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Home > Dictionary of Science Quotations > Scientist Names Index F > Reginald Fessenden Quotes

Thumbnail of Reginald Fessenden (source)
Reginald Fessenden
(6 Oct 1866 - 22 Jul 1932)

Canadian-American physicist, engineer and inventor who broadcast the first program of voice and music. He invented AM radio - which used amplitude modulation of a transmitted carrier radio wave to broadcast a sound signal.


Science Quotes by Reginald Fessenden (10 quotes)

... in going over the history of all the inventions for which history could be obtained it became more and more clear that in addition to training and in addition to extensive knowledge, a natural quality of mind was also necessary.
— Reginald Fessenden
Aphorism listed Frederick Seitz, The Cosmic Inventor: Reginald Aubrey Fessenden (1866-1932) (1999), 54, being Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, Held at Philadelphia For Promoting Useful Knowledge, Vol. 86, Pt. 6.
Science quotes on:  |  Addition (70)  |  Clarity (49)  |  Extensive (34)  |  History (716)  |  Invention (400)  |  Knowledge (1647)  |  Mind (1377)  |  More (2558)  |  Natural (810)  |  Necessary (370)  |  Necessity (197)  |  Obtain (164)  |  Quality (139)  |  Training (92)

[In relation to business:] Invention must be its keynote—a steady progression from one thing to another. As each in turn approaches a saturated market, something new must be produced.
— Reginald Fessenden
Aphorism listed Frederick Seitz, The Cosmic Inventor: Reginald Aubrey Fessenden (1866-1932) (1999), 55, being Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, Held at Philadelphia For Promoting Useful Knowledge, Vol. 86, Pt. 6.
Science quotes on:  |  Approach (112)  |  Business (156)  |  Invention (400)  |  Keynote (2)  |  Market (23)  |  Must (1525)  |  New (1273)  |  Produced (187)  |  Production (190)  |  Progression (23)  |  Saturation (9)  |  Something (718)  |  Steady (45)  |  Thing (1914)  |  Turn (454)

Combination does not produce though mergers and combinations are still the accepted panacea. In Big business there appears to be increasing aridity, bureaucracy, and stultifying sacrifice of initiative and above all fear.
— Reginald Fessenden
Aphorism listed Frederick Seitz, The Cosmic Inventor: Reginald Aubrey Fessenden (1866-1932) (1999), 55, being Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, Held at Philadelphia For Promoting Useful Knowledge, Vol. 86, Pt. 6.
Science quotes on:  |  Accept (198)  |  Acceptance (56)  |  Appearance (145)  |  Big Business (2)  |  Bureaucracy (8)  |  Business (156)  |  Combination (150)  |  Fear (212)  |  Increase (225)  |  Initiative (17)  |  Panacea (2)  |  Production (190)  |  Sacrifice (58)  |  Still (614)  |  Stultify (5)

Personality and salesmanship do not produce except in the competitive sense.
— Reginald Fessenden
Aphorism listed Frederick Seitz, The Cosmic Inventor: Reginald Aubrey Fessenden (1866-1932) (1999), 55, being Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, Held at Philadelphia For Promoting Useful Knowledge, Vol. 86, Pt. 6.
Science quotes on:  |  Competition (45)  |  Do (1905)  |  Personality (66)  |  Production (190)  |  Sense (785)

Standardization does not produce although admirable as an efficiency method.
— Reginald Fessenden
Aphorism listed Frederick Seitz, The Cosmic Inventor: Reginald Aubrey Fessenden (1866-1932) (1999), 55, being Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, Held at Philadelphia For Promoting Useful Knowledge, Vol. 86, Pt. 6.
Science quotes on:  |  Admiration (61)  |  Efficiency (46)  |  Method (531)  |  Production (190)  |  Standardization (3)

All our civilization is based on invention; before invention, men lived on fruits and nuts and pine cones and slept in caves.
— Reginald Fessenden
Aphorism listed Frederick Seitz, The Cosmic Inventor: Reginald Aubrey Fessenden (1866-1932) (1999), 54, being Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, Held at Philadelphia For Promoting Useful Knowledge, Vol. 86, Pt. 6.
Science quotes on:  |  Cave (17)  |  Civilization (220)  |  Cone (8)  |  Fruit (108)  |  Invention (400)  |  Mankind (356)  |  Nut (7)  |  Pine (12)  |  Sleep (81)

An inventor is one who can see the applicability of means to supply demand five years before it is obvious to those skilled in the art.
— Reginald Fessenden
Aphorism listed Frederick Seitz, The Cosmic Inventor: Reginald Aubrey Fessenden (1866-1932) (1999), 54, being Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, Held at Philadelphia For Promoting Useful Knowledge, Vol. 86, Pt. 6.
Science quotes on:  |  Application (257)  |  Art (680)  |  Demand (131)  |  Five (16)  |  Inventor (79)  |  Mean (810)  |  Means (587)  |  Obvious (128)  |  See (1094)  |  Skill (116)  |  Supply (100)  |  Supply And Demand (4)  |  Year (963)

And invention must still go on for it is necessary that we should completely control our circumstances. It is not sufficient that there should [only] be organization capable of providing food and shelter for all and organization to effect its proper distribution.
— Reginald Fessenden
Aphorism listed Frederick Seitz, The Cosmic Inventor: Reginald Aubrey Fessenden (1866-1932) (1999), 54, being Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, Held at Philadelphia For Promoting Useful Knowledge, Vol. 86, Pt. 6.
Science quotes on:  |  Capability (44)  |  Capable (174)  |  Circumstance (139)  |  Circumstances (108)  |  Completely (137)  |  Completeness (19)  |  Control (182)  |  Distribution (51)  |  Effect (414)  |  Food (213)  |  Invention (400)  |  Must (1525)  |  Necessary (370)  |  Necessity (197)  |  Organization (120)  |  Proper (150)  |  Provision (17)  |  Shelter (23)  |  Still (614)  |  Sufficiency (16)  |  Sufficient (133)

No organization engaged in any specific field of work ever invents any important developers in that field, or adopts any important development in that field until forced to do so by outside competition.
— Reginald Fessenden
Aphorism listed Frederick Seitz, The Cosmic Inventor: Reginald Aubrey Fessenden (1866-1932) (1999), 54, being Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, Held at Philadelphia For Promoting Useful Knowledge, Vol. 86, Pt. 6.
Science quotes on:  |  Adoption (7)  |  Competition (45)  |  Developer (2)  |  Development (441)  |  Do (1905)  |  Engagement (9)  |  Field (378)  |  Force (497)  |  Importance (299)  |  Invention (400)  |  Organization (120)  |  Outside (141)  |  Specific (98)  |  Work (1402)

The inventor and the research man are confused because they both examine results of physical or chemical operations. But they are exact opposites, mirror images of one another. The research man does something and does not care [exactly] what it is that happens, he measures whatever it is. The inventor wants something to happen, but does not care how it happens or what it is that happens if it is not what he wants.
— Reginald Fessenden
Aphorism listed Frederick Seitz, The Cosmic Inventor: Reginald Aubrey Fessenden (1866-1932) (1999), 54, being Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, Held at Philadelphia For Promoting Useful Knowledge, Vol. 86, Pt. 6.
Science quotes on:  |  Both (496)  |  Care (203)  |  Chemical (303)  |  Exactness (29)  |  Examination (102)  |  Examine (84)  |  Happen (282)  |  Happening (59)  |  Image (97)  |  Inventor (79)  |  Man (2252)  |  Measure (241)  |  Measurement (178)  |  Mirror (43)  |  Operation (221)  |  Operations (107)  |  Opposite (110)  |  Physical (518)  |  Research (753)  |  Researcher (36)  |  Result (700)  |  Something (718)  |  Want (504)  |  Whatever (234)


See also:
  • 6 Oct - short biography, births, deaths and events on date of Fessenden's birth.
  • The Cosmic Inventor: Reginald Aubrey Fessenden (1866-1932), by Frederick Seitz. - book suggestion.
  • Booklist for Reginald Fessenden.

Carl Sagan Thumbnail 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) -- Carl Sagan
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