* that Albert Einstein was considered retarded, Isaac Newton was thought to be a slow learner, Joseph Priestly (the discoverer of oxygen) never took a science course, and Louis Pasteur got a C in chemistry.
* that in 1876 when G. G. Hubbard learned of his future son-in-law's invention, he called it "only a toy." This daughter was engaged to a young man named Alexander Graham Bell.
* that in 1969 the New York Times published an apology for once printing derisive comments about an inventor's theory. Robert Goddard was on the receiving end of the Time's criticism of his contention that rockets could operate in outer space. The apology was printed the day after Apollo 11 left earth orbit for the moon.
* that in the early 1940's a GE engineer was charged with a task of utmost importance to the war effort: develop a cheap substitute for rubber that would be used to produce tires, gas masks, and a whole host of military gear. James Wright tackled the task diligently -- and wound up inventing Silly Putty. Good thing he didn't work on the artificial heart.
* that neither Wilber nor Orville Wright graduated from high school. However, they were both avid readers.
* that Charles Goodyear began his experiments on rubber in a debtors' prison. He was there so often that he referred to it as his "hotel."
* that Darryl F. Zanuck of 20th Century Fox thought TV was just a passing fancy. In 1946 he said, 'Video won't be able to hold any market after the first six months. People will soon get tired of staring at a plywood box every night."
* that in the fall of 1989 the Cold Fusion panel of the Energy Research Advisory Board to the DOE concluded, "The panel recommends against special funding for the investigation of phenomena attributed to cold fusion."
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From The Cold Fusion Times Web Site:
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From: The Cold Fusion Times Web Site at: http://world.std.com/~mica/cft.html
What is believed to be "common knowledge" is NOT ALWAYS truly "correct" in the long run. Consider the following two quotes from sources of authority (?pathological skeptics) from about a century ago:
"... after a few more flashes in the pan, we shall hear very little more of Edison or his electric lamp. Every claim he makes has been tested and proved impracticable." [New York Times, January 16, 1880]
"Professor Goddard ... does not know the relation of action to reaction ... he only seems to lack the knowledge ladled out daily in our high schools" [New York Times, January 13, 1920]
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Temporal provincialisms:
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"Heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible - Lord Kelvin, British physicist, 1895.
"There is no likelihood that man can ever tap the power of the atom" - Robert Millikan, Nobel Prize physicist, 1923.
"There is no hope for the fanciful idea of reaching the moon because of insurmountable barriers to escaping the earth's gravity" - Dr. F. R. Moulton, University of Chicago astronomer, 1932.
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Other Gems:
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"Don't go where the path leads. Rather go where there is no path and leave a trail." - Unknown.
"We are but cogwheels in the medium of the universe, and it is...an unavoidable consequence of the laws governing that the pioneer who is far in advance of his age is not understood and must suffer pain and disappointment and be content with the higher reward which is accorded to him by posterity." - Nikola Tesla.
"Far better to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much, nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows not victory or defeat." - Theodore Roosevelt.
"You cannot depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus." - Mark Twain(Samuel Clemens).
"When a true genius appears, you can know him by this sign: That all the dunces are in a confederacy against him!" - Jonathan Swift.
"I don't like it, and I'm sorry I ever had anything to do with it." - Erwin Schrodinger talking about Quantum Mechanics.
"As far as the Laws of Mathematics refer to Reality, they are not certain, and as far as they are certain, they do not refer to Reality" - Albert Einstein (1879-1955).
"Only two things are certain: the Universe and human stupidity; and I'm not certain about the Universe" - Albert Einstein (1879-1955).
"Never express yourself more clearly than you think" - Neils Bohr (1885-1962).
"The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not 'Eureka!' (I found it) - but 'That's funny...'" - Isaac Asimov.
"A sufficiently high level of technology is indistinguishable from magic." - Arthur C. Clarke.
"If common sense is so common, why do so few have it?" - Glen and Mary Tuttle, 1997.
"This page underscores the fact that the price of true innovation is the scorn of the status quo. However, innovation, whether it be technological, philosophical, artistic, or cultural, as absolutely necessary to the viability of society." - Richard Shultz, 1996.
"At any given time in history, science was only so far advanced and sometimes violently denied the findings of advanced thinkers - only to come back later to the exact same point - to prove now the truth of what was previously denied." - Bernd Nurnberger, Yokohama, Japan, 1996.
"Grant shook his head. It's been discussed, in the field. Many people imagined it was coming. But not so soon." "Story of our species, Malcolm said laughing. Everybody knows it's coming, but not so soon." - Crichton, Michael (Jurassic Park, Ballantine Books, 1990).
"It has been said that science is man's futile attempt to understand Nature. While it becomes important to learn, understand, and apply science in our everyday lives, it is equally important to continue the pursuit of unraveling the secrets of Nature." - Patrick Bailey (ISNE 1993, from Forward 1).
"Woe to you, you blind leaders of a hoard of blind, who say: 'This should be done and that should not be left undone.' You only represent a false teaching and ignore the laws of Creation." - Rashid, Isa (The Talmud of Jmmanuel, 24:29-30, 1990, Wild Flower Press, PO Box 230893, Tigard, Oregon, 97224).
"But goodness alone is never enough. A hard, cold wisdom is required for goodness to accomplish good." - Jubal Harshaw (Stranger In A Strange Land, by Robert A. Heinlein, Berkley Books, paperback, 1982).
"Waiting Is." - Valentine Michael Smith (Stranger In A Strange Land, by Robert A. Heinlein, Berkley Books, paperback, 1982).
"The willing, Destiny guides them; the unwilling, Destiny drags them."
- Seneca the Younger (c.4B.C. - A.D. 65).
"Radio has no future." - Lord Kelvin, Scottish physicist, 1897.
"Everything that can be invented has been invented." - Charles Duell, U.S. Commissioner of Patents, 1899. [This quote is from a faulty memory element, but may accurate enough to be researched and included.]
"Man will not fly for 50 years." - Orville Wright, aviation pioneer, 1901.
"My imagination refuses to see any sort of submarine doing anything but suffocating its crew and floundering at sea." - Jules Verne, author of "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea," 1800's.
"What use could this company make of an electrical toy [telephone]?"
- William Orton, President of WESTERN UNION.
"The horse is here to stay the automobile is only a fad." - Advice given by the President of MICHIGAN SAVINGS BANK to Horace Rackham, lawyer of Henry Ford.
"Airplanes are interesting toys but of no military value." - Marshal Ferdinand Foch, French military strategist, 1911.
"Who the hell wants to hear actors talk?" - Harry Warner, WARNER BROTHERS, 1927.
"The election of Hoover should result in continued prosperity for 1929." - Roger Babson, financial statistician.
"Germany is unable to wage war." - David Lloyd George, British Prime Minister, 1934.
"[Concerning television], people will soon get tired of staring at a plywood box every night." - Darryl F. Zanuck, 20TH CENTURY FOX, 1946 (JG).
"Computers in the future may perhaps only weigh 1.5 tons." - POPULAR MECHANICS, 1949.
"[Man will never reach the Moon] regardless of all future scientific advances." - Dr. Lee de Forest, a father of radio, 1967.
"There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in their home." - Kenneth Olsen, President and Founder of DIGITAL EQUIPMENT CORP., 1977.
"Furious activity is no substitute for understanding." - H. H. Williams.
"Scientists are like atomic nuclei. They are more easily split than fused." - Charles Osgood. [NEN Vol. 5, No. 9, Jan. 1998.]
"There's no such thing as intelligence, a capacity for learning, or a general ability to imitate role models. The mind is more like a Swiss army knife: a large set of gadgets - language being one of them." - S. Pinker. [NEN Vol. 5, No. 9, Jan. 1998.]
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