“It is common, and encouraged by many journals, for research to be judged by the impact factor of the journal that publishes it. But as a journal's score is an average, it says little about the quality of any individual piece of research.” LittlesIndividualCommonQualityPiecesResearchImpactAverageFactorsScoreJudgedJournalPublish Author:Randy Schekman
“All "if" statements about the past are as dubious as prophecies of the future are. It seems fairly plausible that if Alexander or Ghengis Khan had never been born, some other individual would have filled his place and executed the design of the Hellenic or Mongolic expansion; but the Alexanders of philosophy and religion, of science and art, seem less expendable; their impact seems less determined by economic challenges and social pressures; and they seem to have a much wider range of possibilities to influence the direction, shape and texture of civilizations.” IfsArtPhilosophySeemsPastIndividualSocialBornChallengesInfluenceEconomicDesignPossibilityCivilizationShapesPressureImpactFilledDeterminedStatementsRangeProphecyExpansionTextureArt And SciencePlausibleDubiousPhilosophy And ReligionSocial PressureExpendables Author:Arthur Koestler
“Not even the apparently enlightened principle of the 'greatest good for the greatest number' can excuse indifference to individual suffering. There is no test for progress other than its impact on the individual.” SufferingIndividualNumbersPrinciplesProgressTestsImpactExcuseIndifferenceEnlightened Book:In Place of Fear Source: In Place of Fear
“When I say that terrorism is war against civilization, I may be met by the objection that terrorists are often idealists pursuing worthy ultimate aims -- national or regional independence, and so forth. I do not accept this argument. I cannot agree that a terrorist can ever be an idealist, or that the objects sought can ever justify terrorism. The impact of terrorism, not merely on individual nations, but on humanity as a whole, is intrinsically evil, necessarily evil and wholly evil.” MayWarWholeHumanityEvilIndividualNationsAcceptingObjectsCivilizationMetsArgumentUltimateAimAgreeIndependenceImpactWorthyTerrorismTerroristJustifyObjectionsIdealist Author:Benjamin Netanyahu
“...Simplifications have had a much greater long-range scientific impact than individual feats of ingenuity. The opportunity for simplification is very encouraging, because in all examples that come to mind the simple and elegant systems tend to be easier and faster to design and get right, more efficient in execution, and much more reliable than the more contrived contraptions that have to be debugged into some degree of acceptability....Simplicity and elegance are unpopular because they require hard work and discipline to achieve and education to be appreciated.” MindLongHardOpportunityIndividualSimpleGreaterAchieveExampleDesignHard WorkDisciplineEasierDegreesImpactSimplicityFasterRangeEfficientExecutionElegantAppreciatedEleganceIngenuityFeatsSimplificationSimplicity And Elegance Author:Edsger Dijkstra
“Change happens from the bottom up - all of us as individuals deciding that we will and we do have an impact.” HappensIndividualImpactBottom Author:Hill Harper