Quotes by Jonas Salk

“Our greatest responsibility is to be good ancestors.”

“I have dreams, and I have nightmares. I overcame the nightmares because of my dreams.”

“I couldn't possibly have become a member of this institute if I hadn't founded it myself.”

“I have the impression that the new generation of young people, are coming up on the scene with a sense ancestorhood, and with more wisdom than was evident before. I think this comes about as a matt...”

“What is … important is that we — number one: Learn to live with each other. Number two: try to bring out the best in each other. The best from the best, and the best from those who, perhaps, might ...”

“As a bio-philosopher — as someone who draws upon the scriptures of nature, recognizing that we are the product of the process of evolution, and in a sense, we have become the process itself — throu...”

“Richard Heffner: You say We can create ourselves and our future Salk: — by shaping our selves not our cells — thats the important distinction. … We are shaping our cells, but we will not change our...”

“There is something about human nature that has to be understood, and so … I've shifted my attention from an interest in unity to an interest in creativity.”

“I already see enough evidence for this optimism … in recent years I find that perhaps what Im seeking is a scientific basis for hope, and I think I've found it.”

“As a child I was not interested in science. I was merely interested in things human, the human side of nature, if you like, and I continue to be interested in that. That's what motivates me.”

“I was told I could, if I wished, switch and get a Ph.D. in biochemistry but my preference was to stay with medicine. And I believe that this is all linked to my original ambition, or desire, which ...”

“We were told in one lecture that it was possible to immunize against diphtheria and tetanus by the use of chemically treated toxins, or toxoids. And the following lecture, we were told that for imm...”

“Why do I see things differently from the way other people see them? Why do I pursue the questions that I pursue, even if others regard them as, as they say, controversial? Which merely means that t...”

“Risks, I like to say, always pay off. You learn what to do, or what not to do.”

“My attitude was always to keep open, to keep scanning. I think that's how things work in nature. Many people are close-minded, rigid, and that's not my inclination.”

“There are three stages of truth. First is that it can't be true, and that's what they said. You couldn't immunize against polio with a killed-virus vaccine. Second phase: they say, Well, if it's tr...”

“You have to develop a thick skin in life. Its not in this field only. You might think of the ideal of the scientists, the ivory tower, the idealist. That's true of some. And I wouldn't guess as to ...”

“Now, some people might look at something and let it go by, because they don't recognize the pattern and the significance. It's the sensitivity to pattern recognition that seems to me to be of great...”

“You can have a team of unconventional thinkers, as well as conventional thinkers. If you don't have the support of others you cannot achieve anything altogether on your own. It's like a cry in the ...”

“Since whatever we do has to be part of a team, part of a community, we have to attempt to bring together those who have the same conviction, see the same things. Then it becomes a matter of time, w...”