Words of Wisdom

Words of wisdom from Hungarian composer Béla Bartók, the founder of ethnomusicology: “In art there are only fast or slow developments. Essentially it is a matter of evolution, not revolution.”

“So much of what we do is ephemeral and quickly forgotten, even by ourselves, so it’s gratifying to have something you have done linger in people’s memories.”

“There’s a very basic human, nonverbal aspect to our need to make music and use it as part of our human expression. It doesn’t have to do with body movements; it doesn’t have to do with articulation of a language, but with something spiritual.”

“The written word, obviously, is very inward, and when we’re reading, we’re thinking. It’s a sort of spiritual, meditative activity. When we’re looking at visual objects, I think our eyes are obviously directed outward, so there’s not as much reflective time. And it’s the reflectiveness and the spiritual inwardness about reading that appeals to me.”  

A quote from author Joyce Carol Oates: “The worst cynicism: a belief in luck.” She believes hard work and tenacity are the main ingredients for success. Do you agree?

Words of wisdom from the American author (and prolific tweeter): “Homo sapiens is the species that invents symbols in which to invest passion and authority, then forgets that symbols are inventions.”

Is it our cognition or wonder that elevates us to the ranks of humanity? According to the late fantasy author Terry Pratchett, our imagination is what sets us apart.

Words of wisdom from Nikola Tesla: “There is no conflict between the ideal of religion and the ideal of science, but science is opposed to theological dogmas because science is founded on fact.”

“I do not think there is any thrill that can go through the human heart like that felt by the inventor as he sees some creation of the brain unfolding to success. … Such emotions make a man forget food, sleep, friends, love, everything.”

There’s a reason Tesla is so in vogue right now. The dude was basically science’s Nostradamus, predicting globalized wireless communication nearly eight decades before it came to fruition.

“A single ray of light from a distant star falling upon the eye of a tyrant in bygone times may have altered the course of his life, may have changed the destiny of nations, may have transformed the surface of the globe, so intricate, so inconceivably complex are the processes in Nature.” — Nikola Tesla, 1893

Words of wisdom from American aviator Amelia Earhart: “Never do things others can do and will do, if there are things others cannot do or will not do.”

Words of wisdom from Amelia Earhart: “The time to worry is three months before a flight. Decide then whether or not the goal is worth the risks involved. If it is, stop worrying. To worry is to add another hazard.”

Words of Wisdom from Amelia Earhart prior to her final flight: “I am aware of the hazards. I want to do it because I want to do it. Women must try to do things as men have tried. When they fail, their failure must be a challenge to others.”

Emerson championed individualism and critiqued the countervailing pressures of society.

Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill (1874–1965) was a British politician who was the prime minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 and again from 1951 to 1955.

Franklin Pierce Adams (1881 – 1960) was an American columnist, well known for his wit and his newspaper column, “The Conning Tower.”

“I would like to be remembered as someone who was not afraid to do what she wanted to do, and as someone who took risks along the way in order to achieve her goals.”

“We need to go back to the discovery, to posing a question, to having a hypothesis and having kids know that they can discover the answers and can peel away a layer.”

The Nobel Prize-winning mathematician whose life inspired the 2001 film A Beautiful Mind was killed today, along with his wife, in an automobile accident. 

Words of wisdom from Kurt Vonnegut: “The telling of jokes is an art of its own, and it always rises from some emotional threat. The best jokes are dangerous, and dangerous because they are in some way truthful.”

Words of wisdom from American poet Walt Whitman: “I think of few heroic actions, which cannot be traced to the artistical impulse. He who does great deeds, does them from his innate sensitiveness to moral beauty.”

“In the depth of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer. And that makes me happy. For it says that no matter how hard the world pushes against me, within me, there’s something stronger — something better, pushing right back.”

The transcendental philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson stressed that maintaining an open mind requires the ability to understand that contrary opinions are not innately steeped in ill will.

“Whenever racial discrimination exists it is a tragic expression of man’s spiritual degeneracy and moral bankruptcy. Therefore, it must be removed not merely because it is diplomatically expedient, but because it is morally compelling.”

“No ruler is ever really dethroned by his subjects. No hand but his own ever takes the crown from his head. … When he ceases to lead … the revolt which casts him from power is only the outward manifestation of his previous abdication.”

“To do successful research, you don’t need to know everything; you just need to know one thing that isn’t known.”

Words of wisdom from the Wizard of Menlo Park: “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”

Words of wisdom from public intellectual Noam Chomsky: “One of the problems of organizing … is that people tend to think — even the activists — that instant gratification is required. You constantly hear: ‘Look I went to a demonstration, and we didn’t stop the war, so what’s the use of doing it again?'”

Words of Wisdom from the legendary Chrysler executive: “Motivation is everything. You can do the work of two people, but you can’t be two people. Instead, you have to inspire the next guy down the line and get him to inspire his people.”