Linus Carl Pauling - Collected Quotes

"The scientist, if he is to be more than a plodding gatherer of bits of information, needs to exercise an active imagination." (Linus Pauling, "Tomorrow", 1943)

"Science cannot be stopped. Men will gather knowledge no matter what the consequences. Science will go on whether we are pessimistic or optimistic, as I am. More interesting discoveries than we can imagine will be made, and I am awaiting them, full of curiosity and enthusiasm." (Linus Pauling, "Chemical Achievement and Hope for the Future", 1947)

"It is structure that we look for whenever we try to understand anything. All science is built upon this search; […] We like to understand, and to explain, observed facts in terms of structure."  (Linus Pauling, "Main Currents in Modern Thought", 1950)

"Science is the search for truth. It is not a game in which one tries to beat his opponent, to do harm to others. We need to have the spirit of science in international affairs, to make the conduct of international affairs the effort to find the right solution, the just solution of international problems, not the effort by each nation to get the better of other nations, to do harm to them when it is possible." (Linus Pauling, "No More War!", 1958)

"One never knows how hard a problem is until it has been solved. You don’t necessarily know that you will succeed if you work harder or longer." (Linus Pauling, [interview] 1986)

"A scientist can be productive in various ways. One is having the ability to plan and carry out experiments, but the other is having the ability to formulate new ideas, which can be about what experiments can be carried out […] by making [the] proper calculations. Individual scientists who are successful in their work are successful for different reasons." (Linus Pauling)

"Facts are the air of scientists. Without them you can never fly." (Linus Pauling)

"I have always wanted to know as much as possible about the world." (Linus Pauling)

"If you want to have good ideas you must have many ideas. Most of them will be wrong, and what you have to learn is which ones to throw away." (Linus Pauling)

"Science is the search for truth, that is the effort to understand the world: it involves the rejection of bias, of dogma, of revelation, but not the rejection of morality." (Linus Pauling)

"There is no area of the world that should not be investigated by scientists. There will always remain some questions that have not been answered. In general, these are the questions that have not yet been posed." (Linus Pauling)