On Discoveries, Problems, and Solutions
All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them.
—Galileo Galilei, 1632
The more original a discovery, the more obvious it seems afterwards.
—Arthur Koestler, 1970
The problem is not so much to see what nobody has yet seen, as to think what nobody has
yet thought.
—Arthur Schopenhauer, 1851
1
It isn’t that they can’t see the solution. It is that they can’t see the problem.
—G. K. Chesterton, 1935
To see what is in front of one’s nose needs a constant struggle.
—George Orwell, 1946
There is no regular procedure, no logical system of discovery, no simple, continuous
development.
—Gerald Holton, 1973
There are many rules for choosing good solutions, but there are no rules for selecting good
rules.
—Anonymous
***
It requires a very unusual mind to undertake the analysis of the obvious.
—Alfred North Whitehead, 1925
Talent hits a target no one else can hit; genius hits a target no one else can see.
—Arthur Schopenhauer, 1844
1
Frequently misattributed to Albert Szent-Györgyi, who just quoted it in 1957.
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
K. K. Likharev (ed.), Essential Quotes for Scientists and Engineers,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-63332-5_2
3
All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them.
—Galileo Galilei, 1632
The more original a discovery, the more obvious it seems afterwards.
—Arthur Koestler, 1970
The problem is not so much to see what nobody has yet seen, as to think what nobody has
yet thought.
—Arthur Schopenhauer, 1851
1
It isn’t that they can’t see the solution. It is that they can’t see the problem.
—G. K. Chesterton, 1935
To see what is in front of one’s nose needs a constant struggle.
—George Orwell, 1946
There is no regular procedure, no logical system of discovery, no simple, continuous
development.
—Gerald Holton, 1973
There are many rules for choosing good solutions, but there are no rules for selecting good
rules.
—Anonymous
***
It requires a very unusual mind to undertake the analysis of the obvious.
—Alfred North Whitehead, 1925
Talent hits a target no one else can hit; genius hits a target no one else can see.
—Arthur Schopenhauer, 1844
1
Frequently misattributed to Albert Szent-Györgyi, who just quoted it in 1957.
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
K. K. Likharev (ed.), Essential Quotes for Scientists and Engineers,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-63332-5_2
3