When the conventional wisdom of physics seemed to conflict with an elegant theory of his, Einstein was inclined to question that wisdom rather than his theory, often to have his stubbornness rewarded.
science

About This Quote

About Walter Isaacson

Walter Isaacson was a contemporary American author and journalist. Walter Seff Isaacson is an American journalist who has written biographies of Henry Kissinger, Benjamin Franklin, Leonardo da Vinci, Albert Einstein, Steve Jobs, Jennifer Doudna, and Elon Musk. As of 2024, Isaacson is a professor at Tulane University and, since 2018, an interviewer for the PBS and CNN news show Amanpour & Company. Read more on Wikipedia →

Themes

  • Science — Discovery, inquiry, and the wonders of the natural world

More quotes by Walter Isaacson

“Henry Luce to his Time magazine writers: "Tell the history of our time through the people who make it.”
— Walter Isaacson
inspiration leadership motivation narrative

“Just because you can't act EVERYWHERE doesn't mean you don't act ANYWHERE. Madeleine Albright”
— Walter Isaacson
calling humility job leadership

“As much as Henry Kissinger wanted to attribute historical movement to impersonal forces, he too conceded to "the difference personalities make".”
— Walter Isaacson
discipleship inspiration leadership

“Einstein's was a beautiful mix of confidence and awe.”
— Walter Isaacson
worship

“Kissinger would probably be outraged even if he reread his own memoirs, on the grounds that they are not favorable enough.”
— Walter Isaacson
arrogance ego humility reflection

“There should be an honored place in history for statesmen whose ideas turned out to be right.”
— Walter Isaacson
foresight heritage perspective
View all quotes by Walter Isaacson →

Related Quotes

“I do not know what I may appear to the world, but to myself I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the sea-shore, and diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettie...”
— Isaac Newton
science truth

“To know the history of science is to recognize the mortality of any claim to universal truth. ”
— Evelyn Fox Keller, Reflections on Gender and Science
science truth

“The scientist only imposes two things, namely truth and sincerity, imposes them upon himself and upon other scientists.”
— Erwin Schrdinger, What Is Life? with Mind and Matter and Autobiographical Sketches
science sincerity truth