Karoly Heberger’s home page

Héberger Károly honlapja

Some ideas:

“But to succeed in science you need a lot more than luck. And it is not enough to be smart – lots of people are very bright and get nowhere in life. In my view, you have to combine intelligence with a willingness not to follow conventions when they block your path forward…. And it meant doing lots of things a little differently than other people…. To succeed in science you have to avoid dumb people… you must turn to people who are brighter than yourself…

And in the game of science – or life – the highest goal is not simply to win, it is to win at something really difficult. Put another way, it is to go somewhere beyond your ability and come out to top. … If you are going to make a big jump in science you will very likely be unqualified to succeed by definition. The truth, however, will not save you from criticism.”

J. D. Watson, Science 261, pp1812-13.

“None of the axioms employed by great generals [scientist] is difficult. Indeed once they have been employed successfully they reveal their innate simplicity and appear to be the obvious and sometimes only logical solution. Yet all great ideas are simple. The trick is to see them before others.”

Bevin Alexander, How Great Generals Win, 1993

“The human mind, once stretched to a new idea, never goes back to its original dimensions”

Oliver Wendell Holmes

“…original work is risky. Most new ideas are bad and most original work fails. That’s the realty. If you are compelled to original research, you can expect to fail. That’s all right if you work in a university [academic institution], where failure is praised and success leads to ostracism. … Original work in industry is not a wise career choice. It’s only going to get you trouble.”

Michael Chrichton: The Lost World, 1995