55 Quotes by John Charles Polanyi

Science gives us a powerful vocabulary, and it is impossible to produce a vocabulary with which one can only say nice things.

Young people ask me if this country is serious about science. They aren't thinking about the passport that they will hold, but the country that they must rely on for support and encouragement.

Reality is no less precious if it presents itself to someone else. All are discoverers, and if we disenfranchise any, all suffer.

Though we explore in a culturally-conditioned way, the reality we sketch is universal.

Human dignity is better served by embracing knowledge.

In nation after nation, democracy has taken the place of autocracy.

If we treasure our own experience and regard it as real, we must also treasure other people’s experience.

Young people ask me if this country is serious about science. They aren’t thinking about the passport that they will hold, but the country that they must rely on for support and encouragement.

Our assessment of socio-economic worth is largely a sham. We scientists should not lend ourselves to it – though we routinely do. We should, instead, insist on applying the criterion of quality.