Henri Poincare Quotes

It is with logic that one proves; it is with intuition that one invents.

Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.

Every great inspiration is but an experiment - though every experiment we know, is not a great inspiration.

I enjoy looking beyond the obvious and look at the stories happening all around me - you kind of formulate things in your mind and get excited about them.

Science does not know its debt to imagination.

Imagination is the Discovering Faculty, pre-eminently. It is that which penetrates into the unseen worlds around us, the worlds of Science.

A lot of our creative flow comes from a place of curiosity and exploration. It often feels like we're excavating and asking questions and not just giving answers but really just exploring.

The theoretician believes in logic and believes that he despises dreams, intuition, and poetry. He does not recognize that these three fairies have only disguised themselves in order to dazzle him.... He does not know that he owes his greatest discoveries to them.

I am always trying to do something new and different. The first step is curiosity, questions. You pay attention to what fascinates you. If you can't shake it, there is something there.

One can't be of an enquiring and experimental nature, and still be very sensible.

A hunch is creativity trying to tell you something.

The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play instinct acting from inner necessity. The creative mind plays with the objects it loves.

It is the function of creative man to perceive and to connect the seemingly unconnected.

Science provides an understanding of a universal experience. Arts provide a universal understanding of a personal experience.

Common Sense is that which judges the things given to it by other senses.

The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.

The best scientist is open to experience and begins with romance - the idea that anything is possible.

This is largely the methodology I've used throughout my career - that is, starting with a question as to what might be the properties of a set of compounds that could be invented which were unusual and unpredictable. Many times I've felt a bit like Columbus setting sail.

A man of genius makes no mistakes; his errors are volitional and are the portals of discovery.

Because we imagine, we can have invention and technology. It's actually play, not necessity, that is the mother of invention.

Necessity may be the mother of invention, but play is certainly the father.

We especially need imagination in science. It is not all mathematics, nor all logic, but it is somewhat beauty and poetry.

Science is not only a disciple of reason but, also, one of romance and passion.

Religion asks you to believe things without questioning, and technology and science always encourage you to ask hard questions and why it is important in science and technology. So I was always interested in science and technology.

When I have an idea, I turn down the flame, as if it were a little alcohol stove, as low as it will go. Then it explodes and that is my idea.