When I moved to Stanford I began to pursue the line of research I have been following ever since, namely trying to understand the larger implications of fractional quantum hall discovery. — Robert B. Laughlin Copy Share Image
My job at Stanford is rather different from the ones I had held previously in that my own ambitions must take a back seat to the well-being of the students with whom I work. — Robert B. Laughlin Copy Share Image
Over the course of time this gave us a deep respect for ideas, both our own and those of others, and an understanding that… — Robert B. Laughlin Copy Share
To this day I always insist on working out a problem from the beginning without reading up on it first, a habit that sometimes… — Robert B. Laughlin Copy Share
So mothers everywhere take heart. The indoctrination you administer now may have unanticipated positive effects years later. — Robert B. Laughlin Copy Share
The modern concept of the vacuum of space, confirmed every day by experiment, is a relativistic ether. — Robert B. Laughlin Copy Share
My mother also had us take piano lessons, and this had a similar effect. I hated those lessons, but I now play regularly for… — Robert B. Laughlin Copy Share
It is ironic that Einsteins most creative work, the general theory of relativity, should boil down to conceptualizing space as a medium when his… — Robert B. Laughlin Copy Share
As a consequence while we had a roof over our heads, food on the table, and clothes to wear to school we were constantly… — Robert B. Laughlin Copy Share
It is an interesting fact that during my tour I was never allowed access to computers, radios, or anything else that I might damage… — Robert B. Laughlin Copy Share
It was at Bell Labs that I first made direct contact with real semiconductor experts and thus began to fully understand what amazing materials… — Robert B. Laughlin Copy Share
In parallel with the development of my interests in technical gadgetry I began to acquire a profound love of and respect for the natural… — Robert B. Laughlin Copy Share
At Berkeley I had my first encounter with real professional scientists. — Robert B. Laughlin Copy Share
But the need for conflict to expose prejudice and unclear reasoning, which is deeply embedded in my philosophy of science, has its origin in… — Robert B. Laughlin Copy Share
Western society has many flaws, and it is good for an educated person to have thought some of these through, even at the expense… — Robert B. Laughlin Copy Share
