"Behold the turtle. He makes progress only when he sticks his neck out."
"The stumbling way in which even the ablest of the scientists in every generation have had to fight through thickets of erroneous observations, misleading generalizations, inadequate formulation, and unconscious prejudice is rarely appreciated by those who obtain their scientific knowledge from textbooks."
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Source: Diary as freshman at Harvard College (1910 - 1911)
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More quotes by James Bryant Conant
"Just like a turtle, we only make progress if we stick our neck out."
"Behavior which appears superficially correct but is intrinsically corrupt always irritates those who see below the surface."
"Public education is a great instrument of social change. Through it, if we so desire, we can make our country more nearly a democracy without classes. To do so will require the efforts of us all-teachers, administrators, taxpayers and statesmen. Education is a social process, perhaps the most important process in determining the future of our country; it should command a far larger portion of our national income than it does today."
"Education is what is left after all that has been learnt is forgotten."
"... scientific research is compounded of ... empirical procedures, general speculative ideas, and mathematical or abstract reasoning."