A Quote by Herbert A. Simon

The Nobel prizes memorialize Alfred Nobel's faith in the contribution that human thought, directed to science and art, can make to human welfare.

Herbert A. Simon

Quote Topics

Art Contribution Directed Faith Human Human Thought Make Nobel Nobel Prize Prizes Science Thought Welfare

Quote Author

Herbert A. Simon
American - Economist
June 15, 1916 - February 9, 2001

I can forgive Alfred Nobel for having invented dynamite, but only a fiend in human form could have invented the Nobel Prize.

George Bernard Shaw

I grew up in England at a time when England was winning Nobel Prizes right and left. I mean it was amazing how many Nobel Prizes England was winning in chemistry and physics and biology and all the sciences and at that time the teaching of science in the schools was really lousy.

Freeman Dyson

George Stigler Nobel laureate and a leader of Chicago School was asked why there were no Nobel Prizes awarded in the other social sciences, sociology, psychology, history, etc. "Don't worry", Stigler said, "they have already have a Nobel Prize in ...Literature"

Robert Kuttner

The Nobel Peace Prize has always been a joke - albeit a grim one. Alfred Bernhard Nobel famously invented dynamite and felt sorry about it.

P. J. O'Rourke

Alfred Nobel really understood very well the necessary supra-natural character of the human enterprise.

Charles H. Townes

I share Alfred Nobel's conviction that war is the greatest of all human disasters. Infectious disease runs a good second.

Peter C. Doherty

I think it is a mistake to judge science by Nobel Prizes.

Venkatraman Ramakrishnan

I won't lie, I didn't know there was a concert. I've always known about the Nobel Peace Prize and the different prizes given out for science and this and that, but I didn't know there was a concert the day after. When they said, 'You're going to perform in Norway for the Nobel Peace Prize concert,' I was like, 'All right, I'm there.'

Luis Fonsi

Alfred Nobel regretted that his invention, dynamite, was converted to degrading use, hence his creation of the Nobel Prize, as the humanist counter to the destructive power of his genius.

Wole Soyinka

Written in 1895, Alfred Nobel's will endowed prizes for scientific research in chemistry, physics, and medicine. At that time, these fields were narrowly defined, and researchers were often classically trained in only one discipline. In the late 19th century, knowledge of science was not a requisite for success in other walks of life.

Peter Agre

Anyone who can solve the problems of water will be worthy of two Nobel prizes - one for peace and one for science.

John F. Kennedy

When I was young my Father used to tell me that the two most worthwhile pursuits in life were the pursuit of truth and of beauty and I believe that Alfred Nobel must have felt much the same when he gave these prizes for literature and the sciences.

Frederick Sanger

I'm not sure whether I could win a Nobel Prize or not, but the Nobel Committee called me, and, 'You got the Nobel Prize.' So, I was so, so happy, and I was so surprised.

Shuji Nakamura

Nobel prizes are very special prizes, and it would be great to get one.

Craig Venter

The Nobel award occasions a unique celebration of the vision of science by the public at large. The prestige the prize confers today is largely due to the extraordinary diligence of the Nobel committees.