Arthur Koestler Quotes

You know, one of the classics when somebody invents something, you go why the hell didn't I think of that.

The element of truth in the concept of genius is to be sought in the object, in what is open, not confined by repetition.

A single idea, if it is right, saves us the labor of an infinity of experiences.

Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that's creativity.

An absolutely new idea is one of the rarest things known to man.

Genius ain't anything more than elegant common sense.

Talent perceives differences; genius, unity.

Everything of importance has been said before by somebody who did not discover it.

One is always considered mad, when one discovers something that others cannot grasp.

Genius is knowing where to stop.

Genius consists not in making great discoveries, but in seeing the connection between small discoveries.

Genius discovers a system; average talent stereotypes it till it is shattered by fresh genius.

Simplicity is the trademark of GENIUS

I have been speculating last night what makes a man a discoverer of undiscovered things; and a most perplexing problem it is. Many men who are very clever - much cleverer than the discoverers - never originate anything.

True genius does not fulfill expectations; true genius shatters it.

Genius: The capacity to see and to express what is simple, simply!

A characteristic of intuitive solutions and new ideas is that of being obvious once they are discovered.

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

Most of my advances were by mistake. You uncover what is when you get rid of what isn't.

What Einstein was able to do was - to use a cliche - think out of the box.

In a society that glorifies the pioneers, it's easy to think that an endeavor is only worth pursuing if you can be the first to pursue it.

To us, the value of a work lies in its newness: the invention of new forms, or a novel combination of old forms, the discovery of unknown worlds or the exploration of unfamiliar areas in worlds already discovered - revelations, surprises.

A thought is often original, though you have uttered it a hundred times.

The difference between being able to understand something and inventing it in the first place... is called genius.

It's not that complicated. If you hear something and it makes you want to hear it again, that's the ticket. You have to be lucky enough to find geniuses, welcome them and get out of their way.