Wells; English science fiction author; 1866–1946.)

Alfred North Whitehead; English mathematician and philosopher; 1861– 1947. Quoting from his 1929 collection of essays, The Aims of Education:


 * In education, as elsewhere, the broad primrose path leads to a nasty place. This evil path is represented by a book or a set of lectures which will practically enable the student to learn by heart all the questions likely to be asked at the next external examination. And I may say in passing that no educational system is possible unless every question directly asked of a pupil at any examination is either framed or modified by the actual teacher of that pupil in that subject.


 * A common external examination system is fatal to education. The process of exhibiting the applications of knowledge must, for its success, essentially depend on the character of the pupils and the genius of the teacher.


 * The best procedure will depend on several factors, none of which can be neglected, namely, the genius of the teacher, the intellectual type of the pupils, their prospects in life, the opportunities offered by the immediate surroundings of the school and allied factors of this sort. It is for this reason that the uniform external examination is so deadly. We do not denounce it because we are cranks, and like denouncing established things. We are not so childish. Also, of course, such examinations have their use in testing slackness. Our reason of dislike is very definite and very practical. It kills the best part of culture.

“Civilization advances by extending the number of important operations which we can perform without thinking of them.” (Alfred North Whitehead; English mathematician and philosopher who wrote on algebra, logic, foundations of mathematics, philosophy of science, physics, metaphysics, and education, and co-authored the epochal Principia Mathematica with Bertrand Russell; 1861–1947.)

“No one who achieves success does so without acknowledging the help of others. The wise and confident acknowledge this help with gratitude.” (Alfred North Whitehead; English mathematician and philosopher who wrote on algebra, logic, foundations of mathematics, philosophy of science, physics, metaphysics, and education, and co-authored the epochal Principia Mathematica with Bertrand Russell; 1861–1947.)

“The art of progress is to preserve order amid change and to preserve change amid order.” (Alfred North Whitehead; English mathematician and philosopher who wrote on algebra, logic, foundations of mathematics, philosophy of science, physics, metaphysics, and education, and co-authored the epochal Principia Mathematica with Bertrand Russell; 1861–1947.)

“The ‘silly question’ is the first intimation of some totally new development.” (Alfred North Whitehead; English mathematician and philosopher who wrote on algebra, logic, foundations of mathematics, philosophy of science, physics, metaphysics, and education, and co-authored the epochal Principia Mathematica with Bertrand Russell; 1861–1947.)

“The vitality of thought is in adventure. Ideas won't keep. Something must be done about them. When the idea is new, its custodians have fervor, live for it, and if need be, die for it.” (Alfred North Whitehead; English mathematician and philosopher who wrote on algebra, logic, foundations of mathematics, philosophy of science, physics, metaphysics, and education, and co-authored the epochal Principia Mathematica with Bertrand Russell; 1861–1947.)

“The only thing to do with good advice is pass it on. It is never any use to oneself.” (Oscar Wilde; Irish playwright, novelist, and poet; 1854-1900.)

"Be yourself—everyone else is already taken.(Oscar Wilde; Irish playwright, novelist, and poet; 1854-1900.)

"If you want to make enemies, try to change something." (Thomas Woodrow Wilson; 28th President of the United States; 1856-1924.)

“Don't let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.” (John Wooden; American basketball player and coaching legend; 1910–2010.)

“If it keeps up, man will atrophy all his limbs but the push-button finger.” (Frank Lloyd Wright; American architect and educator; 1867–1959.)

“The best dividends on the labor invested have invariably come from seeking more knowledge rather than more power.” (Orville and Wilber Wright; two Americans who are generally credited with inventing and building the world's first successful airplane and making the first controlled, powered, and sustained heavier-than-air human flight, on December 17, 1903; Orville Wright, 1871-1948, Wilbur Wright, 1867-1912.)

Additional Quotations about Importance of Play
"Play is the work of the child." - Maria Montessori "Play is the highest form of research." - Albert Einstein "It is a happy talent to know how to play." - Ralph Waldo Emerson "Play gives children a chance to practice what they are learning." - Mr. Rogers "The playing adult steps sideward into another reality; the playing child advances forward to new stages of mastery." - Erik H. Erikson "Children learn as they play. Most importantly, in play children learn how to learn." - O. Fred Donaldson "The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play instinct." - Carl Jung "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw "Do not keep children to their studies by compulsion but by play." - Plato "Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children play is serious learning. Play is really the work of childhood." - Fred Rogers

"All grownups were once children, but very few of them remember it." [From Little Prince via Jean Feldman] [From Diane Ravitch's blog, October 2016]

Another quote:

"In play it is as though [the child] were a head taller than himself. As in the focus of a magnifying glass, PLAY contains all developmental tendencies in a condensed form and is itself a major source of development." (Lev Vygotsky) [From The Power of PLAY - Research Summary on Play and Learning]

Quotations About Change
A very large collection of quotations about change is available at http://creatingminds.org/quotes/change.htm. This collection is in the Changing Minds website that was created by and is maintained by "David Straker, an individual with a long background in a range of mind-changing areas, including (in no particular order) counseling, psychology, marketing, sales, education, business change, international management and consulting. Oh yes, and parenting. And four postgraduate qualifications in changing minds (M.Sc. psychology, M.Sc. management, Postgraduate Certificate in Education, and Diploma in Marketing)"

Waiting to be Posted
“ 	Imagine a world in which every single person on the planet has free access to the sum of all human knowledge. ”

—Jimmy Wales, Founder of Wikipedia

—Herman B Wells

Dear Colleagues, As we all work with ever more limited resources, I become increasingly convinced of the wisdom expressed long ago by Herman B. Wells, President of Indiana University from 1938 to 1962, and one of the founders of the Committee on Institutional Collaboration of the BIG 10: “ '''Academic isolation has long been impractical; in today’s world, it is impossible. At a time when yesterday’s bright new fact becomes today’s doubt and tomorrow’s myth, no single institution has the resources in faculty or facilities to go it alone. A university must do more than just stand guard over the nation’s heritage, it must illuminate the present and help shape the future. This demands cooperation—not a diversity of weaknesses, but a union of strengths.'''

Author and Acknowledgments
This page was created by David Moursund.

Thanks to Ann Lathrop for her editing assistance.

Thanks to Wikipedia, the source of much of the author information and many of the quotes included here.

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