Henry Bessemer Quotes

Sure, science involves trial and error. Scientists refine theories each day. But as they do, they help us grasp more clearly the wonders of the world and the universe.

A basic truth that the history of the creation of the transistor reveals is that the foundations of transistor electronics were created by making errors and following hunches that failed to give what was expected.

That's the nice thing about doing research. Whatever you do is novel, so you always have this sense of novelty, even if you are only using a new gadget.

There are many men now living who were in the habit of using the age-old expression: 'It is as impossible as flying.' The discoveries in physical science, the triumphs in invention, attest the value of the process of trial and error. In large measure, these advances have been due to experimentation.

Innovation is the key to the future, but basic research is the key to future innovation.

Research sometimes feels like an ongoing TV series in which some amazing revelations have already been made, but there are still plenty of cliff-hangers and unresolved plotlines that you want to see resolved. But unlike TV, we have to do the work ourselves to figure out what happens next.

Washington is no place in which to carry out inventions

None of my inventions came by accident. I see a worthwhile need to be met and I make trial after trial until it comes. What it boils down to is one per cent inspiration and ninety-nine per cent perspiration.

Invention is arrived at by intelligent stumbling.

The first time you do something, it's science. The second time, it's engineering. The third time, it's just being a technician. I'm a scientist. Once I do something, I want to do something else.

Great scientific contributions have been techniques.

Most people generalize whatever they did, and say that was the strategy that made it work.

As I see it, whoever's doing the inventing is also doing most of the learning - and probably having most of the fun.

In the spirit of science, there really is no such thing as a 'failed experiment.' Any test that yields valid data is a valid test.

We are driven by the usual insatiable curiosity of the scientist, and our work is a delightful game.

One of the most rewarding aspects of my research has been the opportunity to study the potential applications of a new catalyst.

Science is to find something unknown, while invention is to make something new out of the known theory.

There really is only one story that you need to tell as a scientist or a technologist. It's Prometheus stealing fire. That's it. That's what we do as scientists or technologists.

Mediocre theoretical physicists make no progress. They spend all their time understanding other people's progress.

Mistakes and dead-ends often mean more to these artists than any proven problem.

It's a manic-depressive life. You run in here, you open your incubator, your experiment makes no sense, you think, 'I hate this job.' Then ten minutes later you think, 'Well, now, maybe I'll try this or I'll try that.' You do it because you know there will be an 'a-ha!' day.

Ah, the creative process is the same secret in science as it is in art. They are all the same absolutely.

You've got to experiment to figure out what works.

Good and bad ideas both come from the same fountain of speculation and experiment.

When counting on learning from innovation, there are great successes but also failures. The Wright Brothers invented the aircraft and started an amazing process of innovation, where we now have planes that carry 500 passengers. Along the way there were some silly looking vehicles that crashed early on.