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Hyman G. Rickover Quotes
1900–1986 Poland
Hyman George Rickover, U.S. Navy (27 January 1900 – 8 July 1986) was a United States Navy admiral who directed the original development of naval nuclear propulsion and controlled its operations for three decades as director of Naval Reactors.
Poland Episcopalians Military leaders Also known as: Rickover, Hyman G.
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Sit down before fact with an open mind. Be prepared to give up every preconceived notion. Follow humbly wherever and to whatever abyss Nature leads, or you learn nothing. Don't push out figures when facts are going in the opposite direction.
Nothing so sharpens the thought process as writing down one's arguments. Weaknesses overlooked in oral discussion become painfully obvious on the written page.
The Rickover Effect (1992)
To doubt one's own first principles is the mark of a civilized man. Don't defend past actions; what is right today may be wrong tomorrow. Don't be consistent; consistency is the refuge of fools.
Voltaire once said: "Not to be occupied and not to exist are one and the same thing for a man." With those few words he captured the essence of a purpose in life: to work, to create, to excel, and to be concerned about the world and its affairs.
It troubles me that we are so easily pressured by purveyors of technology into permitting so-called "progress" to alter our lives without attempting to control it—as if technology were an irrepressible force of nature to which we must meekly submit.
The American Land (1979)
You know the answer to that, don’t you. You don’t need me to tell you.
The Rickover Effect (1992)
I do not claim to have a magic answer. But I believe there are some basic principles of existence, propounded by thinkers through the ages, which can guide us toward the goal of finding a purpose in life.
One must create the ability in his staff to generate clear, forceful arguments for opposing viewpoints as well as for their own. Open discussions and disagreements must be encouraged, so that all sides of an issue are fully explored.
The Rickover Effect (1992)
Great minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, small minds discuss people.
Misattributed
You have to learn from the mistakes of others. You won't live long enough to make them all yourself.
Misattributed
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