In the moment of our creation we receive the stamp of our individuality; and much of life is spent in rubbing off or defacing the impression. – Augustus William Hare and Julius Charles Hare, Guesses at Truth, by Two Brothers

I had an immense advantage over many others dealing with the problem inasmuch as I had no fixed ideas derived from long-established practice to control and bias my mind, and did not suffer from the general belief that whatever is, is right. – Henry Bessemer (discovered new method of producing steel)

Our wretched species is so made that those who walk on the well-trodden path always throw stones at those who are showing a new road. – Voltaire

Civilization advances by extending the number of important operations which we can perform without thinking. – Alfred North Whitehead