A collection of famous quotes from men of eminence that have been proved wrong beyond doubts and these ,mind you, are about very concrete things. So, arguing about Net neutrality and its outcome is too small an issue.
"Man will never reach the moon regardless of all future
scientific advances."
- Dr. Lee DeForest, "Father of Radio & Grandfather of
Television."
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"The bomb will never go off. I speak as an expert in
explosives."
- Admiral William Leahy, US Atomic Bomb Project
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"There is no likelihood man can ever tap the power of the
atom."
- Robert Millikan, Nobel Prize in Physics, 1923
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"Computers in the future may weigh no more than 1.5
tons."
- Popular Mechanics, forecasting the relentless march of
science, 1949
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"I think there is a world market for maybe five
computers."
- Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943
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"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
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"But what is it good for?"
- Engineer at the Advanced Computing Systems Division of
IBM, 1968, commenting on the microchip.
"640K ought to be enough for anybody."
- Bill Gates, 1981
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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.
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"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.
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"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.)
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"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."
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"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 Mrs. Fields' Cookies.
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"We don't like their sound, and guitar music is on the
way out."
- Decca Recording Co. rejecting the Beatles, 1962.
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"Heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible."
- Lord Kelvin, president, Royal Society, 1895.
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"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 for 3-M "Post-It" Notepads.
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"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.
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"Stocks have reached what looks like a permanently high
plateau."
- Irving Fisher, Professor of Economics, Yale University, 1929.
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"Airplanes are interesting toys but of no military
value."
- Marechal Ferdinand Foch, Professor of Strategy, Ecole
Superieure de Guerre, France.
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"Everything that can be invented has been invented."
- Charles H. Duell, Commissioner, US Office of Patents, 1899.
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"The super computer is technologically impossible. It
would take all of the water that flows over Niagara Falls
to cool the heat generated by the number of vacuum tubes
required."
- Professor of Electrical Engineering, New York University.
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"I don't know what use any one could find for a machine
that would make copies of documents. It certainly
couldn't be a feasible business by itself."
- the head of IBM, refusing to back the idea, forcing the
inventor to found Xerox.
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"Louis Pasteur's theory of germs is ridiculous fiction."
- Pierre Pachet, Professor of Physiology at Toulouse, 1872
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"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.
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And last but not least . . .
"There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their
home."
- Ken Olson, president, chairman and founder of Digital
Equipment Corp., 1977b
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