“The best way to cheer yourself is to cheer somebody else up.”

“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.”

“We owe a lot to the Indians, who taught us how to count, without which no worthwhile scientific discovery could have been made.”

“The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination. I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious.”

“It is our American habit if we find the foundations of our educational structure unsatisfactory to add another story or wing.”

“Organized people are just too lazy to go looking for what they want.” 

“To dwell on the things that depress or anger us does not help in overcoming them. One must knock them down alone.”

“Hal yang paling sukar dipahami di dunia ini adalah pajak penghasilan.”

“An empty stomach is not a good political adviser.”

“Look deep, deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better. -”

“The ideals which have always shone before me and filled me with joy are goodness, beauty, and truth.”

“If at first the idea is not absurd, then there is no hope for it.”

“In the judgment of the most competent living mathematicians, Fraulein Noether was the most significant mathematical genius thus far produced since the higher education of women began.”

“The education of the individual, in addition to promoting his own innate abilities, would attempt to develop in him a sense of responsibility for his fellow men in place of the glorification of power and success in our present society.”

“I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.”