'During Alfven's visit he gave a lecture at the University of Chicago, which was attended by Enrico Fermi. As Alfven described his work, Fermi nodded his head and said, 'Of course.' The next day the entire world of physics said. 'Oh. of course.''
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Great ideas often seem obvious once explained to an expert but take time for the wider world to accept.
- In plain terms
- Experts understand new ideas quickly but others need time.
- What can you take from it?
- Patiently explain innovations even if they seem obvious.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Why do ideas take time to catch on?
- How do you react to new concepts?
Another view
Not all new ideas are actually good or correct.
More from Hannes Alfven
'To try to write a grand cosmical drama leads necessarily to myth. To try to let knowledge substitute ignorance in increasingly larger regions of space and tim…
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Permalink to quote #16 'I have no trouble publishing in Soviet astrophysical journals, but my work is unacceptable to the American astrophysical journals.'
Permalink to quote #13
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