Richard Rorty Quotes

I'm always looking for something new: a new inspiration, a new philosophy, a new way to look at something, new talent.

I think we always move from imitation to assimilation to innovation, but I can't name you 20 people outside those we've already recognized who ever got to point three: innovation.

We especially need imagination in science.

Millions of men have lived to fight, build palaces and boundaries, shape destinies and societies; but the compelling force of all times has been the force of originality and creation profoundly affecting the roots of human spirit.

What we need is more people who specialize in the impossible.

Creative thinking inspires ideas. Ideas inspire change.

Dissidents should be paid 13 months' salary for a year, otherwise our mindless unanimity will bring us to an even more hopeless state of stagnation. It is especially important to encourage unorthodox thinking when the situation is critical: At such moments every new word and fresh thought is more precious than gold. Indeed, people must not be deprived of the right to think their own thoughts.

What makes our world so fascinating is that continuously there are novel and creative ideas spurring people to leave old ways and try something new.

Imagine something new, or you will only go where you have been.

Geniuses don't have better ideas than the rest of us. They just have more of them.

Every time you think all the technology that had been created already, all you have to do is look around and then there's someone new who's born with a new idea.

The imagination of the genius vastly surpasses his intellect; the intellect of the academic vastly surpasses his imagination

Discovery consists of looking at the same thing as everyone else and thinking something different.

I think it's better to have ideas.

I think the important thing about staying creative and staying sharp and original is not to look back too much.

Intelligence looks for what is known to solve problems. Creativity looks for what is unknown to discover possibilities.

Creativity is thinking up new things. Innovation is doing new things.

You have to think outside the box. The world is changing every day, the music industry is so different but I think the more creative you are the better.

We should use our imagination more than our memory.

Another argument of hope may be drawn from this-that some of the inventions already known are such as before they were discovered it could hardly have entered any man's head to think of; they would have been simply set aside as impossible. For in conjecturing what may be men set before them the example of what has been, and divine of the new with an imagination preoccupied and colored by the old; which way of forming opinions is very fallacious, for streams that are drawn from the springheads of nature do not always run in the old channels.

Three words that still have meaning, that I think we can apply to all professional writing, are discovery, originality, invention.The professional writer discovers some aspect of the world and invents out of the speech of his time some particularly apt and original way of putting it down on paper.

I think it's a big part of being a creative person.

I dont want to be a point guard, or a two-guard, I want people to think of me as "creative", I just want to create on the court.

Invention presupposes imagination but should not be confused with it.

Success shuns the man who lacks ideas.