Richard Feynman
Theoretical physicist; Nobel laureate in Physics, 1965
the colonel said I shouldn't tell them how the neutrons work and all the details because we want to keep things separate, so just tell them what to do to keep it safe.
Recorded
Engineering and Science / Caltech Magazine, 1976
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Peter Doherty
Veterinary surgeon and immunologist; Nobel laureate in Physiology or Medicine, 1996
On returning to Brisbane, I realised fairly quickly that I am an experimentalist at heart. A career as a diagnostic virologist was not for me!
Recorded
Laureate-written autobiography for Les Prix Nobel, Nobel Prize Outreach, 1 December 1996
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I’ve turned down opportunities constantly. I turn down invitations to do things for money. I have almost no interest in making money.
Recorded
Academy of Achievement interview, 20 May 1997
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Steve Jobs
Co-founder and chief executive of Apple; co-founder of NeXT; chief executive of Pixar
We tend to focus much more. People think focus means saying yes to the thing you've got to focus on. But that's not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are. You have to pick carefully.
Recorded
Betsy Morris, Fortune interview, Kona, Hawaii, March 2008
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Do restrict your browsing to a few websites a day. Don’t go near the online bookies – unless it’s research. […] Do not search amazon.co.uk for the book you haven’t written yet.
Take no notice of anyone you don’t respect. […] Take no notice of anyone with a gender agenda. A lot of men still think that women lack imagination of the fiery kind.
Paul Graham
Co-founder of Viaweb and of the startup accelerator Y Combinator; essayist
When I ask myself what I've found life is too short for, the word that pops into my head is “bullshit.” I realize that answer is somewhat tautological. It's almost the definition of bullshit that it's the stuff that life is too short for. And yet bullshit does have a distinctive character. There's something fake about it. It's the junk food of experience. If you ask yourself what you spend your time on that's bullshit, you probably already know the answer. Unnecessary meetings, pointless disputes, bureaucracy, posturing, dealing with other people's mistakes, traffic jams, addictive but unrewarding pastimes.
Recorded
Graham's own essay site, paulgraham.com, 2016
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