“The mind is sharper and keener in seclusion and uninterrupted solitude. No big laboratory is needed in which to think. Originality thrives in seclusion free of outside influences beating upon us to cripple the creative mind. Be alone, that is the secret of invention; be alone, that is when ideas are born.”

Source: "An Inventor's Seasoned Ideas", New York Times (8 April 1934)

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update Sept. 27, 2023. History

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Nikola Tesla125

Serbian American inventor 1856–1943

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“Be alone, that is the secret of invention; be alone, that is when ideas are born.”

Nikola Tesla (1856–1943) Serbian American inventor

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Source: Tropic of Cancer (1934), Chapter Four, Pappin
Context: I am a free man-and I need my freedom. I need to be alone. I need to ponder my shame and my despair in seclusion. I need sunshine and paving tones of the streets without companions, without conversation, face to face with myself with only the music of my heart for company. What do you want of me? When I have something to say, I put it in print. When I have something to give, I give it. Your prying curiosity turns my stomach! Your compliments humiliate me. Your tea poisons me! I owe nothing to anyone, I would've responsible to God alone-if he exited!

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Lewis Mumford (1895–1990) American historian, sociologist, philosopher of technology, and literary critic

"Planning for the Phases of Life" http://books.google.com/books?id=JypxP4R4cogC&q=%22One+of+the+marks+of+maturity+is+the+need+for%22+%22a+city+should+not+merely+draw+men+together+in+many+varied+activities+but+should+permit+each+person+to+find+near+at+hand+moments+of+seclusion+and+peace%22&pPA40#v=onepage, The Urban Prospect: Essays (1968)

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Original: Le persone creative amano la solitudine. È fondamentale, durante una riflessione o un momento creativo, avere intorno a sé un silenzio totale, per confidare al proprio corpo le idee della mente.
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“It's harmful, when naming leads the mind to think that names alone bring meaning close.”

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Source: The Society of Mind (1987), Ch.2
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