57 Quotes by Hyman Rickover

Responsiblity is a unique concept. It can only reside and inhere in a single individual. You may share it with others, but your portion is not diminished. You may delegate it, but it is still with you. You may disclaim it, but you cannot divest yourself of it.

Nothing so sharpens the thought process as writing down one's arguments. Weaknesses overlooked in oral discussion become painfully obvious on the written page.

The Devil is in the details, but so is salvation.

The devil is in the details, and everything we do in the military is a detail.

It troubles me that we are so easily pressured by purveyors of technology into permitting so-called "progress" to alter our lives without attempting to control it-as if technology were an irrepressible force of nature to which we must meekly submit.

To doubt one's own first principles is the mark of a civilized man. Don't defend past actions; what is right today may be wrong tomorrow. Don't be consistent; consistency is the refuge of fools.

Optimism and stupidity are nearly synonymous.

I have the charisma of the chipmunk. I never have thought I was smart. I thought the people I dealt with were dumb.

Good ideas and innovations must be driven into existence by courage and patience.