“To invent something, all you need is imagination and a big pile of junk.”

“I have deep faith that the principle of the universe will be beautiful and simple.”

“There is nothing to fear but fear itself.”

“When I was young I found out that the big toe always ends up making a hole in a sock. So I stopped wearing socks.”

“The tendencies we have mentioned are something new for America. They arose when, under the influence of the two World Wars and the consequent concentration of all forces on a military goal, a predominantly military mentality developed, which with the almost sudden victory became even more accentuated. The characteristic feature of this mentality is that people place the importance of what Bertrand Russell so tellingly terms “naked power” far above all other factors which affect the relations between peoples. The Germans, misled by Bismarck’s successes in particular, underwent just such a transformation of their mentality—in consequence of which they were entirely ruined in less than a hundred years. I must frankly confess that the foreign policy of the United States since the termination of hostilities has reminded me, sometimes irresistibly, of the attitude of Germany under Kaiser Wilhelm II, and I know that, independent of me, this analogy has most painfully occurred to others as well. It is characteristic of the military mentality that non-human factors (atom bombs, strategic bases, weapons of all sorts, the possession of raw materials, etc.) are held essential, while the human being, his desires and thoughts—in short, the psychological factors—are considered as unimportant and secondary. Herein lies a certain resemblance to Marxism, at least insofar as its theoretical side alone is kept in view. The individual is degraded to a mere instrument; he becomes “human materiel.” The normal ends of human aspiration vanish with such a viewpoint. Instead, the military mentality raises “naked power” as a goal in itself—one of the strangest illusions to which men can succumb.”

“The right to search for the truth implies also a duty; one must not conceal any part of what one has recognized to be the truth.”

“A table, a chair, a bowl of fruit and a violin; what else does a man need to be happy?”

“Out of clutter, find simplicity.”

“To punish me for my contempt for authority, fate made me an authority myself.”

“The only thing that you absolutely have to know, is the location of the library.”

“Few people are capable of expressing with equanimity opinions which differ from the prejudices of their social enviroment. Most people are incapable of forming such opinions."

“Be a loner. That gives you time to wonder, to search for the truth. Have holy curiosity. Make your life worth living.” 

“For a scientist, altering your doctrines when the facts change is not a sign of weakness.”

“Nonsense, seems to sum up everything.”

“Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe.”