Richard Feynman in "What Do YOU Care What Other People Think?"

"We are at the beginning of time for the human race. It is not unreasonable that we grapple with problems. but there are tens of thousands of years in the future. Our responsibility is to do what we can, learn what we can, improve the solutions, and pass them on. It is our responsibility to leave the people of the future a free hand. In the impetuous youth of humanity we can make grave errors that can stunt our growth for a long time. This we will do if we say we have the answers now, so young and ignorant as we are. If we suppress all discussion, all criticism, proclaiming "This is the answer, my friends, man is saved!" we will doom humanity for a long time to the chains of authority confined to the limits of our present imagination. It has been done so many times before."

"It is our responsibility as scientists knowing the great progress which comes from a satisfactory philosophy of ignorance, the great progress which is the fruit of freedom of thought, to proclaim the value of this freedom of thought, to proclaim the value of this freedom; to teach how doubt is not to be feared but welcomed and discussed; and to demand this freedom as our duty to all coming generations."

Consilience - E. O. Wilson

E. O. Wilson, renowned entomologist, covers a broad range of subjects with the aim of developing a unifying knowledge system. His prime focus is human intellect, its development, limits, influences, and relationship to the biosphere.

On creativity, quoting Herbert Simon:
" "What chiefly characterizes creative thinking from more mundane forms are (i) willingness to accept vaguely defined problem statements and gradually structure them, (ii) continuing preoccupation with problems over a considerable period of time, and (iii) extensive background knowledge in background and potentially relevant areas." To put that in a nutshell: knowledge, obsession, daring." (p70)

On society:
"In mammals, social life is a contrivance to enhance personal survival and reproductive success."

On the direction of scientific funding:
"Science, like art, and as always through history, follows patronage." (p 101)

"For the immediate future the genetics of human behavior will travel behind two spearheads. The first is research on mental disorders, and the second is research on gender difference and sexual preference. ... They fit a cardinal rule in the conduct of scientific research. Find a paradigm for which you can raise money and attack it with every method of analysis at your disposal." (p170)

How often have we seen that played out! Through the 60's with cancer and space, the 70's and 80's with alternate energy, artificial intelligence, and cold fusion, the 90's with nanotechnology and genome research, and now with 'global warming/climate change', stem cells, energy independence, biofuels, etc. In one sense this is the ideal of a market- or needs-driven process, in another sense that market is woefully uninformed and hijacked by political hacks exploiting societal whims.