Challenging the Status Quo Quotes

It is dangerous to be right in matters where established men are wrong.

Being right too soon is socially unacceptable.

Be skeptical, question authority, be a rebel. Do not conform and don’t be ordinary. Remember, all human progress is the result of far-sighted people challenging orthodoxy, tradition and rich, powerful, vested interests.

There are no rules. That is how art is born, how breakthroughs happen. Go against the rules or ignore the rules. That is what invention is about.

The majority is always wrong; the minority is rarely right.

A minority may be right. The majority is always wrong.

To innovate is not to reform.

The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud.

When you innovate, you've got to be prepared for everyone telling you you're nuts.

Whatever is conventional, I am the opposite. So if you want to walk in a straight line, I am going to walk in zigzags. If you want to throw a 1-2, I'll throw a 2-1.

It scares the Church hierarchy to have educated women form thoughtful opinions and engage in dialogue.

When I became leader, I made very clear I was not going to choose the easy life. I have always taken risks. I don't like comfort-zone politics.

Conformity may give you a quiet life; it may even bring you to a University Chair. But all change in history, all advance, comes from the nonconformists. If there had been no trouble-makers, no Dissenters, we should still be living in caves.

The most depressing thing is the political slogan: there is no alternative. But there is.

A radical is one who speaks the truth.

If you're not failing every now and again, it's a sign you're not doing anything very innovative.

If everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn't thinking.

We're impressed by people who don't know what can't be done.

Innovation never comes from the established institutions.

Always listen to experts. They will tell you what can't be done and why. Then do it.

When in doubt, mock the powerful, not the powerless.

I pride myself on being able to create mismatches. That's what I've done my whole life.

Dissident intellectuals aren't all beautiful.

We must dare to think “unthinkable” thoughts. We must learn to explore all the options and possibilities that confront us in a complex and rapidly changing world. We must learn to welcome and not to fear the voices of dissent. We must dare to think about ‘unthinkable’ things because when things become unthinkable, thinking stops and action becomes mindless.

To me, unconventional thinking is approaching a problem and asking, 'Why not? Why can't something be done?' If someone can't give me a good reason why you can't do something, I find a way to do it.