[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"$fYGU_BrkgRp5sPi2X69vd7gNWuK2fQoDVSuOpt4Lrxhw":3,"$fn5K9CyKMozrdaT-XLJDPBnCiAJPRlHkisuPst4nVpd8":12},{"author":4,"tags":11},{"author_id":5,"author_name":6,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"bio":9,"short_bio":9,"slug":10,"image_url":9},194638,"George M. Whitesides","G",12,null,"george-m-whitesides",[],{"quotes":13,"pagination":94},[14,22,28,34,40,46,52,59,72,83],{"id":15,"quote_text":16,"author_id":5,"source_id":17,"has_image":18,"author":19,"source":20,"quote_tag":21,"commentary":9},3678104,"Science has the potential to solve all kinds of problems, but it depends on what a society wants to accomplish.",7,false,{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":23,"quote_text":24,"author_id":5,"source_id":17,"has_image":18,"author":25,"source":26,"quote_tag":27,"commentary":9},3678100,"Part of science is the questioning of authority, absolute freedom of ideology. The Soviets did some very good science, but when science ran into ideology, it had trouble. Science flourishes best in a democracy.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":29,"quote_text":30,"author_id":5,"source_id":17,"has_image":18,"author":31,"source":32,"quote_tag":33,"commentary":9},3678094,"One of the issues in electronics is that we work only in two scales - transistors and collections of transistors - and that's the device. But to take full advantage of nano, we're going to have to think about that full hierarchy of levels of structure.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":35,"quote_text":36,"author_id":5,"source_id":17,"has_image":18,"author":37,"source":38,"quote_tag":39,"commentary":9},3678090,"Because of climate changes, it's not just a question of producing energy. It's a question of producing energy in a way that we can live with in the long term. If you look at the available pieces, from conservation to nuclear, solar, whatever, and you put them all together, we can't do it.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":41,"quote_text":42,"author_id":5,"source_id":17,"has_image":18,"author":43,"source":44,"quote_tag":45,"commentary":9},3678085,"The number of people who really work creatively on new sources of water isn't enormously large for the reason that I don't think people have very many ideas on how to get fundamentally new sources of water. We sort of think we've thought that problem through. I hope that's not true.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":47,"quote_text":48,"author_id":5,"source_id":17,"has_image":18,"author":49,"source":50,"quote_tag":51,"commentary":9},3678078,"Capitalism is a wonderful economic engine, but it assigns little value to long-term projects or societal problems.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":53,"quote_text":54,"author_id":5,"source_id":55,"has_image":18,"author":56,"source":57,"quote_tag":58,"commentary":9},3046294,"The virtue of binary is that it’s the simplest possible way of representing numbers. Anything else is more complicated. You can catch errors with it, it’s unambiguous in its reading, there are lots of good things about binary. So it is very, very simple once you learn how to read it.",6,{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":60,"quote_text":61,"author_id":5,"source_id":62,"has_image":18,"author":63,"source":64,"quote_tag":65,"commentary":71},2716236,"Chemists have always been in the business of taking atoms and putting them together with other atoms with precisely defined connections.",4,{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[66],{"id":67,"tag":68},5692876,{"id":69,"tag_name":70},3458,"together","**The Backstory**\nGeorge M. Whitesides, a renowned American chemist and engineer, likely articulated this quote in the context of his pioneering work on supramolecular chemistry and surface science. In the 1970s and 1980s, Whitesides was actively exploring ways to manipulate and organize matter at the molecular level. This quote reflects his fascination with the fundamental building blocks of matter and the art of assembling them into complex structures.\n\n**The Hidden Insight**\nWhat lies beneath the surface of this seemingly straightforward statement is a profound commentary on the nature of creativity and innovation. Whitesides' assertion that chemists are \"in the business of taking atoms and putting them together\" reveals a paradox: the process of creation is not about inventing new things from scratch, but rather about combining existing elements in novel ways. This insight highlights the tension between the desire for innovation and the reality of building upon established knowledge.\n\n**How to Use This**\nTo apply this mindset to your own creative endeavors, focus on recombining existing elements in novel ways rather than trying to reinvent the wheel. By recognizing the value of building upon established knowledge, you can channel your energy into making meaningful connections between seemingly disparate ideas, leading to innovative breakthroughs.",{"id":73,"quote_text":74,"author_id":5,"source_id":62,"has_image":18,"author":75,"source":76,"quote_tag":77,"commentary":9},2716219,"Nanoengineering is learning how to make devices as small as 10 to 100 atoms in width. Much of the work is going on in the electronics industry, where there is great demand to pack more components onto computer chips.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[78],{"id":79,"tag":80},5692865,{"id":81,"tag_name":82},3715,"demand",{"id":84,"quote_text":85,"author_id":5,"source_id":62,"has_image":18,"author":86,"source":87,"quote_tag":88,"commentary":9},2716202,"Simplicity, for reasons that are a little bit obscure, is almost not pursued, at least in the academic world.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[89],{"id":90,"tag":91},5692851,{"id":92,"tag_name":93},24218,"almost",{"currentPage":95,"totalPages":96,"totalItems":8,"itemsPerPage":97},1,2,10]