“Too much knowledge could be a bad thing. I was lead to the Szemerédi theorem by proving a result, about squares, that Euler had already proven, and I relied on an "obvious" fact, about arithmetical progressions, that was unproved at the time. But that lead me to try and prove that formerly unproved statement- about arithmetical progressions-and that ultimately lead to the Szemerédi Theorem.” TryingFactsScienceResultsToo MuchProveMathematicsObviousStatementsBad ThingsSquaresProvenProgressionLeading MeTheoremsEuler Author:Endre Szemeredi
“Common sense … has the very curious property of being more correct retrospectively than prospectively. It seems to me that one of the principal criteria to be applied to successful science is that its results are almost always obvious retrospectively; unfortunately, they seldom are prospectively. Common sense provides a kind of ultimate validation after science has completed its work; it seldom anticipates what science is going to discover.” KindSeemsResultsCommonSuccessfulUltimatePropertyObviousCommon SenseCuriousWorking ItPrincipalCriteriaAnticipateValidation Author:Russell L. Ackoff
“Before our eyes we have the results of ideologies such as Marxism, Nazism and fascism, and also of myths like racial superiority, nationalism and ethnic exclusivism. No less pernicious, though not always as obvious, are the effects of materialistic consumerism, in which the exaltation of the individual and the selfish satisfaction of personal aspirations become the ultimate goal of life. In this outlook, the negative effects on others are considered completely irrelevant.” EyeIndividualGoalResultsEffectsNegativeUltimateSatisfactionObviousMythSelfishIdeologyAspirationNationalismFascismConsumerismSuperiorityIrrelevantOutlookMarxismMaterialisticLife GoalNazismOverconsumptionUltimate GoalPerniciousExaltation Author:Pope John Paul II