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Machines with interchangeable parts can now be constructed with great economy of effort. In spite of much complexity, they perform reliably. Witness the humble typewriter, or the movie camera, or the automobile.

— Vannevar Bush As We May Think (1945)

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More quotes by Vannevar Bush

As long as scientists are free to pursue the truth wherever it may lead, there will be a flow of new scientific knowledge to those who can apply it to practical problems.

The human mind, merely in its chemical and physical aspects, takes on new inspiring attributes.

Science is Not Enough (1967)

The world has arrived at an age of cheap complex devices of great reliability; and something is bound to come of it.

As We May Think (1945)

We puzzle as to whether the universe is bounded or extends forever; whether, indeed, it may only be one universe among many.

Science is Not Enough (1967)

It is the duty to carry on, under stress, the search for understanding.

Science is Not Enough (1967)

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We must do away with the absolutely specious notion that everybody has to earn a living.

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Economics is on the side of humanity now.

Isaac Asimov Empire novels (1950)

Since the state must necessarily provide subsistence for the criminal poor while undergoing punishment, not to do the same for the poor who have not offended is to give a premium on crime.

John Stuart Mill Principles of Political Economy (1848)

Economy, in the estimation of common minds, often means the absence of all taste and comfort.

Sydney Smith Lady Holland's Memoir (1855)

Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Vannevar Bush (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.