(source)
|
Thomas Edison
(11 Feb 1847 - 18 Oct 1931)
American inventor who was known internationally as “the Wizard of Menlo Park,” for the huge number of innovations coming from there, the world's first industrial research laboratory.
|
Thomas Edison Quotes on Thinking (6 quotes)
>> Click for 62 Science Quotes by Thomas Edison
>> Click for Thomas Edison Quotes on | Experiment | Genius | Invention | Phonograph |
>> Click for 62 Science Quotes by Thomas Edison
>> Click for Thomas Edison Quotes on | Experiment | Genius | Invention | Phonograph |
“There is no expedient to which a man will not resort to avoid the real labor of thinking.
Sir Joshua Reynolds.”
Sir Joshua Reynolds.”
— Thomas Edison
Sign motto used by Edison in his plant. It is a compacted paraphrase of an original quote by the painter, Joshua Reynolds, (which can been seen on the Reynolds quote page on this site). This form of the quote, was published by B.C. Forbes in The American Magazine (Jan 1921), 10. Forbes wrote about his visit to the Edison’s office, where he was shown a placard bearing the motto and attribution to Sir Joshua Reynolds, and told by Edison that he intended to have copies “put all over the plant.”
Every man has some forte something he can do better than he can do anything else. Many men, however, never find the job they are best fitted for. And often this is because they do not think enough. Too many men drift lazily into any job, suited or unsuited for them; and when they don’t get along well they blame everybody and everything except themselves.
— Thomas Edison
As quoted from an interview by B.C. Forbes in The American Magazine (Jan 1921), 10.
I never pick up an item without thinking of how I might improve it. I never perfected an invention that I did not think about in terms of the service it might give others. I want to save and advance human life, not destroy it. I am proud of the fact that I never invented weapons to kill. The dove is my emblem.
— Thomas Edison
…...
It usually takes me from five to seven years to perfect a thing. Some things I have been working on for twenty-five years—and some of them are still unsolved. My average would be about seven years. The incandescent light was the hardest one of all: it took many years not only of concentrated thought but also of world-wide research. The storage battery took eight years. It took even longer to perfect the phonograph.
— Thomas Edison
As quoted from an interview by B.C. Forbes in The American Magazine (Jan 1921), 86.
Thinking, after a while, becomes the most pleasurable thing in the world. Give me a satchel and a fishing rod, and I could hie myself off and keep busy at thinking forever. I don't need anybody to amuse me. It is the same way with my friends John Burroughs, the naturalist, and Henry Ford, who is a natural-born mechanic. We can derive the most satisfying kind of joy from thinking and thinking and thinking.
— Thomas Edison
As quoted from an interview by B.C. Forbes in The American Magazine (Jan 1921), 86.
What progress individuals could make, and what progress the world would make, if thinking were given proper consideration! It seems to me that not one man in a thousand appreciates what can be accomplished by training the mind to think.
— Thomas Edison
As quoted from an interview by B.C. Forbes in The American Magazine (Jan 1921), 10.
See also:
- 11 Feb - short biography, births, deaths and events on date of Edison's birth.
- Thomas Edison Quote “Mary Had A Little Lamb” - Illustrated quote with Tinfoil Phonograph - Large 800 x 600px
- The Talking Phonograph - Thomas Edison's invention of his tinfoil phonograph - article in Scientific American (22 Dec 1877) - with illustrated quote, medium 500px.
- Thomas Edison Quote “Something there was no doubt of” - Illustrated quote + tinfoil phonograph engraving 800px
- Edison Fears Hidden Perils of the X-Rays - from New York World (3 Aug 1903).
- Thomas Edison - context of quote “Genius is not inspired. Inspiration is perspiration.” - Medium image (500 x 350 px)
- Thomas Edison - context of quote “Genius is not inspired. Inspiration is perspiration.” - Large image (800 x 600 px)
- First Thomas Edison Lamp Factory - from Edisonia (1904)
- Thomas Edison Quote “Something there was no doubt of” - Illustrated quote + tinfoil phonograph engraving 500px
- Thomas Edison Quote “Mary Had A Little Lamb” - Illustrated quote with Tinfoil Phonograph - Medium 500 x 350px
- 1 Oct - short biography, births, deaths and events on date of opening of Edison's Menlo Park lamp factory.
- Edison: A Biography, by Matthew Josephson. - book suggestion.
- Booklist for Thomas Edison.
In science it often happens that scientists say, 'You know that's a really good argument; my position is mistaken,' and then they would actually change their minds and you never hear that old view from them again. They really do it. It doesn't happen as often as it should, because scientists are human and change is sometimes painful. But it happens every day. I cannot recall the last time something like that happened in politics or religion.
(1987) -- 
