"Computers
in the future may weigh no more than 15 tons."
Popular Mechanics,"
forecasting the relentless march of science, 1949.
"I think there is a world market for maybe five
computers."
Thomas Watson, chairman
of IBM, 1943.
"I have traveled the length and breadth of this
country and talked with the best people, and I can
assure you that data processing is a fad that won't
last out the year."
The editor in charge of
business books
for Prentice Hall, 1957.
"But what...is it good for?"
Engineer at the Advanced
Computing Systems Division of IBM commenting on the
microchip, 1968.
"There is no reason anyone would want a computer
in their home."
Ken Olson, president,
chairman and founder of
Digital Equipment Corp., 1977
"This 'telephone' has too many shortcomings to
be seriously considered as a means of communication.
The device is inherently
of no value to us."
Western Union internal memo, 1876.
"The wireless music box has no imaginable
commercial value. Who would pay for a message
sent to nobody in particular?"
David Sarnoff's
associates in response to his urgings for investment
in the radio in the 1920s.
"The concept is interesting and well-formed, but
in order to earn better than a 'C,' the idea must be
feasible."
A Yale University
management professor in response to Fred Smith's
paper proposing reliable overnight delivery service.
(Smith went on to found Federal Express Corp.)
Who the heck wants to hear actors talk?"
Harry M. Warner, Warner
Brothers, 1927.
"I'm just glad it'll be Clark Gable who's
falling
on his face and not Gary Cooper."
Gary Cooper on his
decision not to take the leading role in "Gone
with the Wind."
"A cookie store is a bad idea. Besides, the
market research reports say America likes crispy
cookies, not soft and chewy cookies like you
make."
Response to Debbi Fields'
idea of starting her company, Mrs. Fields' Cookies.
"We don't like their sound, and guitar music is
on the way out."
Decca Recording Co.
rejecting the Beatles, 1962.
"Heavier-than-air flying machines are
impossible."
Lord Kelvin, president,
Royal Society, 1895.
"If I had thought about it, I wouldn't have done
the experiment. The literature was full of examples
that said you can't do this."
Spencer Silver on the
work that led to the unique adhesives or 3-M
"Post-It" Notepads.
"So we went to Atari and said,
'Hey, we've got this amazing thing, even built with
some of your parts, and what do you think about
funding us? Or we'll give it to you. We just want to
do it. Pay our salary, we'll come work for you.'
And they said, 'No.' So then we went to
Hewlett-Packard, and they said, 'Hey, we don't need
you; you haven't got through college yet.'"
Apple Computer Inc.
founder Steve Jobs on attempts to get Atari and H-P
interested in his and Steve Wozniak's personal
computer.
"Professor Goddard does not know the relation
between action and reaction and the need to have
something better than a vacuum against which to
react. He seems to lack the basic knowledge ladled
out daily in high schools."
New York Times editorial
about Robert Goddard's revolutionary rocket work,
1921.
"You want to have consistent and uniform muscle
development across all of your muscles? It can't be
done. It's just a fact of life. You just have to
accept inconsistent muscle development as an
unalterable condition of weight training."
Response to Arthur Jones,
who solved the "unsolvable" problem by
inventing Nautilus.
"Drill for oil? You mean drill into the ground
to
try and find oil? You're crazy."
Drillers who Edwin L.
Drake tried to enlist to his project to drill for oil
in 1859.
"Stocks have reached what looks like a
permanently
high plateau."
Irving Fisher, Professor
of Economics,
Yale University, 1929.
"Airplanes are interesting toys but of no
military value."
Mrechal Ferdinand Foch,
Professor of Strategy,
Ecole Superieure de Guerre.
"Everything that can be invented has been
invented."
Charles H. Duell,
Commissioner,
U.S. Office of Patents, 1899.
"Louis Pasteur's theory of germs is ridiculous
fiction".
Pierre Pachet,Professor
of Physiology
at Toulouse, 1872.
"The abdomen, the chest and the brain will
forever
be shut from the intrusion of the wise and humane
surgeon."
Sir John Eric Ericksen,
British surgeon,
appointed Surgeon-Extraordinary
to Queen Victoria, 1873.
"640k ought to be enough for anybody."
Bill Gates, 1981
Wow! can you
imagine what would have happened if the folks who heard
these "expert opinions" hadn't gone for a
second opinion? Here's hoping you have a fantastic day!
Above all else remember not to be afraid to take your
idea and run as fast as you can towards making it a
reality!...
Your friend in cyberspace,
Josh Hinds :-)
http://inspiration_a_day.listbot.com/
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