Charles Hard Townes quotes:

The beaver told the rabbit as they stared at the Hoover Dam: No, I didn't build it myself, but it's based on an idea of mine

The late Richard Feynman, a superb physicist, said once as we talked about the laser that the way to tell a great idea is that, when people hear it, they say, 'Gee, I could have thought of that.'

In many cases, people who win a Nobel prize, their work slows down after that because of the distractions. Yes, fame is rewarding, but it's a pity if it keeps you from doing the work you are good at.

At least this is the way I see it. I am a physicist. I also consider myself a Christian. As I try to understand the nature of our universe in these two modes of thinking, I see many commonalities and crossovers between science and religion. It seems logical that in the long run the two will even converge.

The imposing edifice of science provides a challenging view of what can be achieved by the accumulation of many small efforts in a steady objective and dedicated search for truth.

Many have a feeling that somehow intelligence must have been involved in the laws of the universe.

Much public thinking follows a rut. The same thing is true in science. People get stuck and don't look in other directions.

I strongly believe in the existence of God, based on intuition, observations, logic, and also scientific knowledge.

Science, with its experiments and logic, tries to understand the order or structure of the universe. Religion, with its theological inspiration and reflection, tries to understand the purpose or meaning of the universe. These two are cross-related. Purpose implies structure, and structure ought somehow to be interpretable in terms of purpose.

When God said "Let there be light" he surely must have meant perfectly coherent light.

We can't avoid age. However, we can avoid some aging. Continue to do things. Be active. Life is fantastic in the way it adjusts to demands; if you use your muscles and mind, they stay there much longer.

It's almost a sort of fairy story tale, just what a novelist would write about a discovery.

The development of science is basically a social phenomenon, dependent on hard work and mutual support of many scientists and on the societies in which they live.