11 Quotes by Charles Hard Townes

The beaver told the rabbit as they stared at the Hoover Dam: No, I didn’t build it myself, but it’s based on an idea of mine.

When God said “Let there be light” he surely must have meant perfectly coherent light.

The development of science is basically a social phenomenon, dependent on hard work and mutual support of many scientists and on the societies in which they live.

I strongly believe in the existence of God, based on intuition, observations, logic, and also scientific knowledge.

Much public thinking follows a rut. The same thing is true in science. People get stuck and don’t look in other directions.

The late Richard Feynman, a superb physicist, said once as we talked about the laser that the way to tell a great idea is that, when people hear it, they say, ‘Gee, I could have thought of that.’

We can’t avoid age. However, we can avoid some aging. Continue to do things. Be active. Life is fantastic in the way it adjusts to demands; if you use your muscles and mind, they stay there much longer.

In many cases, people who win a Nobel prize, their work slows down after that because of the distractions. Yes, fame is rewarding, but it’s a pity if it keeps you from doing the work you are good at.

Many have a feeling that somehow intelligence must have been involved in the laws of the universe.