---
title: "2 Stanford Quotes By Robert B. Laughlin"
description: "2 Stanford quotes by Robert B. Laughlin. Plus more from Robert B. Laughlin and more Stanford sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b3/robert-b-laughlin-24580_discovery_when-i-moved-to-stanford-i-began-to-purs_2811189.jpg"
---

> [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.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-b-laughlin/when-i-moved-to-stanford-i-began-to-pursue-the-line-of-research-i/)

[Robert B. Laughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-b-laughlin/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b3/robert-b-laughlin-24580_discovery_when-i-moved-to-stanford-i-began-to-purs_2811189.jpg)

> [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.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-b-laughlin/my-job-at-stanford-is-rather-different-from-the-ones-i-had-held/)

[Robert B. Laughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-b-laughlin/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97e/robert-b-laughlin-24580_ambition_my-job-at-stanford-is-rather-different-f_2861574.jpg)

## Other authors on Stanford

## More by Robert B. Laughlin

> [Over the course of time this gave us a deep respect for ideas, both our own and those of others, and an understanding that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-b-laughlin/over-the-course-of-time-this-gave-us-a-deep-respect-for-ideas-both/)

[Robert B. Laughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-b-laughlin/)

> [I was an extremely reclusive and introverted boy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-b-laughlin/i-was-an-extremely-reclusive-and-introverted-boy/)

[Robert B. Laughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-b-laughlin/)

> [To this day I always insist on working out a problem from the beginning without reading up on it first, a habit that sometimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-b-laughlin/to-this-day-i-always-insist-on-working-out-a-problem-from-the/)

[Robert B. Laughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-b-laughlin/)

> [So mothers everywhere take heart. The indoctrination you administer now may have unanticipated positive effects years later.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-b-laughlin/so-mothers-everywhere-take-heart-the-indoctrination-you-administer/)

[Robert B. Laughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-b-laughlin/)

> [The modern concept of the vacuum of space, confirmed every day by experiment, is a relativistic ether.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-b-laughlin/the-modern-concept-of-the-vacuum-of-space-confirmed-every-day-by/)

[Robert B. Laughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-b-laughlin/)

> [My mother also had us take piano lessons, and this had a similar effect. I hated those lessons, but I now play regularly for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-b-laughlin/my-mother-also-had-us-take-piano-lessons-and-this-had-a-similar/)

[Robert B. Laughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-b-laughlin/)

> [It is ironic that Einsteins most creative work, the general theory of relativity, should boil down to conceptualizing space as a medium when his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-b-laughlin/it-is-ironic-that-einsteins-most-creative-work-the-general-theory-of/)

[Robert B. Laughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-b-laughlin/)

> [As a consequence while we had a roof over our heads, food on the table, and clothes to wear to school we were constantly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-b-laughlin/as-a-consequence-while-we-had-a-roof-over-our-heads-food-on-the-table/)

[Robert B. Laughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-b-laughlin/)

> [It is an interesting fact that during my tour I was never allowed access to computers, radios, or anything else that I might damage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-b-laughlin/it-is-an-interesting-fact-that-during-my-tour-i-was-never-allowed/)

[Robert B. Laughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-b-laughlin/)

> [It was at Bell Labs that I first made direct contact with real semiconductor experts and thus began to fully understand what amazing materials…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-b-laughlin/it-was-at-bell-labs-that-i-first-made-direct-contact-with-real/)

[Robert B. Laughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-b-laughlin/)

> [In parallel with the development of my interests in technical gadgetry I began to acquire a profound love of and respect for the natural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-b-laughlin/in-parallel-with-the-development-of-my-interests-in-technical/)

[Robert B. Laughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-b-laughlin/)

> [At Berkeley I had my first encounter with real professional scientists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-b-laughlin/at-berkeley-i-had-my-first-encounter-with-real-professional-scientists/)

[Robert B. Laughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-b-laughlin/)

> [But the need for conflict to expose prejudice and unclear reasoning, which is deeply embedded in my philosophy of science, has its origin in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-b-laughlin/but-the-need-for-conflict-to-expose-prejudice-and-unclear-reasoning/)

[Robert B. Laughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-b-laughlin/)

> [Western society has many flaws, and it is good for an educated person to have thought some of these through, even at the expense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-b-laughlin/western-society-has-many-flaws-and-it-is-good-for-an-educated-person/)

[Robert B. Laughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-b-laughlin/)

> [My childhood home backed onto wheat and cotton fields.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-b-laughlin/my-childhood-home-backed-onto-wheat-and-cotton-fields/)

[Robert B. Laughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-b-laughlin/)

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