Yet experts are uncovering evidence that some of the ideas in Leonardo’s notebooks may not after all have originated in the mind of the great man himself ... Maths is not the only area where Leonardo learns from others. Further investigations appear to have uncovered the inspiration for some of Leonardo’s famous inventions: the diving suit, the tank, the flying machines. Could it be that these futuristic designs were not conceived by Leonardo da Vinci? Mystery Files: Da Vinci, National Geographic 2010
You have to have an idea of what you are going to do, but it should be a vague idea. Pablo Picasso
This is the last one; we hit pause after this. We get pinched, remember whose idea this was OK? The Town 2010 starring Ben Affleck & Rebecca Hall & Pete Postlethwaite & Jon Hamm & Blake Lively & Jeremy Renner & Chris Cooper & Colm Slaine & Tirus Welliver et al, director Ben Affleck, Doug to Jem
A man may die, nations may rise and fall, but an idea lives on. Ideas have endurance without death. John F Kennedy, February 1963
The power of a bold idea uttered publicly in defiance of dominant opinion cannot be easily measured. Those special people who speak out in such a way as to shake up not only the self-assurance of their enemies, but the complacency of their friends, are precious catalysts for change. Howard Zinn, You Can’t be Neutral on a Moving Train: A Personal History of our Times
If those in charge of our society – politicians, corporate executives, and owners of press and television – can dominate our ideas, they will be secure in their power. They will not need soldiers patrolling the streets. We will control ourselves. Howard Zinn
I wanted to be the instigator of new ideas. David Bowie – Five Years, BBC 2013
Charles Darwin’s The Origin of Species first published in 1859 has been called the biggest single idea in the history of thought. Creation 2009 starring Paul Bettany & Jennifer Connelly & Martha West & Freya Parks & Christopher Dunkin & Gene Goodman & Benedict Cumberbatch & Jeremy Northam & Toby Jones & Bill Paterson et al, director Jon Amiel, caption
The Protestant Reformation had a lot to do with the printing press, where Martin Luther’s theses were reproduced about 250,000 times, and so you had widespread dissemination of ideas that hadn’t circulated in the mainstream before. Nate Silver
As the barrier of language dissolved, ideas born in the great Muslim cities began to filter into Europe. Ideas that would ever change Western thought ... And led to the European Renaissance. Empires: Islam: Empire of Faith II: The Awakening, PBS 2000
The problem here is not lack of knowledge, it’s preconceived ideas. Professor Hans Rosling, Don’t Panic – The Truth About Population, BBC 2013
Life is not an easy matter ... You cannot live through it without falling into frustration and cynicism unless you have before you a great idea which raises you above personal misery, above weakness, above all kinds of perfidy and baseness. Leon Trotsky
In the realm of ideas everything depends on enthusiasm ... in the real world all rests on perseverance. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Any man who inflicts the human race with ideas must be prepared to see them misunderstood. H L Mencken, US editor, 1880-1956
The kind of man who wants government to adopt and enforce his ideas is always the kind of man whose ideas are idiotic. H L Mencken
Don’t express your ideas too clearly. Most people think little of what they understand, and venerate what they do not. Baltasar Gracian, 1601-58, The Art of Worldly Wisdom
The resistance to a new idea increases as the square of its importance. Bertrand Russell
No army can stop an idea whose time has come. Victor Hugo
An idea that is not dangerous is unworthy of being called an idea at all. Oscar Wilde
Now, the value of an idea has nothing whatsoever to do with the sincerity of the man who expresses it. Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray
One of the greatest pains to human nature is the pain of a new idea. Walter Bagehot, Physics and Politics, 1872
Good ideas are common. What’s uncommon are people who’ll work hard enough to bring them about. Ashleigh Brilliant
The bias very much is against ideas or people who have them. Christopher Hitchens, interview Noam Chomsky 1992
An idea does not pass from one language to another without change. Miguel de Unamuno, The Tragic Sense of Life, 1913
Everyone is in love with his own ideas. Carl Jung
Nothing is more dangerous than an idea when you have only one idea. Emile-Auguste Chartier, 1868-1951
The ideas gained by men before they are twenty-five are practically the only ideas they shall have in their lives. William James
I still have the ideas, Walter, but I can’t find the words to clothe them. Winston Churchill, to Walter Monckton
The difficulty lies not so much in developing new ideas as in escaping from old ones. John Maynard Keynes
Ideas shape the course of history. John Maynard Keynes
With ideas it is like with dizzy heights you climb. At first they cause you discomfort and you are anxious to get down, distrustful of your own powers; but soon the remoteness of the turmoil of life and the inspiring influence of the altitude calm your blood; your step gets firm and sure and you begin to look – for dizzier heights. Nikola Tesla
If at first, the idea is not absurd, then there is no hope for it. Albert Einstein
The way to get good ideas is to get lots of ideas and throw the bad ones away. Linus Pauling
A new idea is delicate. It can be killed by a sneer or a yawn; it can be stabbed to death by a quip and worried to death by a frown on the right man’s brow. Ovid
You can kill a man but you can’t kill an idea. Myrlie Evers
New ideas are fine but they are also illegal. The Office US s4e3&4: Dunder Mifflin Infinity, Michael, NBC 2007
David Wallace: How could you possibly think this was a good idea?
Dwight: Many ideas were not appreciated in their time.
Michael: Electricity.
Dwight: Shampoo. The Office US s5e15: Stress Relief II
The Willy Wonka Golden Ticket promotional idea is probably the best idea I have ever had. The Office US s5e19: Golden Ticket, Michael
I have a lot of toilet ideas. ibid. Michael
Michael – you’ve had two ideas today. The Office US s7e19: Garage Sale, Pam
The greatest ideas are the simplest. William Golding, Lord of the Flies
Tyranny cannot defeat the power of ideas. Helen Keller
One answer is that the rich minority have used much of their wealth to arm themselves with mighty weaponry to protect their ill-gotten gains. But their continuing power does not depend only on force of arms. The chief reason for their ability to continue in power is their control over ideas. They control not only where and for what rewards people work, but how people think. People are not born with a set of ideas and thoughts. They grow into them. They are taught in schools and colleges, and through the mass media, such as newspapers and television. All of these are controlled in different ways, and reflect the will and purpose of the capitalist few.