Barbara McClintock

I don't like to write papers. I like to do the experiments.

The beauty of science is that you can be sure of something and then find out you were completely wrong, and that's when it gets exciting.

I have discovered that the chromosome is a very dynamic structure, capable of rapid and profound change.

The key to discovery is patience and a willingness to be surprised.

I didn't care about the prizes. I cared about the corn.

The organism is not just a machine. It is a system of exquisite complexity and subtlety.

You have to have a kind of faith that the organism will reveal its secrets if you are patient and observant enough.

The most important discoveries often come from paying attention to the little things that others overlook.

I have never been interested in doing science for the sake of being famous. I have been interested only in the science itself.

The chromosome is a record of the cell's experience.

In science, you don't have to be first, you have to be right.

I think the word 'discovery' is a misnomer. It's more like a revelation. The information was always there; you just finally see it.

The joy of science is in the doing, not in the having done.

I have always been more interested in the question than in the answer.

The cell is a world of its own, with its own logic and its own rules.

To do good science, you have to be willing to be alone with your thoughts for long periods of time.

The history of genetics is a history of surprises.

I don't believe there is such a thing as a 'simple' organism.

The genome is a responsive and adaptive system, not a static blueprint.

My advice to young scientists is to find a problem that you love and to stick with it, no matter what anyone else says.