The Quotation IndexThe trusted reference for quotations and the sources behind them
Tag Tag Critical thinking
Education is that which remains, if one has forgotten everything he learned in school.
Albert Einstein Ideas and Opinions · 1954

Quotes

“Contradictions do not exist. Whenever you think that you are facing a contradiction, check your premises. You will find that one of them is wrong.”

Ayn Rand · Atlas Shrugged, 1957 · Primary source

“Few skills are more important than knowing how to distinguish what’s true from what’s false.”

Bill Gates · The Risks of AI are Real but Manageable, 2023 · Primary source

“The first principle is that you must not fool yourself and you are the easiest person to fool.”

Richard Feynman · Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!, 1985 · Primary source

“Altogether too often, people substitute opinions for facts and emotions for analysis.”

Andrew S. Grove · Only the Paranoid Survive, 1996 · Primary source

“It [using ChatGPT in schools] reminds me of the time when electronic calculators became widespread in the 1970s and 1980s. Some math teachers worried that students would stop learning how to do basic arithmetic, but others embraced the new technology and focused on the thinking skills behind the arithmetic.”

Bill Gates · The Risks of AI are Real but Manageable, 2023 · Primary source

“Any one who in discussion relies upon authority uses, not his understanding, but rather his memory.”

Leonardo da Vinci · The Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci, 1888 · Primary source

“The greatest deception men suffer is from their own opinions.”

Leonardo da Vinci · The Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci, 1888 · Primary source

“Since then I never pay any attention to anything by experts. I calculate everything myself.”

Richard Feynman · Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!, 1985 · Primary source

“It was a reaction I learned from my father: have no respect whatsoever for authority; forget who said it and instead look at what he starts with, where he ends up, and ask yourself, Is it reasonable?”

Richard Feynman · What Do You Care What Other People Think?, 1986 · Primary source

“Looking back at the worst times, it always seems that they were times in which there were people who believed with absolute faith and absolute dogmatism in something.”

Richard Feynman · The Meaning of It All, 1998 · Primary source

Works

Richard Feynman · 1998
The Meaning of It All

Three lectures examining scientific uncertainty, values, religion, politics, and the wider consequences of applying scientific habits of thought.

Read summary·Explore 9 quotes
Edsger Dijkstra · 1983
On IPWs: A position paper for a panel discussion on Computers and Society

A critique of exaggerated claims about computers, advocating sceptical public understanding and questioning whether automation necessarily improves human activities.

Read summary·Explore 1 quotes

Related Tags

Decision-making 35 Judgement 31 Evidence 19 Understanding 15 Consistency 10 Reasoning 8 Memory 7 Independent judgement 7 Self-deception 6 Bias 6 Scientific integrity 5 Lifelong learning 4 Objectivity 4 Authority 4 Analysis 3 Research ethics 3 Dogmatism 3 Ideology 3 Doubt 3 Computing education 3 Logic 2 Educational technology 2 Fact-checking 2 Opinion 2 Scepticism 2 Technological hype 2 Automation 2 Retention 1 Curriculum 1 Schooling 1 Premises 1 Non-contradiction 1 ChatGPT 1 Calculators 1 Classroom adaptation 1 Media literacy 1 AI hallucinations 1 Information literacy 1 Expert authority 1 Independent verification 1 Calculation 1 Absolute certainty 1 Intolerance 1 Scientific uncertainty 1 Science and society 1 Religion and science 1 Intelligent prayer wheels 1