Quotes Here are a few cases of bad misjudgments or when the mouth engages while the brain is idling. Computers Computers in the future may weigh no more than 1.5 tons. Popular Mechanics, forecasting the relentless march of science, 1949. I think there is a world market for maybe five computers. Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943. I have traveled the length and breadth of this country and walked with the best people, and I can assure you that data processing is a fad that won't last out the year. The editor in charge of business books for Prentice Hall, 1957. But what ... is it good for? Engineer at the Advanced Computing Systems Division of IBM, 1968, commenting on the microchip. There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home. Ken Olson, president, chairman and founder of Digital Equipment Corp., 1977 640k ought to be enough for anybody. Bill Gates, 1981. It might be a mildly interesting engineering project but it's not the kind of thing that ARPA ought to do -- not far enough out. A Turing Award winner's response to Taylor's intent to start the ARPAnet project. New technology and new ideas This 'telephone' has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us. Western Union internal memo, 1876. Professor Goddard does not know the relation between action and reaction and the need to have something better than a vacuum against which to react. He seems to lack the basic knowledge ladled out daily in high schools. 1921 New York Times editorial about Robert Goddard's revolutionary rocket work. Airplanes are interesting toys but of no military value. Marechal Ferdinand Foch, Professor of Strategy, Ecole Superieure de Guerre. That it will ever come into general use notwithstanding its value ... is extremely doubtful; because its beneficial application requires much time and gives a good bit of trouble. Editorial in the London Times, about 1895, concerning the stethoscope. The wireless music box has no imaginable commercial value. Who would pay for a message sent to nobody in particular? David Sarnoff's associates in response to his urgings for investment in the radio in the 1920s. The concept is interesting and well-formed, but in order to earn better than a 'C,' the idea must be feasible. A Yale University management professor in response to Fred Smith's paper proposing reliable overnight delivery service. (Smith went on to found Federal Express Corp.) Who wants to watch news 24 hours a day? Unknown, commenting on Ted Turners idea to start CNN. Who the hell wants to hear actors talk? H.M. Warner, Warner Brothers, 1927. Louis Pasteur's theory of germs is ridiculous fiction. Pierre Pachet, Professor of Physiology at Toulouse, 1872. The abdomen, the chest, and the brain will forever be shut from the intrusion of the wise and humane surgeon. Sir John Eric Ericksen, British surgeon, appointed Surgeon- Extraordinary to Queen Victoria 1873. There is no likelihood that man can ever tap the atom. Robert Millikan, Nobel Prize in physics, 1923. Every attempt to employ mathematical methods in the study of chemical questions must be considered profoundly irrational and contrary to the spirit of chemistry. ... If mathematical analysis should ever hold a prominent place in chemistry -- an aberration which is happily almost impossible -- it would occasion a rapid and widespread degeneration of that science. Translated from Philosophie Positive by A. Comte, 1830. - Radio has no future; - Heavier-than-air flying machines would never get off the ground; - X-rays will prove to be a hoax. Lord Kelvin, while president of the Royal Society Miscellaneous I'm just glad it'll be Clark Gable who's falling on his face and not Gary Cooper. Gary Cooper on his decision not to take the leading role in "Gone With The Wind." We don't like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out. Decca Recording Co. rejecting the Beatles, 1962. Stocks have reached what looks like a permanently high plateau. Irving Fisher, Professor of Economics, Yale University, 1929. Everything that can be invented has been invented. Charles H. Duell, Commissioner, U.S. Office of Patents, 1899. Sensible and responsible women do not want to vote. Grover Cleveland, American President, 1905. Sorenstam, I don't like your swing! Kim Haddow, coach for the University of Arozona ladies golf team on Annika Sörenstam's arrival 1990. (Her swing must have improved since then!) Anyone who thinks that the ANC is going to run South Africa is living in cloud cuckoo land. Margaret Thatcher at the Commonwealth. The Beatles, they're on the wane. The Duke of Edinburgh in 1965. Oops! Either you act firmly against drug traffickers, or I close the borders. Jacques Chirac, French President, to Wim Kok, Dutch Prime Minister at a summit 1995. (France and Holland do not share a border.) That's fine phonetically, but you're missing just a little bit. Vice-President Dan Quayle, adding an 'e' to 'potato' written by a sixth-grade pupil, Trenton, New Jersey, June 1992. It's nice to see you all here. Roy Jenkins, addressing prisoners on a visit to a London jail. Yes, gradually. Milton Obote, President of Uganda, replying to a question whether his programme for eliminating all vestiges of British colonial rule would include switching to driving on the right. My, you must have fun chasing the soap round the bath! Princess Diana, shaking hands with a one-armed man during her Australian visit 1983. Some got it right, though Of what use is a baby? Faraday, when asked about the utility of his dynamo. Hindsight is an exact science. Unknown philosopher. In Swedish (we do it too!) Jag tycker också att individen skall ta ett stort ansvar, men individerna skall göra det tillsammans - samhället skall ta detta ansvar. Handels ordförande Kenth Pettersson i en intevju i Svenska Dagbladet 26.1.1996. Sunet skall byggas ut och också omfatta folkbiblioteken i varje kommun. Därmed skulle det centralistiska kunskapsmonopolet vara uppbrutet. Spetsen i spetsforskningen kan likaväl ligga i Skövde som någon annanstans. Stadssekreterare i utbildningsdeparementet Göran Löfdahl i en presentation av forskningspropositionen (citat från LUM 10, 1996). Med hänvisning till vad jag och stadsrådet Hellström har anfört hemställer jag att regeringen i en proposition förelägger riksdagen vad vi har anfört för de åtgärder och de ändamål som vi har hemställt om. Rune Molin, fd energiminister. Internet är en fluga som kanske blåser förbi. Ines Uusmann, kommunikationsminister, i Svenska Dagbladet 14/5 1996. Other "facts" Number of words: 56 in the Lord's prayer 297 in 10 commandments 1324 in the American Declaration of Independence 26911 in an EU directive on the export of duck eggs Thanks to Prof. Indrek Martinson, Department of Physics, Lund University Dr. Joachim Krumlinde, Department of Physics, Lund University Dr. Robert Lummis, Director of Information Technology Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York Peter H.M. Klaren, Biomedical Science, University of Sheffield, UK for adding to the collection. Have you got a gem for my collection? Please mail it to me! Peter.Ekstrom@Nuclear.LU.Se [Nuclear Data Home] [Counter] Peter Ekström Wed Dec 23 05:12:08 1998