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Quotes about ideas

115 quotes from 89 people

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The radical invents the views. When he has worn them out the conservative adopts them.
Mark Twain1835–1910Mark Twain’s Notebook (1935)
- Politics
Ideas are far more powerful than guns. We don’t let our people have guns. Why should we let them have ideas?
?UnattributedOften credited to Joseph Stalin
- Guns
Opinions have caused more ills than the plague or earthquakes on this little globe of ours.
Voltaire1694–1778Letter to Élie Bertrand (5 January 1759)
Very simple was my explanation, and plausible enough⁠—as most wrong theories are!
H. G. Wells1866–1946The Time Machine (1895), Chapter VIIn context
Great and strange ideas transcending experience often have less effect upon men and women than smaller, more tangible considerations.
H. G. Wells1866–1946The Invisible Man (1897), Chapter XIn context
True originality consists not in a new manner but in a new vision.
Edith Wharton1862–1937The Writing of Fiction (1925), ch. I
- Art
An idea that is not dangerous is unworthy of being called an idea at all.
Oscar Wilde1854–1900The Epigrams of Oscar Wilde, edited by Alvin Redman (1954)
Now, the value of an idea has nothing whatsoever to do with the sincerity of the man who expresses it. Indeed, the probabilities are that the more insincere the man is, the more purely intellectual will the idea be, as in that case it will not be coloured by either his wants, his desires, or his prejudices.
Oscar Wilde1854–1900The Picture of Dorian Gray (1891), Chapter IIn context
If those in charge of our society — politicians, corporate executives, and owners of press and television — can dominate our ideas, they will be secure in their power.
Howard Zinn1922–2010Declarations of Independence: Cross-Examining American Ideology (1991): “American Ideology”
- Power
The idea of a single eureka moment is a dangerous lie. It makes us feel inadequate since we haven’t had ours. It prevents people with seeds of good ideas from getting started.
Mark Zuckerbergborn 1984Harvard Graduation Speech (2017)