Quotes by Szent-Györgyi Albert

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The future will be like the school of today.

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The human brain was not designed by nature to search for truth, but to search for food, safety and the like, to recognize advantageous situations, to help man survive day by day. The brain is the organ of survival.

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What we call education is nothing more than programming the brain in the early stages in which it can still be shaped. The future of humanity depends on education, on this changeable program system. Human history essentially reflects a gradual change in this programming, and if anyone compares himself to a wild cannibal, he can see that the only significant difference lies in their different educational programs. It follows that education is one of the most important activities of humanity. It opens the door to wonderful opportunities, but at the same time exposes humanity to terrible dangers.

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History is the subject that had the greatest impact on the formation of our value system, because what other foundation can the future be built on than the past?

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Most wars were not decided by glorious kings and valiant generals, but by lice and rats that carried infection and spread epidemics.

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The politician thinks about the next election; the statesman for the next generation. People vote for the best politicians and then wonder that they got bad statesmen.

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A politician's career seems to take a sudden turn as soon as he is elected to office. One of the reasons for this turn of events is perhaps that he replaces his individual moral code system - regardless of his will - with a communal one. Besides, things look very different from the top, and the life of a single person seems very small. As long as the politician is only a candidate, he sees the unique suffering; once you reach the top, it all becomes a statistic.

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There are two types of violence: active and passive. Active violence breaks windows and skulls. Passive violence is the violence of people who submit to nothing but active violence. The two types of violence are very closely related: passive violence begets violence; leaves no other choice.

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When young people come to me saying they want to be researchers because they want to contribute to the alleviation of human suffering, I prefer to send them to charitable institutions. Research requires selfish people who are passionately interested in "useless" questions and are willing to sacrifice everything, even their own lives, to solve them.

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The essence of the scientific method is that it treats problems as problems, thus searching for the best solution, without prejudices and chauvinism. We don't ask who is right, but what the truth is.

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Sir! You gave us this precious planet to live in, Full of hidden, secret treasures, You made us able to understand your work. (...) Sir! Let's be partners in creation Let's continue to work in the wake of your work, So that our planet becomes a strong home of abundance, happiness and harmony.

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Whenever I go fishing, I use a big hook so that the fish I don't catch are big.

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For the first time in the history of man, he is able to truly enjoy life, for the first time he does not have to fear cold, hunger and disease. Now, for the first time, you can satisfy all your basic needs. But for the first time in its history, it is also capable of destroying itself with a single blow, or of making this shrinking, lovely globe uninhabitable through pollution and overpopulation.

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A true scientist (...) is ready to endure hardships, even starvation, so that no one dictates to him the direction in which he should continue his work.

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Research favors true egoists, those who pursue their own pleasure and satisfaction, but find it in solving the mysteries of nature.

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Sport is primarily a mental concept. A sports team is a microcosm of society, the match is a symbol of the noble struggle for life. (...) During the game, sport teaches people the most important civic virtues in a short time: togetherness, self-sacrifice, complete subordination of individual interest, perseverance, willingness to act, quick decision-making, independent judgment, absolute to fairness, and above all to the rules of "fair play", the noble struggle.

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Books are there to hold knowledge while we use our heads for something better. The book provides a safer home for knowledge. In my mind, any bookish knowledge has a half-life of a few weeks. So I leave the knowledge to books and libraries for safe keeping, and I prefer to go fishing, sometimes for fish, sometimes for new knowledge.

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The concept of sport should not be confused with mere physical prowess, record-breaking, profit-hunting and the prima donnas associated with the latter. The latter not only have nothing to do with sports, but are downright enemies of sports.

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Sport is not only physical education, but also one of the most powerful educational tools for the soul.

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Sport opens the soul through the body.

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School is for people to learn to learn, to awaken their thirst for knowledge, to know the joy of a job well done, to taste the thrill of creation, and to find a job that they will love.

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Nature is huge, man is tiny. Therefore, man's existence depends on what kind of relationship he can create with nature, how well he understands it, and how he uses its powers for his own benefit.

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Think boldly, don't be afraid to make mistakes! Keep your eyes open, notice the small details, and be moderate in everything, except your goals.

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Peace does not require bombs, but goodwill and human compassion.

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Women have more common sense than men.

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He who has more money than his desires is rich, and he who has more desires than his money is poor... The secret of happiness is not to get more, but to be happy with what we have and to fill the empty frames of our lives instead of expanding them further.

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A vitamin is a substance that causes disease if we do not eat it.

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According to my view, the brain is for thinking and it is necessary not only to think, but also to enjoy, to see the magnificence and joys of spiritual life. Sciences must be experienced. I live by my experiments. You don't have to learn Shakespeare either, you have to experience it! János Arany must also be experienced. You don't have to learn music either, you have to live it. Everything must be experienced, completely dissolved in it.

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When (...) I started fishing, I always used a large hook. I was convinced that there was no way I was going to catch anything, but I figured it was more exciting not to catch a big fish than a small one. I have since reduced my hook sizes and now hook a fish.

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Raising a good problem, asking a good question is already half the work.

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In the modern state, the task of the politician is actually nothing more than the transfer of the results of science into life.

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The more fundamental and the more difficult a new truth is to understand, the more powerful and significant its practical possibilities will be.

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When a world collapses, fate exposes the nation to the question of being or not. This question must be answered clearly and clearly. Do we want to live and how, what should the world be like that we want to build? Avoiding the answer or postponing the answer is not possible, because that would clearly be renouncing life.

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The standards that form the basis of our evaluation are laid down by most of us in our very early years, and we cannot change them later.

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Ultimately, we owe everything we have to basic research. If we took everything that comes from these, we would be left naked in the forest or in some cave.

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If someone is not stretched, not completely carried away by the desire and talent for science - he cannot do anything. So first you need talent. In addition to talent, a society that can appreciate this is needed.

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I'm already like that, if I say something new and they immediately refute it, I say: "This is good, it seems, this is new", and if they accept it, I get sad because I feel that it has no significance.

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The amount of data that is pressed into a person's head evaporates anyway, nothing remains, the person forgets it all. What remains is the love of science or art or beauty. The desire to solve the problem, the willingness to act, these individual qualities are important.

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Science has always had the "disease" of trying to solve big new problems with the knowledge it already had.

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One of the most important factors determining a person's actions is the value system he develops in his youth.

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The primary goal of science is to find truth, a new truth at that. This research is all the more effective, the more it is aimed at seeking the truth for its own sake, regardless of its potential practical utility and usability.

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The task of the scientist is not only to cultivate his science, but he must keep his eyes on the horizon of state life and provide a helping hand to the politician to recognize and solve his problems.

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In order to see something completely new, you have to think completely differently. And if you think otherwise, you are said to be a fool.

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The great charm of life is the subtlety of life's phenomena.

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In the spirit world, there are no big countries or small countries, there are no country borders. Each country is as big as it contributes to human progress, regardless of the size of the area on the map that marks its place in the world.

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Nature is a pure system, with only pure answers.

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The borders of the country cannot be expanded politically without trampling or hurting others. In spiritual life, everyone can grow as big as their mind can handle. In this sense, I want Hungary to be among the largest countries.

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A modern discovery is a discovery because it contradicts all known knowledge. If it doesn't conflict, it's just a small addition.

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The more basic a discovery is, the further it is from practical use, the less it is related to everyday problems. Yet it is these great fundamental discoveries that move humanity forward.

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Personally, I am deeply moved by suffering and upset by death. (...) However, the death of a hundred thousand people has no effect on me. I only smile because I am unable to multiply death or suffering by a hundred thousand.

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Spiritual hunger is what is important, and it remains for the rest of your life. When I finish my studies, when I finish the university, I will forget everything anyway (...). What remains is spiritual hunger.

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Everywhere in the world that I have visited, the whole matter of education is pervaded by a great error, a gigantic error. They believe that the book is meant to force its contents into one's head. In my opinion, the head is for thinking. And the book is for not having to keep everything in mind.

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Nature is built on great principles. Nature does not build separate principles for a tree, a bush, a flower, or a person. Everything is based on a common big principle, so in the end it doesn't matter what we study, as long as we are intelligent enough to understand the basic principles and structure of life.

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You can't generally say that there are good and bad environments, because if I take a fish out of the water and put it on the most beautiful grass, it's not a good environment for it. But if I put a rabbit in the sea, it will not be a good environment for him. So there is no good and bad environment, only the good one that we are "adapted" to.