Vannevar Bush > Quotes

“Fear cannot be banished, but it can be calm and without panic; it can be mitigated by reason and evaluation.”
― Vannevar Bush

“the future of science in this country will be determined by our basic educational policy.”
― Vannevar Bush, Science: The Endless Frontier

“If scientific reasoning were limited to the logical processes of arithmetic, we should not get very far in our understanding of the physical world. One might as well attempt to grasp the game of poker entirely by the use of the mathematics of probability.”
― Vannevar Bush, Endless Horizons

“In these days, when there is a tendency to specialize so closely, it is well for us to be reminded that the possibilities of being at once broad and deep did not pass with Leonardo Da Vinci or even Benjamin Franklin. Men of our profession - we teachers - are bound to be impressed by the tendency of youths of strikingly capable minds to become interested in one small corner of science and uninterested in the rest of the world ... It is unfortunate when a brilliant and creative mind insists upon living in a modern monastic cell.”
― Vannevar Bush

“Improvement in the teaching of science is imperative; for students of latent scientific ability are particularly vulnerable to high school teaching which fails to awaken interest or to provide adequate instruction.”
― Vannevar Bush, Science: The Endless Frontier

“as a people and a Nation we have not been properly appreciative of intellectual achievement. This awareness and appreciation is not something the Government can legislate into being. We must build it into our national consciousness through our educational system, and until we do, science and all other forms of intellectual activity will lack the firm foundation they require.”
― Vannevar Bush, Science: The Endless Frontier

“The difficulty seems to be, not so much that we publish unduly in view of the extent and variety of
present-day interests, but rather that publication has been extended far beyond our present ability to make
real use of the record”
― Vannevar Bush, As We May Think

“As citizens, as good citizens, we therefore think that we must have in mind while examining the question before us, the discovery and development of scientific talent, the needs of the whole national welfare. We could not suggest to you a program which would syphon into science and technology a disproportionately large share of the nation’s highest abilities, without doing harm to the nation, nor, indeed, without crippling science. . . . Science cannot live by and unto itself alone.” . . . -Vannevar Bush”
― Vannevar Bush

“There will always be plenty of things to compute in the detailed affairs of millions of people doing complicated things.”
― Vannevar Bush, As We May Think

“They felt that all boys and girls should be able to feel that, if they have what it takes, there is no limit to the opportunity. A ceiling should not be imposed on a young person’s educational opportunities either by limited family means or negative family attitudes.”
― Vannevar Bush, Science: The Endless Frontier

“In order for great progress to be made on methods and weapons of war, there has to be a system of close joint effort of military and civilian men, especially engineers. The civilians must have independence and the opportunity to explore the bizarre; it is not enough that they be the engineers of contractors to the armed forces. Above all, there must be mutual respect and reliance. This must be present whenever we have to fight again.”
― Vannevar Bush, Pieces of the Action

“The difficulty seems to be, not so much that we publish unduly in view of the extent and variety of present-day interests, but rather that publication has been extended far beyond our present ability to make real use of the record.”
― Vannevar Bush, As We May Think

“For mature thought there is no mechanical substitute”
― Vannevar Bush, As We May Think