A quote by scientist Nikola Tesla

A quote by Howard Hughes

"Do the impossible, because almost everyone has told me my ideas are merely fantasies."

Science communicator Bill Nye (1955 - ) on science

"Science is the key to our future, and if you don’t believe in science, then you’re holding everybody back."

'Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.'

- Inventor Thomas Edison (1847 - 1931)

'I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.'

-Inventor and businessman Thomas Edison (1847-1931)

Tesla's lack of business savvy and inability to commercialize led to his obscurity

For decades, despite pioneering technologies for large-scale electrical systems and telecommunications, Nikola Tesla had been forgotten to history. Rather than monetizing his work and becoming more well known, his inventor-first mentality saw him sell off lucrative patents to fund new experiments in the short term.

Nikola Tesla's biggest dream was a worldwide network of wireless power transmission

He built the Wardenclyffe lab and a massive prototype transmission tower to develop trans-Atlantic transmission, but it was never operational. The concept was based on incorrect assumptions about Earth's conductivity, but it inspired subsequent efforts for wireless systems.

A Quote by Sandra Day O'Connor

"Do the best you can in every task, no matter how unimportant it may seem at the time."

Polish chemist and physicist Marie Curie (1867–1934) on learning

“Nothing in life is to be feared; it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less."

Nikola Tesla embraced showmanship when promoting ideas ahead of their time

He once electrified himself during a live demonstration to illustrate the safety and power of alternating current, and his presentations often featured arcing coils, glowing lights, and bold claims about a future of wireless power.

A quote by Whitney Houston

"I believe that children are our future. Teach them well and let them lead the way. Show them all the beauty they possess inside."

English chemist Rosalind Franklin (1920 - 1958) on the importance of science

"Science and everyday life cannot and should not be separated. Science, for me, gives a partial explanation of life."

A quote from Robin Williams

"There’s no shame in failing. The only shame is not giving things your best shot."

Scientific progress works toward absolute truth, but can never reach it

Through the acquisition of scientific knowledge, scientists construct explanations of the world, which are rigorously tested and verified until they narrow down to a leading theory of the natural world. However, because of how science works, these ideas will never become factual, as they must always remain open to be iteratively revision based on new data.

'Our greatest responsibility is to be good ancestors.'

- Polio vaccine developer Jonas Salk (1914–1995)

'Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world.'

- Albert Einstein

A quote by award-winning actor Tom Hanks

"We are still in the position of waking up and having a choice. Do I make the world better today somehow, or do I not bother?"

A quote by Florence Nightingale

"Poetry and imagination begin life."

Science is rarely a linear progression of understanding

Particularly at the frontiers, investigations conducted based on established knowledge can provide unexpected results. This opens the door to revising existing models, inspiring new lines of research, and ultimately leading to better future comprehension. For instance, experiments on the speed of light and the expansion of the universe yielded then-confusing data that led to revolutionary insights.

'Most of man's problems upon this planet, in the long history of the race, have been met and solved either partially or as a whole by experiment based on common sense and carried out with courage.'

-Frances Perkins (1880-1965), first female member of US Cabinet

Nikola Tesla's original laboratory was recognized as a historical site in 2018

Beginning in 1901, the Wardenclyffe Tower was built on Long Island, New York to transmit electrical power through Earth's atmosphere. The project was abandoned before becoming operational due to limited funding, and was demolished for scrap in 1917 to help pay off Tesla's debts.

A quote by Magic Johnson

"Celebrate the life you had, not the life you could've had."

Despite promoting alternative current, Nikola Tesla did not invent it

The technology was developed by Hippolyte Pixii in 1832, almost 25 years before Tesla was born. Other myths about Tesla include that he invented the transformer, radio, and the induction coil, which was invented by Nicholas Callan in 1836.

A quote by Roger Federer

"There is no way around hard work. Embrace it."

'Every day sees humanity more victorious in the struggle with space and time.'

- Radio inventor Guglielmo Marconi

'How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.' - Anne Frank

Nikola Tesla was born in modern-day Croatia and moved to the US in 1884

His interest in electricity came from his mother, who invented small household appliances during Tesla's upbringing. Upon arriving in America, he began working for and improving upon the electrical inventions made in Thomas Edison's lab.

'Keep working on a plan. Make no little plans. Make the biggest one you can think of, and spend the rest of your life carrying it out.'

- President Harry Truman (1884-1972)

'The man who can drive himself further once the effort gets painful is the man who will win.'

- Roger Bannister (1929-2018)

'I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry-rot ... The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time.'

- Author Jack London (1876 - 1916)

'No big challenge has ever been solved, and no lasting improvement has ever been achieved, unless people dare to try something different.'

- Apple CEO Tim Cook (1960 - present)

A quote from Mark Cuban

"Talent without effort is wasted talent. And while effort is the one thing you can control in your life, applying that effort intelligently is next on the list."

Italian physicist Enrico Fermi (1901–1954) on the Standard Model

"If I could remember the name of all these particles, I'd be a botanist."

The term 'scientist' was coined in a 1834 book review by English polymath William Whewell, who needed an alternative to 'man of science' to describe Scottish writer Mary Somerville.

'Others have seen what is and asked why. I have seen what could be and asked why not.'

- Pablo Picasso

'I attribute my success to this: I never gave or took an excuse.'

- Modern nursing innovator Florence Nightingale (1820-1910)

Guglielmo Marconi overshadowed Nikola Tesla through commercialization

Despite Tesla envisioning wireless power and communication earlier, Marconi developed practical implementations of wireless communication, including transmitting the first transatlantic radio signal. The technology, which facilitated telegraphy critical for warships and navies, earned Marconi the 1909 Nobel Prize in physics.

'Pioneering is never done in front of cheerleaders urging on a roaring grandstand of popular approval.'

- "Star Trek" actor George Takei (1937-present)

'There cannot be mental atrophy in any person who continues to observe, to remember what he observes, and to seek answers for his unceasing hows and whys about things.'

-Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922)

'We are cups, constantly and quietly being filled. The trick is, knowing how to tip ourselves over and let the beautiful stuff out.'

- Science fiction writer Ray Bradbury

As of 2026, the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, which advises the pope on scientific matters, has included 90 Nobel laureates among its members.

'I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.'

- Author Douglas Adams (1952-2001)

'You will never feel proud of your work if you find no joy within it; your best work is always joyful work.'

- Stevie Wonder (1950-present)

The disputed inventor of the radio

Guglielmo Marconi was awarded the 1909 Nobel Prize in physics for inventing the wireless telegraph, which used radio waves to transmit Morse code. Nikola Tesla, however, was experimenting with radio waves in the 1890s, though much of his work was destroyed in a 1895 fire.

'The more clearly we can focus our attention on the wonders and realities of the universe about us, the less taste we shall have for destruction.'

- Marine biologist and environmentalist Rachel Carson (1907-1964)

A quote by gymnast Nadia Comăneci

"Do not pray for an easy life, pray to be a strong person."

'In life, unlike chess, the game continues after checkmate.'

- Isaac Asimov

Named after Nikola Tesla, who pioneered alternating current power systems, the Tesla coil was the first device to wirelessly transmit electricity.

A quote by Alex Haley

"Either you deal with what is the reality, or you can be sure that the reality is going to deal with you."

'If you want to succeed, you should strike out on new paths, rather than travel the worn paths of accepted success.'

- Billionaire John D. Rockefeller (1839-1937)

Stephen Hawking's final message

Famous cosmologist Stephen Hawking—who lived for half a century after being diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease—delivered a final speech just before he died in 2018. In the video, Hawking talks about the importance of science and reason in...