Notable Quote [Henry Ford]

[kyreb1862]

I don't know much about history, and I wouldn't give a nickel for all the history in the world. History is more or less bunk. It is tradition. We want to live in the present, and the only history that is worth a tinker's darn is the history we make today.
— Henry Ford

 

[4aKen]

Could not disagree more..."Those who do not learn from history are condemned to repeat it."

 

[bgbassplyr]

From the man, Ford, who thought Hitler was right.

 

[3798j]

With Ford's contradiction of British statesman Edmund Burke - "Those who don't know history are destined to repeat it" - kinda re-enforces the reason for three of Henry's arguable mistakes: staying with the Model T too long, staying with mechanical brakes too long, and staying with solid front axles too long. Which brings up the "Even if your on the right track, if you don't move, you're gonna get run over".

 

[PC]

"Those who don't know history are destined to repeat it."
-- Edmund Burke

"We should not look back unless it is to derive useful lessons from past errors, and for the purpose of profiting by dearly bought experience."
-- George Washington

"We are not makers of history. We are made by history."
-- Martin Luther King, Jr.

"A man acquainted with history may, in some respect, be said to have lived from the beginning of the world, and to have been making continual additions to his stock of knowledge in every century."
-- David Hume

"Study history, study history. In history lies all the secrets of statecraft."
-- Winston Churchill


pc.

 

[DrEntropy]

"A man acquainted with history may, in some respect, be said to have lived from the beginning of the world, and to have been making continual additions to his stock of knowledge in every century."
-- David Hume

And don't ferget Sir Issac and/or Bernard, standing on the shoulders. :wink:

 

[kyreb1862]

Ok no more Henry Ford quotes. Apparently Henry didn't always think before he spoke. Of course though, Henry was wealthy enough that he really didn't care what others thought about his opinions.

 

[Mickey Richaud]

And then there's this:

"Whats'a behind me is'a not important!" - Franco, in <span style="font-style: italic"> Gumball Rally </span>

 

[PC]

Ok no more Henry Ford quotes. Apparently Henry didn't always think before he spoke....

Didn’t mean to come down on ol’ Henry, I have tremendous respect for much of his philosophy. I just think he had a tendency to focus so intensely that he sometimes missed the bigger picture. (And to be honest, he had a few quirks.)

Within a particular, narrow context, I would actually agree with him on that one. History is all too often presented as rote memorization, a fixed conglomeration of disconnected names, dates and places. And many organizations and people sit on their butts relying on tradition rather than working towards their future.

I think we can see where he was coming from because he also said;

“Every new life is a new thing under the sun; there has never been anything just like it before, never will be again. A young man ought to get that idea about himself; he should look for the single spark of individuality that makes him different from other folks, and develop that for all he is worth. Society and schools may try to iron it out of him; their tendency is to put it all in the same mold, but I say don't let that spark be lost; it is your only real claim to importance.”



Anyway, I have to hand to Henry on many fronts. So by all means, I’m up for a few more of his quotes.

“Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably the reason why so few engage in it.”

“If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right.”

“Change is not always progress....A fever of newness had been everywhere confused with the spirit of progress.”

“Most people spend more time and energy going around problems than in trying to solve them.”

“I don't believe in titles, they make people think they are superior.”

“If there is any one secret of success, it lies in the ability to get the other person's point of view and see things from that person's angle as well as from your own.”

“Failure is only the opportunity to begin again more intelligently.”



pc.