Did I hear them right?
Computers in the future may weigh no more than 1.5 tons.
~Popular Mechanics, forecasting the relentless march of science, 1949
I think there is a world market for maybe five computers.
~Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943
But what ... is it good for?
~Engineer of the Advanced Computing Systems Division of IBM, 1968, commenting on the microchip.
I have traveled the length and breadth of this country and talked with the best people, and I can assure you that data processing is a fad that won't last out the year.
~The editor in charge of business books for Prentice Hall, 1957
This 'telephone' has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us.
~Western Union internal memo, 1876
The wireless music box has no imaginable commercial value. Who would pay for a message sent to nobody in particular?
~David Sarnoff's associates in response to his urgings for investment in the radio in the 1920's
We don't like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out.
~Decca Recording Co. rejecting The Beatles, 1962
Heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible.
~Lord Kelvin, president, Royal Society, 1895
Airplanes are interesting toys but of no military value.
~Marechal Ferdinand Foch, Professor of Strategy, Ecole Superieure de Guerre
If I had thought about it, I wouldn't have done the experiment. The literature was full of examples that said you can't do this.
~Spencer Silver on the work that led to the unique adhesives for 3-M Post-It Notepads
The concept is interesting and well formed, but in order to earn better than a 'C', the idea must be feasible.
~A Yale University management professor in response to Fred Smith's paper proposing reliable overnight delivery service. (Smith went on to found Federal Express Corp.)
There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home.
~Ken Olson, president, chairman, and founder of Digital Equipment Corp., 1977
Who the hell wants to hear actors talk?
~H.M. Warner, Warner Brothers, 1927
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