Daniel Levitin Quotes

It is not the least service which a college or university may render to those under its instruction, to habituate them to looking not only patiently but methodically on both sides, before adopting any conclusion upon controverted issues.

The key to wisdom is this - constant and frequent questioning, for by doubting we are led to question and by questioning we arrive at the truth.

As an educator, I try to get people to be fundamentally curious and to question ideas that they might have or that are shared by others. In that state of mind, they have earned a kind of inoculation against the fuzzy thinking of these weird ideas floating around out there.

Intellectuals are people who believe that ideas are of more importance than values. That is to say, their own ideas and other people's values.

I like to regard myself as someone who's capable of critical thought, that is to say, who can evaluate claims.

Ordinary readers, forgive my paradoxes: one must make them when one reflects; and whatever you may say, I prefer being a man with paradoxes than a man with prejudices.

If one knows only what one is told, one does not know enough to be able to arrive at a well-balanced decision.

It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.

The ability to perceive or think differently is more important than the knowledge gained.

An open mind is not an end in itself but a means to the end of finding truth.

I think there are different ways of being rigorous, and I am asking people to be as rigorous in their pleasure as in their criticism.

What I always liked about Socrates was his insistence on questioning things for the sake of reaching some sort of clarity - even if it is only clarity about the gaps in our knowledge.

Whenever a theory appears to you as the only possible one, take this as a sign that you have neither understood the theory nor the problem which it was intended to solve.

When blithe to argument I come, Though armed with facts, and merry, May Providence protect me from The fool as adversary, Whose mind to him a kingdom is Where reason lacks dominion, Who calls conviction prejudice And prejudice opinion.

So, my advice to young scientists is, think critically about your work; probably don't blab unnecessarily.

I was bold in the pursuit of knowledge, never fearing to follow truth and reason to whatever results they led, and bearding every authority which stood in their way.

The interesting thing is always to see if you can find a fact that will change your mind about something, to test and see if you can.

I know too much to be a sceptic and too little to be a dogmatist.

It is error only, and not truth, that shrinks from inquiry.

I've always felt that a person's intelligence is directly reflected by the number of conflicting points of view he can entertain simultaneously on the same topic.

The truth is found when men are free to pursue it.

Well, the fact is that one imagination is critically important, and if you have had your imagination stimulated by what is basically a variety of subjects, you are much more amenable to accepting, to understanding and interacting with the realities of the world.

To be a real philosopher all that is necessary is to hate some one else's type of thinking.

The first step towards philosophy is incredulity.

My brain is open.