Kenneth G. Wilson Quotations

The Nobel award occasions a unique celebration of the vision of science by the public at large. The prestige the prize confers today is largely due to the extraordinary diligence of the Nobel committees.

Through this additional support, we must renew our commitment to provide talented young people with the opportunity to build scientific careers based on their curiosity, the same opportunity that was provided to me when I began my work.

My father was on the faculty in the Chemistry Department of Harvard University; my mother had one year of graduate work in physics before her marriage.

In consequence, science is more important than ever for industrial technology.

Industry now should become a full partner of government in supporting longrange basic research.

The hardest problems of pure and applied science can only be solved by the open collaboration of the world-wide scientific community.

The scientist's inquiry into the causes of things is providing an ever more extensive understanding of nature.

My grandfather on my mother's side was a professor of mechanical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; my other grandfather was a lawyer, and one time Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives.

My graduate studies were carried out at the California Institute of Technology.

In 1975 I met Alison Brown and in 1982 we were married. She works for Cornell Computer Services.

One other hobby of mine has been playing the oboe but I have not kept this up after 1969.

Scientists under all forms of government must be able to participate fully in international efforts.

While at Cal Tech I talked a lot with Jon Mathews, then a junior faculty member; he taught me how to use the Institute's computer; we also went on hikes together.

At the present time I am trying to win acceptance for a program of support for scientific computing in universities from industry and government.

Life is to be lived through action not by dreaming.

When I entered graduate school I had carried out the instructions given to me by my father and had knocked on both Murray Gell-Mann's and Feynman's doors and asked them what they were currently doing. Murray wrote down the partition function for the three-dimensional Ising model and said it would be nice if I could solve it (at least that is how I remember the conversation). Feynman's answer was 'nothing'.