Dean Kamen

“As we move towards 8 or 10 billion people on the planet, there's a little less gold per capita. Each one of us will continue to be fighting over an ever smaller percentage of total resources. This is not a happy thought.”

“Sometimes we crash and burn. It's better to do it in private.”

“My father spent his entire early career as an illustrator for comic books: EC Comics like 'Tales from the Crypt' and 'Creepshow,' then moving on to such magazines as 'Mad' and 'Weird Science.'”

“To me, innovations are the wheel, fire, language, movable type. There are not 3 million innovations; there are 3 million inventions.”

“If history is any indication, all truths will eventually turn out to be false.”

“When I'm told absolutely no, it's a definite maybe.”

“You have teenagers thinking they're going to make millions as NBA stars when that's not realistic for even 1 percent of them. Becoming a scientist or engineer is.”

“Get used to dealing with failure as long as it doesn't hurt people around you, as long as it doesn't hurt you physically, or it doesn't hurt you so much that you can't pick yourself up.”

“I do not want to waste any time. And if you are not working on important things, you are wasting time.”

“An innovation is one of those things that society looks at and says, if we make this part of the way we live and work, it will change the way we live and work.”

“The city needs a car like a fish needs a bicycle.”

“If you're going to fail, you might as well fail at the big ones.”

“There is just so much stuff in the world that, to me, is devoid of any real substance, value, and content that I just try to make sure that I am working on things that matter.”

“Some broad themes brought me where I am today. At a very young age, my hobby became thinking and finding connections.”

“My biggest worry is I'm running out of time and energy. Thirty years ago I thought 10 years was a really long time.”

“I'm a human entropy producer.”

“More than ever, the world needs good engineers. However, the pool of talent is shrinking not growing.”

“Everybody has to be able to participate in a future that they want to live for. That's what technology can do.”

“Don't be irresponsible in your risks, but as long as the project can fail without it causing the person to fail, keep trying; keep taking the best shots. Learn from them; pick yourself up.”

“Americans thinking that America will continue to lead the world in innovation and quality of life without some quick and serious educational improvements are dangerously delusional.”