“In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, in the expert's there are few.”

Interview in Cybling (February 2001) http://www.cybling.com/artists/harrye.html

The Glass Bead Game (1943)
Context: Under the shifting hegemony of now this, now that science or art, the Game of games had developed into a kind of universal language through which the players could express values and set these in relation to one another. Throughout its history the Game was closely allied with music, and usually proceeded according to musical and mathematical rules. One theme, two themes, or three themes were stated, elaborated, varied, and underwent a development quite similar to that of the theme in a Bach fugue or a concerto movement. A Game, for example, might start from a given astronomical configuration, or from the actual theme of a Bach fugue, or from a sentence out of Leibniz or the Upanishads, and from this theme, depending on the intentions and talents of the player, it could either further explore and elaborate the initial motif or else enrich its expressiveness by allusions to kindred concepts. Beginners learned how to establish parallels, by means of the Game's symbols, between a piece of classical music and the formula for some law of nature. Experts and Masters of the Game freely wove the initial theme into unlimited combinations.

40
Ki Sayings (2003)
Context: !-- People who are fast learners tend to pick things up so quickly that they lose out on the opportunity for repetitious learning. --> Even if you learn something quickly with your conscious mind, you will easily forget it after you stop practicing. That which is learned with the subconscious mind is not easily forgotten. Therefore to learn something with the subconscious mind, requires months and years of training. Just because you were able to do it before, do not assume that you can do it as well the second time. Each time you do something, you must return to your beginner’s mind, and give it your best.

Source: 1940s-1950s, Administrative Behavior, 1947, p. 79; As cited in: Terry Winograd, ‎Fernando Flores (1986) Understanding Computers and Cognition: A New Foundation for Design. p. 21.

Source: The Ophiuchi Hotline (1977), Chapter 2 (p. 23)

Source: Humanity Comes of Age, A study of Individual and World Fulfillment (1950), Chapter II Planning a Model World

2011, Address on the natural and nuclear energy disasters in Japan (March 2011)
Context: I know that many Americans are also worried about the potential risks to the United States. So I want to be very clear: We do not expect harmful levels of radiation to reach the United States, whether it’s the West Coast, Hawaii, Alaska, or U. S. territories in the Pacific. Let me repeat that: We do not expect harmful levels of radiation to reach the West Coast, Hawaii, Alaska, or U. S. territories in the Pacific. That is the judgment of our Nuclear Regulatory Commission and many other experts.