The isolated man does not develop any intellectual power. It is necessary for him to be immersed in an environment of other men, whose techniques he absorbs during the first twenty years of his life. He may then perhaps do a little research of his own and make a very few discoveries which are passed on to other men. From this point of view the search for new techniques must be regarded as carried out by the human community as a whole, rather than by individuals. . Alan Turing
About This Quote

Most people believe that the purpose of education is to learn all the things that have already been discovered. This may be true in a general sense, but it is also necessary for an individual to develop his own intellectual abilities. In order to do this, he must be immersed in an environment where other men are doing the thinking. In the early years, children absorb what they see and hear from their parents and teachers. Later, they begin to do their own independent research, and from an early age they begin to develop their ability to think independently.

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More Quotes By Alan Turing
  1. We can only see a short distance ahead, but we can see plenty there that needs to be done.
  2. I believe that at the end of the century the use of words and general educated opinion will have altered so much that one will be able to speak of machines thinking without expecting to be contradicted.
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  4. Let us return for a moment to Lady Lovelace’s objection, which stated that the machine can only do what we tell it to do. One could say that a man can “inject” an idea into the machine, and that it will respond to a certain...
  5. Let us return for a moment to Lady Lovelace’s objection, which stated that the machine can only do what we tell it to do. One could say that a man can "inject" an idea into the machine, and that it will respond to a certain...
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