Trivia

Quotes by Experts, later proved terribly wrong.

I can’t guarantee the accuracy of all the points. :-)

It would appear that we have reached the limits of what is possible to achieve with computer technology, although one should be careful with such statements, as they tend to sound pretty silly in five years. - John von Neumann, computer inventor, 1949

Flight by machines heavier than air is impractical and insignificant, if not utterly impossible. - Simon Newcomb, astronomer, 1902

When the president does it, that means it is not illegal. - Richard Nixon, 1977

There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in their home. - Ken Olson, President of Digital Corporation, 1977

What use could this company make of an electrical toy? - William Orton, Western Union President, turning down Alexander Graham Bell’s offer to sell his telephone company for $100,000

Louis Pasteur’s theory of germs is a ridiculous fiction. - Pierre Pachet, Professor Physiology, Toulouse, 1872

Computers in the future may weigh no more than 1.5 tons. - Popular Mechanics, 1949

The energy produced by the breaking down of the atom is a very poor kind of thing. Anyone who looks for a source of power in the transformation of the atom is talking moonshine. - Ernest Rutherford, 1936

I should say that no railway locomotive ought to exceed 40 miles per hour on the most favourable gradient, but on a curved line the speed ought not to exceed 24 or 25 miles per hour. - George Stephenson, 1841

Such startling announcements as these should be deprecated as being unworthy of science and mischievous to its true progress. - Sir William Siemens (on Edison’s announcement of light bulb), 1880

The abolishment of pain in surgery is a chimera. It is absurd to go on seeking it today. - Dr. Alfred Velpeau, surgeon professor, Paris Faculty of Medicine, 1837

Who the hell wants to hear actors talk? - Harry Warner (of Warner Bros), 1927

I think there is a world market for maybe five computers. - Thomas J. Watson Snr., IBM Chairman, 1943

We have reached the limits of what is possible with computers. - John Von Neumann, 1949

With regard to the electric light, much has been said for and against it, but I think I may say without contradiction that when the Paris Exhibition closes, electric light will close with it, and no more will be heard of it. - Erasmus Wilson, Oxford University professor, 1878

I must confess that my imagination, in spite even of spurring, refuses to see any sort of submarine doing anything but suffocating its crew and floundering at sea. - H. G. Wells, 1901

Space travel is utter bilge. - Dr. Richard van der Riet Woolley, Astronomer Royal, 1956

I confess that in 1901 I said to my brother Orville that man would not fly for fifty years. Two years later we ourselves made flights. This demonstration of my impotence as a prophet gave me such a shock that ever since I have distrusted myself and avoided all predictions. - Wilbur Wright, 1908

The concept is interesting and well-formed, but in order to better than a C, the idea must be feasible. - Yale professor, marking paper by Fred Smith, Federal Express founder, on business principles later used in FedEx

Video won’t be able to hold onto any market it captures after the first six months. People will soon get tired of staring at a plywood box every night. - Darryl F. Zanuck, 20th Century Fox, 1946

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