Leon Lederman

"Man's greatest achievement has been the development of abilities to understand the world around him."

"If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it?"

"The universe is a pretty big place. If it's just us, seems like an awful waste of space."

"I believe that a scientist looking at nonscientific problems is just as dumb as anyone else."

"The effort to understand the universe is one of the few things that elevates life above the level of farce."

"One should as a rule respect public opinion in so far as is necessary to avoid starvation and to prevent oneself from being mobbed by the populace."

"Common sense is nothing more than a deposit of prejudices laid down in the mind before you reach eighteen."

"The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing."

"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds."

"Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted with important matters."

"The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that very existence is an act of rebellion."

"Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving."

"In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity."

"The universe is not only queerer than we suppose, it is queerer than we can suppose."

"A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new."

"The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing."

"Science is a way of thinking much more than it is a body of knowledge."

"Nature is the source of all true knowledge; it has all the answers."

"We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them."

"The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant."

"Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler."

"The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination."

"He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how."

"The mind is everything. What you think you become."

"In the absence of clearly defined goals, we become strangely loyal to performing daily acts of trivia."

"The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek."

"Your time is limited, don't waste it living someone else's life."

"It is forbidden to forbid."

"The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now."

"To understand is to perceive patterns."