Tuesday, April 10, 2012

I is for Imagination

There is no
Life I know
To compare with
Pure imagination
--Willie Wonka
Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

Imagination is more important than knowledge
-- Albert Einstein

Imagination has brought mankind through the Dark Ages to its present state of civilization. Imagination led Columbus to discover America. Imagination led Franklin to discover electricity. Imagination has given us the steam engine, the telephone, the talking-machine and the automobile, for these things had to be dreamed of before they became realities. So I believe that dreams—day dreams, you know, with your eyes wide open and your brain-machinery whizzing—are likely to lead to the betterment of the world.
-- L. Frank Baum
The Lost Princess of Oz

2 comments:

stu said...

Imagination certainly has an important role to play in life, but I think Frank L. Baum was possibly overstating it. After all, all those discoveries he cites also took significant knowledge, understanding, work and technological development. If it were otherwise, then the little kid drawing spaceships would work for NASA, rather than doing lessons.

F. Douglas Wall said...

I think L. Frank Baum (Frank is his middle name) had the right of it. "... things had to be dreamed of before they became realities." Imagination is the ability to dream and wonder and ask questions. Only by questioning do we discover answers. That's why Einstein (everyone's favorite smart guy) elevates imagination above knowledge.

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