Heroes and scholars represent the opposite extremes... The scholar struggles for the benefit of all humanity, sometimes to reduce physical effort, sometimes to reduce pain, and sometimes to postpone death, or at least render it more bearable. In contrast, the patriot sacrifices a rather substantial part of humanity for the sake of his own prestige. His statue is always erected on a pedestal of ruins and corpses... In contrast, all humanity crowns a scholar, love forms the pedestal of his statues, and his triumphs defy the desecration of time and the judgment of history.
Santiago Ramon y CajalIt is idle to dispute with old men. Their opinions, like their cranial sutures, are ossified.
Santiago Ramon y CajalIntellectual work is an act of creation. It is as if the mental image that is studied over a period of time were to sprout appendages like an amebaโoutgrowths that extend in all directions while avoiding one obstacle after anotherโbefore interdigitating with related ideas.
Santiago Ramon y CajalIn my own view, some advice about what should be known, about what technical education should be acquired, about the intense motivation needed to succeed, and about the carelessness and inclination toward bias that must be avoided is far more useful than all the rules and warnings of theoretical logic.
Santiago Ramon y CajalThe worst part is not in making a mistake but in trying to justify it, instead of using it as a heaven-sent warning of our mindlessness or our ignorance.
Santiago Ramon y CajalThe brain is a world consisting of a number of unexplored continents and great stretches of unknown territory.
Santiago Ramon y CajalHeroes and scholars represent the opposite extremes... The scholar struggles for the benefit of all humanity, sometimes to reduce physical effort, sometimes to reduce pain, and sometimes to postpone death, or at least render it more bearable. In contrast, the patriot sacrifices a rather substantial part of humanity for the sake of his own prestige. His statue is always erected on a pedestal of ruins and corpses... In contrast, all humanity crowns a scholar, love forms the pedestal of his statues, and his triumphs defy the desecration of time and the judgment of history.
Santiago Ramon y Cajal