Decisiveness Quotes (1 quote)
Note: This quote is by French playwright Henri Becque. It is widely seen attributed, incorrectly, to Henri Becquerel.
Decisiveness is often the art of timely cruelty.
Decisiveness is often the art of timely cruelty.
This is NOT a quote by Henri Becquerel. It is in fact by French playwright Henri Becque (1837-1899). Because of the many erroneous attributions found on the web, it is included here help the diligent searcher find a correct reference. See Robert Andrews, The Concise Columbia Dictionary of Quotations (1989), 74. Please contact Webmaster if you know the primary print source.
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) -- 
