Mignon McLaughlin Quotes

The critical mind is the creative mind.

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

The best students are ones that are willing to take intellectual risks and challenge conventional thinking.

We would be the worst of fools if we would ever lose this extraordinary capacity to go beyond the limits of past thought and past prejudices.

Original minds are not distinguished by being the first to see a new thing, but instead by seeing the old, familiar thing that is over-looked as something new.

An intelligent mind is an inquiring mind. It is not satisfied with explanation, with conclusions. Nor is it a mind that believes, because belief is again another form of conclusion.

The world is a very puzzling place. If you're not willing to be puzzled, you just become a replica of someone else's mind.

Certainty is a closing of the mind. To create something new you must have doubt.

Teaching is not the mere imparting of information but the cultivation of an inquiring mind which will penetrate into the question of what is religion and not merely accept the established religions, churches, and rituals.

Creative people have an abiding curiosity and an insatiable desire to learn how and why things work. They take nothing for granted. They are interested in things around them and tend to stow away bits and pieces of information in their minds for the future use. And, they have a great ability to mobilize their thinking and experiences for use in solving a new problem.

Doubt is the first step towards knowledge, not faith.

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

if you don't have doubts you're either kidding yourself or asleep. Doubts are the ants-in-the-pants of faith. They keep it alive and moving.

The mind becomes withered, stagnant, narrow and closed unless it searches for new ideas.

The seeds of great discoveries are constantly floating around us, but they only take root in minds well-prepared to receive them.

The important thing is to never stop questioning. Never lose a holy curiosity.

No one ever died from an open mind.

If we are to use our minds rightly, we must live in an attitude of constant openness and learning.

For the mind does not require filling like a bottle, but rather, like wood, it only requires kindling to create in it an impulse to think independently and an ardent desire for the truth.

Don’t just teach your children to read… Teach them to question what they read. Teach them to question everything.

Curious is a good thing to be, it seems to pay some unexpected dividends.

I like to consider my mind an open door. It's just not a revolving door.

Openness of mind strengthens the truth in us and removes the dross from it, if there is any.

Too much gravity argues a shallow mind.

An educated mind is practiced in the uses of reason, which inevitably leads to a skeptical outlook.