Albert Szent-Györgyi Quotes, born September 16, 1893, in Budapest, Hungary, was a Hungarian-American physiologist who won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1937 for isolating vitamin C and elucidating the citric acid cycle. A key figure in biochemistry, he also contributed to cancer research and resisted oppression during World War II as part of the Hungarian Resistance. His books, like The Crazy Ape (1970) and LSD: My Problem Child, blend scientific rigor with philosophical reflections on life and human potential. These 15 quotes—sourced from his writings, interviews, speeches, and public statements—reflect his insights on discovery, life, science, and humanity’s challenges, capturing his innovative and humanistic spirit.
15 Albert Szent-Györgyi Quotes
- “Discovery consists of seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what nobody has thought.” (Book, Bioenergetics, 1957)
- “Water is life’s matter and matrix, mother and medium. There is no life without water.” (Book, The Living State, 1972)
- “Research is to see what everybody else has seen, and to think what nobody else has thought.” (Interview, quoted in Missouri newspaper, 1958)
- “A discovery is said to be an accident meeting a prepared mind.” (Book, The Scientist Speculates, 1962)
- “The real scientist is ready to bear privation and, if need be, starvation rather than let anyone dictate to him which direction his work must take.” (Speech, World Digest, 1943)
- “Without energy life would be extinguished instantaneously, and the cellular fabric would collapse.” (Book, Bioenergetics, 1957)
- “A vitamin is a substance that makes you ill if you don’t eat it.” (Interview, Scientific American, 1954)
- “The key to happiness is not to get more, but to enjoy what we have and to fill the empty frame of our lives.” (Book, The Crazy Ape, 1970)
- “Here we stand in the middle of this new world with our primitive brain, attuned to the simple cave life, with terrific forces at our disposal, which we are clever enough to release, but whose consequences we cannot comprehend.” (Speech, Nobel Banquet, 1937)
- “Think boldly. Don’t be afraid of making mistakes. Don’t miss small details, keep your eyes open and be modest in everything except your aims.” (Conference Record, IEEE, 1985)
- “Life is water, dancing to the tune of solids.” (Book, The Living State, 1972)
- “I am not religious, but I am a pious man… who is really touched by the greatness of nature and of the creation.” (Interview, National Library of Medicine, ca. 1980)
- “Whatever a man does he must do first in his mind.” (Book, The Crazy Ape, 1970)
- “Science has helped us to understand and master ourselves, creating an elevated new form of human life, the wealth and beauty of which cannot be pictured today by the keenest imagination.” (Book, The Living State, 1972)
- “The basic texture of research consists of dreams into which the threads of reasoning, measurement, and calculation are woven.” (Book, The Scientist Speculates, 1962)
Albert Szent-Györgyi’s quotes spark curiosity, celebrate life’s mysteries, and challenge us to think beyond the ordinary, inspiring innovation and reverence for nature. Which one ignites your passion for discovery? Share it in the comments and keep Szent-Györgyi’s visionary legacy alive!
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