“Curiosity, which may or may not eventuate in something useful, is probably the most outstanding characteristic of modern thinking ... Institutions of learning should be devoted to the cultivation of curiosity, and the less they are deflected by the consideration of immediacy of application, the more likely they are to contribute not only to human welfare, but to the equally important satisfaction of intellectual interest, which may indeed be said to have become the ruling passion of intellectual life in modern times.” ThinkingShouldHumansMaySaidImportantPassionInterestModernIntellectualInstitutionsCuriositySatisfactionWelfareCharacteristicsConsiderationApplicationDevotedRulingOutstandingCultivationModern TimesImmediacyIntellectual LifeRuling Passion Author:Abraham Flexner
“I was at a speaking engagement for MIT... and I said, 'The Professor has all sorts of degrees, including one from this very institution [MIT]! And that's why I can make a radio out of a coconut, and not fix a hole in a boat!'” SaidI CanDegreesInstitutionsIncludingRadioHolesBoatProfessorsEngagementCoconutsMit Author:Russell Johnson
“Historically the great movements for human liberation have always been movements to change institutions and not to preserve them intact. It follows from what has been said that there have been movements to bring about a changed distribution of power to do - and power to think and to express thought is a power to do- so that there would be a more balanced, a more equal, even, and equitable system of human liberties.” ThinkingHumansHas BeensSaidWisdomWould BePoliticsLibertyEconomyMovementChangedEqualInstitutionsLiberationPreservesLiberalismBalancedDistributionEquitableDistribution Of Power Book:The Later Works, 1925-1953 Source: The Later Works, 1925-1953