“The first principle is that you must not fool yourself — and you are the easiest person to fool.”

— Richard Feynman

" Cargo Cult Science http://calteches.library.caltech.edu/51/2/CargoCult.htm", adapted from a 1974 Caltech commencement address; also published in Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!, p. 343
Variant: The first principle is that you must not fool yourself — and you are the easiest person to fool.

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "The first principle is that you must not fool yourself — and you are the easiest person to fool." by Richard Feynman?

Richard Feynman 181

American theoretical physicist 1918–1988

Related quotes

“You can fool yourself, you know. You'd think it's impossible, but it turns out it's the easiest thing of all.”

Jodi Picoult (1966) Author

Source: Vanishing Acts

“I think the easiest people to fool are ourselves. Fooling ourselves may even be a necessary precondition for fooling others.”

Iain Banks book The Bridge

Source: The Bridge

“It will do you no harm to find yourself ridiculous.
Resign yourself to be the fool you are…
… We must always take risks. That is our destiny…”

T.S. Eliot The Cocktail Party

Source: The Cocktail Party

“Don’t fool yourself that you are going to have it all. You are not.”

Joyce Brothers (1927–2013) Joyce Brothers

The Successful Woman : How You Can Have a Career, a Husband, and a Family — and Not Feel Guilty About It (1988), p. 18
Context: Don’t fool yourself that you are going to have it all. You are not. Psychologically, having it all is not even a valid concept. The marvelous thing about human beings is that we are perpetually reaching for the stars. The more we have, the more we want. And for this reason, we never have it all.