Enrico Fermi

"There are two possible outcomes: if the result confirms the hypothesis, then you've made a measurement. If the result is contrary to the hypothesis, then you've made a discovery."

"A theory is something nobody believes, except the person who made it. An experiment is something everybody believes, except the person who made it."

"I would remember that what they call 'obscure science' is often simply science that hasn't yet been explained clearly."

"The effort to understand the universe is one of the very few things that lifts human life a little above the level of farce, and gives it some of the grace of tragedy."

"You remember that I always say that whatever nature has in store for mankind, unselfish actions will always be appreciated and rewarded."

"In my life, I have always found that if you want something done well, you must be willing to do it yourself or find someone absolutely trustworthy."

"Patience is not the ability to wait, but the ability to keep a good attitude while waiting."

"The world needs more people who understand that creativity requires a certain amount of productive confusion."

"Nature is full of surprises if you care to look carefully."

"I would say that belief in God is something that must come from within, not from argument."

"We are all here by the grace of chance and circumstance."

"In science, there are no shortcuts to truth. Only the long way around."

"I believe the mind is much more powerful than we ordinarily think."

"The best way to predict the future is to understand the present."

"Time is the one thing we cannot manufacture, and it is the most precious thing we have."

"Success comes to those who persist in asking the right questions."

"I learned long ago that in matters of principle, one must stand firm; in matters of taste, one must be flexible."

"Fear is merely the shadow of ignorance."

"The greatest discoveries often come from the most naive questions."

"I have always believed that a person's character is revealed in how they treat those who can do nothing for them."

"Art and science are not opposites; they are different languages for the same truth."

"The capacity to learn is more important than the accumulation of knowledge."

"In my experience, pessimism is merely optimism that has been educated by facts."

"Music is the mathematics of the soul made audible."

"What we call common sense is really just the accumulated wisdom of experience."

"I would argue that imagination is more valuable than knowledge, for knowledge is limited to what we already know."

"The purpose of life is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate."

"Great minds think alike, but small minds think differently—they go their own way."

"Freedom is not the absence of constraints, but the right to choose your own."

"I have found that people reveal their true selves not in their words but in their choices."