Hermann von Helmholtz Quotes

Science begets knowledge; opinion, ignorance.

If you do not know how to ask the right question, you discover nothing.

We hear only those questions for which we are in a position to find answers

It is vital to remember that information - in the sense of raw data - is not knowledge, that knowledge is not wisdom, and that wisdom is not foresight. But information is the first essential step to all of these.

We need both information and thinking. Information is no substitute for thinking and thinking is no substitute for information.

A capacity, and taste, for reading gives access to whatever has already been discovered by others.

True scholarship consists in knowing not what things exist, but what they mean; it is not memory but judgment.

Collecting facts is important. Knowledge is important. But if you don't have an imagination to use the knowledge, civilization is nowhere.

The truth of things is the chief nutriment of superior intellects.

I like the facts. I find them interesting.

If you can't read, the only thing you can do is enjoy the pictures, not the whole story. Reading is the key to knowledge. Knowledge is the key to understanding. So read on, young man! Read on, young lady!

Not to sound corny, but intelligence is big. Everything fades, and everything can be modified. But intelligence is something you can't fake. I'm not even talking about whether you can read a thesaurus backwards. But there is a beauty in common sense.

Quotations are useful in periods of ignorance or obscurantist beliefs.

I was one of those kids who always thought that we should know how the world works around us.

Readership was high, and very attentive. It was people's only source of knowledge about the world.

There are in fact two things, science and opinion; the former begets knowledge, the later ignorance.

Doubt grows with knowledge.

True, a little learning is a dangerous thing, but it still beats total ignorance.

A classical work doesn't ever have to be understood entirely. But those who are educated and who are still educating themselves must desire to learn more and more from it.

The difference between ignorant and educated people is that the latter know more facts. But that has nothing to do with whether they are stupid or intelligent.

I know of no time in human history where ignorance was better than knowledge.

I really like knowledge and reading books and just generally immersing myself in information.

Be quick to learn and wise to know.

Many people make the mistake of confusing information with knowledge. They are not the same thing. Knowledge involves the interpretation of information. Knowledge involves listening.

We have no right to express an opinion until we know all of the answers.