Richard Feynman

It is not a question of whether we are right or wrong, but whether we are making progress.

The game of science is to find out what makes the world go 'round, and to do it with as much fun as possible.

I don't have to know an answer. I don't feel frightened by not knowing things, by being lost in a mysterious universe without any purpose, which is the way it really is, as far as I can tell, possibly. It doesn't frighten me.

I don't believe I can really do anything useful in science unless I realize that after I've made the best effort I can, some other sonofabitch is going to find a new way to do it that's much better.

I have no respect for anybody who can't do arithmetic.

You can know the name of a bird in all the languages of the world, but when you're finished, you'll know absolutely nothing whatever about the bird... So let's look at the bird and see what it's doing—that's what counts.

I was a little surprised that I was chosen. I don't like to be on committees, and I don't like to be in Washington, and I don't like to be involved in things like that.

There is no such thing as a new idea. It is impossible. We simply take a lot of old ideas and put them into a sort of mental kaleidoscope. We give them a turn and they make new and curious combinations. We keep on turning and making new combinations indefinitely; but they are the same old pieces of colored glass that have been in use through all the ages.

I don't know anything about anything, but I can figure it out.

The only way to do great work is to love what you do.

I have a friend who's an artist and has some trouble, and so he says, 'I don't know what to do.' And I say, 'Well, you're an artist, you're supposed to be creative, so create something!'

Why are we teaching them to be so stupid?

I was an average student, but I was always interested in things.

I don't feel any obligation to be consistent.

I don't want to be a member of any club that would have me as a member.

I don't like to be told what to do.

I have a great deal of respect for the power of ignorance.

The great thing about science is that it is an honest method of finding out whether you are wrong.

The world looks so different after learning science. For example, trees are made of air, primarily. When they grow, they take carbon out of the air, and combine it with water, and make the substance called wood.

The only way to have real knowledge is to be able to recreate it yourself.