“Newton was a genius, but not because of the superior computational power of his brain. Newton's genius was, on the contrary, his ability to simplify, idealize, and streamline the world so that it became, in some measure, tractable to the brains of perfectly ordinary men.”
Source: Introduction to General Systems Thinking, 1975, p. 12; Cited in: Nawaz Sharif, Pakorn Adulbhan (1978) Systems models for decision making. p. 38
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Gerald M. Weinberg 22
American computer scientist 1933–2018Related quotes
As quoted by F. R. Moulton, Introduction to Astronomy (New York, 1906), p. 199.
As spoken at Space Coast 1987 speaking about the Harvard Mark I computer. The Computer was originally She in reference to the Mark I.
Source: Essays and Addresses, Vol. III- Evolution and Occultism (1913)
“His genius operates in that world of antithesis where the conflict between ideal and reality rages”
Some Notes on Caravaggio (1956)
Context: Caravaggio speaks to us out of a consciousness that is brooding and obsessive, and affects us in a way that is not simply artistic. By this I mean that he comes close to presenting us with a sensation of amorphous and desperate desire unredeemed by an authoritative vision. It can be felt in the apprehensive boredom of the unsuccessful pictures and in the oppressive intensity of the best. If this sensation were deep enough it might have destructive effects, since we all live within that margin of order which we succeed in imposing on life, i. e., on the unfulfilled longings of the heart, and his work might then be truly diabolic. His genius operates in that world of antithesis where the conflict between ideal and reality rages, and the moral victory, i. e., the ultimate affirmation of the goodness of life, is always so tenuously won that we feel the dread of chaos intensely- even when he is completely successful. If there could be such a contradictory phenomenon as the uninnocent artist he might be it. He indicates the sort of sensations we might expect from such a monster. But since he is wholly innocent beneath the apparent evidence of corruption he ends by moving us in a profound and religious way.
“Gaiety — a quality of ordinary men. Genius always presupposes some disorder in the machine.”
“Diseases"
Elements of Physiology (1875)
“His genius is not only in his own ability but in making others play”
Bob Paisley ( Source http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/team/past_players/players/dalglish/)
About
1830s, The American Scholar http://www.emersoncentral.com/amscholar.htm (1837)
"Newton's Principia" in 300 Years of Gravitation. (1987) by S. W. Hawking and W. Israel, p. 4
“One of the satisfactions of a genius is his will-power and obstinacy.”
Letter to his sister (18 May 1941), as quoted in Man Ray : American Artist (1988) by Neil Baldwin