Believe Quote by Paul Laffoley
![“I would say [to my father], "Why don't you actually take some courses in physics instead of saying [you are not believing in gravity]?" But he would never do it. Businessmen for some reason or other, think, because they're successful in a single direction, that they know everything. You know what…” quote by Paul Laffoley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/e7b/paul-laffoley-7077_believe_i-would-say-to-my-father-why-don-t-you-a_374065.jpg)
“I would say [to my father], "Why don't you actually take some courses in physics instead of saying [you are not believing in gravity]?" But he would never do it. Businessmen for some reason or other, think, because they're successful in a single direction, that they know everything. You know what I mean? You ever meet people like that?”
About This Quote
Source Interview: Discussion on Education and Expertise, 1990s
Specialization can breed overconfidence, limiting openness to other fields.
In simple terms: Narrow focus can create arrogance.
Key Takeaway
Stay curious and interdisciplinary.
Themes
education
expertise
humility
Mood
reflective
encouraging
Type
motivational
philosophical
When to use this quote
- career development
- academic mentorship
- cross‑disciplinary projects
Key Concepts
psychology
learning theory
Questions to Reflect On
- How can you encourage broader learning?
- What signs show overconfidence in expertise?
A Different Perspective
Overcoming ingrained habits may be difficult.
![“[My father] had this quirky thing of not believing in gravity. And giving me a constant headache about that one. He would say if I showed any interest in gravity, I was becoming a dupe of the system. He could see indications I was beginning to believe in it.” quote by Paul Laffoley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/ad6/paul-laffoley-7077_becoming_my-father-had-this-quirky-thing-of-not-b_2179081.jpg)
![“I first heard of [Orfeo Angelucci] from Giuseppe Conti who gave me some books by him.” quote by Paul Laffoley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/b19/paul-laffoley-7077_book_i-first-heard-of-orfeo-angelucci-from-gi_53732.jpg)
![“The whole thing that Dante [Alighieri] did was summed up in the medieval world. It's like St. Thomas Aquinas, the Summa Theologica. He didn't invent it, he just put it all in one package. You get twelve fat books there sitting in any library. Whereas... I think if Joshi thinks [H.P.] Lovecraft was…” quote by Paul Laffoley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/a35/paul-laffoley-7077_book_the-whole-thing-that-dante-alighieri-did_82075.jpg)
![“You know, Mick Jagger's "Sympathy for the Devil." I think it was inspired by that [H.P.Lovecraft stories]. You don't know who's reading what, you know. It just comes out once in a while in the pop culture.” quote by Paul Laffoley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/b25/paul-laffoley-7077_culture_you-know-mick-jagger-s-sympathy-for-the_104239.jpg)
![“At 15 [my father] revolted against his father like any teenager, and said, "I'm out of here! What are you doing to me?" He thought he wouldn't be involved in that kind of stuff for the rest of his life. He just wanted to make money. He was one of those people who took over the family…” quote by Paul Laffoley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/a7c/paul-laffoley-7077_borrowed_at-15-my-father-revolted-against-his-fat_149241.jpg)
![“The Babson Institute, which is now an actual university, was started by this guy [my father] who also had a problem with believing in gravity. And so he started the Babson Institute in New Boston, New Hampshire, which then moved to Gloucester. Each year they have a competition of one thousand…” quote by Paul Laffoley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/cc2/paul-laffoley-7077_believe_the-babson-institute-which-is-now-an-act_213586.jpg)
![“Stephen Hawking won [Babson Institute competition ] one year with his black hole stuff. It's keeping an open mind on whether gravity exists or not. I think my father believed this because ... when the wind blew on him, he'd get angry, because it was something he couldn't control.” quote by Paul Laffoley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/d2f/paul-laffoley-7077_angry_stephen-hawking-won-babson-institute-com_267232.jpg)
![“[My father] was always saying I'd end up like my grandfather. Okay. My grandfather was an architect, I'm an architect. It's true, certain characteristics are similar.” quote by Paul Laffoley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/683/paul-laffoley-7077_architect_my-father-was-always-saying-i-d-end-up-l_329214.jpg)
![“From the time of Dante [Alighieri], when you have the Ptolemaic universe, you had God on the outside like a hypersphere, and then in the center you have the Earth, all the seven heavens and layers, and then you have the Mount of Purgatory and Hell right in the center, and here's Satan flapping his…” quote by Paul Laffoley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/df2/paul-laffoley-7077_earth_from-the-time-of-dante-alighieri-when-yo_360603.jpg)
![“Walter C. Wright has a more cogent presentation than my father did about [gravity] being a push. But he had the same basic belief, that the idea of magnetism attracting something was not the reason why the effects of what we call gravity occur.” quote by Paul Laffoley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/8a2/paul-laffoley-7077_belief_walter-c-wright-has-a-more-cogent-presen_373692.jpg)
![“I began to analyze the movie [The Day the Earth Stood Still] and said it was really made out of these two characters [Nikola Tesla and Leon Teremin] who were brought together. That made it fascinating to me. And especially the language they made up, that Klaatu speaks. Because it has a Latin word…” quote by Paul Laffoley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/0ed/paul-laffoley-7077_character_i-began-to-analyze-the-movie-the-day-the_380205.jpg)
![“When [my father] reached his majority, he was the head of the family. Everybody depended upon him. He went into a very uptight appearance; he would wear Chesterfield coats to work, Homburg hats, really getting into the whole thing. He knew people like Oscar Levant. He loved New York. He wanted to…” quote by Paul Laffoley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/86a/paul-laffoley-7077_appearance_when-my-father-reached-his-majority-he-w_393925.jpg)
